Whitney Houston will be remembered as a master of "melisma". But what is it and why did it influence a generation of singers and talent show aspirants? An early "I" in Whitney Houston's I Will Always ...

January should be national couch potato month. Check out our guide to the premieres of 24 and American Idol (with a tip o' the mic to Whitney... Embrace your inner coach potato this weekend. While you ...

The singer pulls on it, the note pushes back, and vice versa; the struggles are chronicled by the anguished note's rising and falling pitch as a helpless vowel is wrung to death. Melisma. I know it's ...

The pop icon, who died 10 years ago, often sang using melisma, a technique spanning time and cultures. Nowhere was it better than in her iconic hit, "I Will Always Love You." Some songs are so ...

AS symbolic shifts go, two recent events in pop music couldn’t have been more illuminating. On Nov. 24 “Burlesque,” a big-screen musical starring Christina Aguilera, opened and landed with a thud, ...

Music critic Jody Rosen wrote a column for Slate magazine – “Bigger Than Elvis: Why the haters are wrong about Mariah Carey” – that described the diva’s influence on popular singing, which can be seen ...

Whitney Houston will be remembered as a master of "melisma". The singer had an ability to pack a series of different notes into a single syllable. For example, an early "I" in Whitney Houston's I Will ...

Embrace your inner coach potato this weekend. While you wait for the Tuesday night return of American Idol (admit it, you watch it), learn about and listen to the musical art of melisma. 24 kicks off ...

An early "I" in Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You takes nearly six seconds to sing. In those seconds the former gospel singer-turned-pop star packs a series of different notes into the single ...