Unsure whether I should post this here, or if there is another forum. When music critics say that a singer has "chops," what do they mean? Are they solely referring to the singer's voice? Or is it something else? Thank you, Jakeybum
Thank you so much, Wreybies! I've researched this term on the internet and found different meanings. This certainly helps. So it could literally mean "skillful singing voice," methinks. Thank you for your valuable time and for responding.
I have never heard that used for a singer. Drummer, Guitarist. and Bassist sure, but a singer? That seems weird to my poor brain. I know that they are using 'chops' as a stand in for 'skills' but it just sounds off to me in context of a singer. Maybe I am just too far out-there?
Perhaps because there exists another phrase that is specific to singers that means pretty much the same thing and also invokes that mildly old-timie feel. "Did you hear Adele's new song?" "Yeah, it's great. She's certainly got the pipes for it."
I first heard the word "chops" used by jazz musicians, specifically horn players. Having chops meant having advanced technical skill. Practicing was "working on my chops." "He has great chops" meant he has very advanced technique. Of course, the term spread to other instruments, but I never heard it applied to singers. My understanding of "pipes" for a singer is that a singer with great pipes is one with a great voice, not necessarily one with advanced technique. Johnny Cash, for instance, could be said to have great pipes because of that powerful, authoritative baritone of his, but no one I know would call him a great technical singer. On the other hand, there are singers with good technique but not much of a voice (Ed Sheeran, for example). Sheeran doesn't have great pipes. I don't know a term for a good technical singer with a weak voice.
To build on what @minstrel said, my understanding is that it's a comparison to an organ (the church kind) which produces its sound through the massive organpipes; and it is capable of producing an impressive volume and tone. So, it's not so much a compliment about skill, more about volume and tone. As an aside, one of my pet hates it the current fashion for "divas". It seems to have led to an emphasis on power and volume that all too often leads to a singer without "the pipes" sounding just screechy.
