The late Latin word murmurium came into Spanish as murmuro . This is the name given to the noise produced when speaking , especially when it is not possible to understand what is being expressed.
For example: "I think there's someone outside: I've been hearing a murmur for an hour..." , "Silence, students! "I don't want to hear a single murmur in the room," "The couple's murmurs bothered the man who was sitting behind and who was only trying to enjoy the movie in peace ."
When two people who share the same language are speaking, they pronounce words that they both identify and understand without any problem. However, if there is a third individual located somewhat away from those who are talking, it is likely that they will not be able to distinguish what they are saying . This third subject, therefore, perceives a murmur: a noise from which he cannot extract meaning.
Interlocutors who speak in a low voice often produce murmurs, since others cannot catch their words. By extension, it is common for the idea of murmur to be used to refer to an expression that is made with little intensity.
In this framework it is necessary to talk about a widespread confusion when talking about sound: the words volume and intensity do not mean the same thing. We often say that "we raise or lower the volume of the music", although this is not entirely true: we increase or decrease its intensity , since the volume is the size that the sound is able to occupy due to various factors, such as be the characteristics of the instrument (which can be the human voice), its projection and the resonators.
Voices, for example, can be rated according to the range of notes they are capable of producing (basses, baritones, tenors, contraltos, mezzo-sopranos and sopranos), but also according to their size; In this case there are no such defined terms, but rather adjectives such as "small", "medium" or "large" are used. A small voice cannot be heard clearly from the seats furthest from the stage while a large one can easily fill the theater. That said, when listening to a recording we cannot alter this quality of a voice, but simply the intensity of the reproduction.
The concept of murmur, on the other hand, is used in reference to a noise that is difficult to identify or that is heard continuously : "The murmur of the river was the only thing that broke the stillness of the night," "The waterfall must be nearby; "I can already hear the murmur of the water," "From my aunt's house you can hear the murmur of the cars driving on the highway at all hours."
In popular singing there is a way of using the voice that some people call murmuring or whispering , since it consists of emitting poorly defined sounds with an excessive amount of air. This can be taken in two ways: as a technical error in an attempt to produce a weak sound; as an aesthetic decision.
Popular singers do not usually educate their voices academically, and this results in them deteriorating in a few years, versus the decades that an operatic voice lasts, for example. However, one of the advantages of lack of technique is the freedom to explore different sounds and placements, without fear of going against the structure.
Well, the murmur is a clear example of this experimentation that so characterizes popular singers. One of the bases of lyrical singing is the control of air to use only the necessary amount; Unless the performance demands it, a well-trained voice should produce a clear, crystalline sound. It is believed that otherwise the vocal cords suffer unnecessary wear and tear and are in fact forced to function unnaturally.