2004 - Questions to Tarja - Tarjaturunen. com

From: Stu
How was your experience on tour in America?

It was just great. The reception from the audiences was awesome. They seemed to like the shows very much. The venues were not that good in every city, but we needed to understand that it was because it's our first American tour and Nightwish is not as big in the US as it is in Europe, for instance. In general, the feeling after the tour is very positive. We are looking forward for the next time.

From: Victoriya
Once you said that you express the feelings of Tuomas, do you really take it through your soul?

I do. I know Tuomas so well that I don´t have any problems to sing his lyrics. He writes about his personal interests and thoughts and he doesen´t want to talk about his lyrics that much even with me. He doesen´t want to clear the deepest meanings of each song. He wants that every reader/listener can imagine them in their own way and my part is to go in them the best way it is possible for me. To express his feelings.

From:Pieter-Jan
As a musician myself I noticed how you are capable of improving so fast in such a short amount of of time. I was wondering how you are able to do this. Thank you.

I have been learning and practicing classical singing about 10 or 11 years. It hasn't been always easy way to go, but I have managed to keep the spirit of love in singing with me through these years. Singing means to me work and practice every day. Nightwish gives me a privilege to do many things with my voice and learning to use my voice for the band has been very interesting process. I haven´t taken any lessons for that, but the way I am singing along my band, is the way that I have figured out myself. Mostly the good feeling and the great atmosphere have helped me to continue with this music. The best thing is that I can never learn enough from my voice and that keeps me going.

From: Panagiotis
I would like to ask Tarja when did she realize she had a talent and what kind of music does she like best.

Well, I think my parents realized my talents for music when I was a little kid and they sent me to music school. I realized that I needed to concentrate into classical singing when I was 16. My voice dramatically changed and all the teachers were telling me to continue with it. It is very hard to tell what kind of music I prefer the most, because I like many kinds of music. I listen a lot of Film music, classical music (mostly chamber and lied music) and older stuff like Alan Parson's project, Genesis, Sting, Whitesnake, Michael Jackson, etc...

From: Michelle
Greetings Tarja! I just must say that you have a beautiful voice. But I must ask you a question... What motivated you to sing in the first place? And what did you think about Nightwish before your first album and after the album? Please answer these questions which I have been hoping to have answered. Thanks and May The Heavens Bless You!

I wanted to learn to use my complete body for singing in a correct way, to learn how to be able to sing without the voice getting tired and harmed. That way seemed to be very interesting. I never felt very comfortable with my voice before I started to take singing lessons. After that the whole world of singing seemed to change to me. It was great. Motivation was to learn every day more and more. There was no Nightwish before our first album actually. We weren´t any band, just a group of people, old friends, trying to make some fun with a music that nobody expected to become anything big like this. It was a very interesting time for me especially, because I had never really listened heavy metal before going to studio to record our first album. The genre of metal was quite strange for me at that time. I made only one promise to Tuomas: I'd go to the studio, record the songs and that was all. I would never make any shows or anything like that. BUT....things got out of hands and in the next moment I saw myself standing on the stage with these people and singing the songs
that I recorded just a while ago with them on the studio. Scary. I had to go through everything on my own and just with a little help of my friends from the music university. I gave my time suddenly more to Nightwish than for my music studies and that felt strange. Not anymore. With Oceanborn the things were already very clear and we wanted to make an album as good as possible. Well...those were the days.

From: jessica
I saw Nightwish in Seattle and just wanted to say how amazing it was. I was also wondering if she was going to be doing singing lessons anywere else. I would give anything to learn to sing like that.

I have been teaching in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and still planning to go there to teach whenever I have the time. I have 13 students there. I will also teach in Finland privately, at my home, when I get the time. Other places are not confirmed yet, but ideas are very welcome.

From: Florencia
First I would like to say that I'm in love with your voice; the way you manage to sing those great songs is just incredible...I loved Nightwish since the first time I took time to listen to it. I love what the songs talk about. I would like to ask you: Do you like what the songs talk about or you just sing because you like?
I like how Tuomas is writing his lyrics. He can be like a open book because, mostly, he is writing from his own life experiences and thoughts. I appreciate that talent very much. The subjects are not always easy for me to sing and it takes some time to understand the meaning and feeling for each of them, but I love his talent to write about things that touches people and make us feel his music much deeper.

From: fena
Hi Tarja, I sing classic (opera, thanks to you), and i'm soprano too, but you can sing very low, how did you do that? Can you also sing songs from Emma Shaplin? She is very good too. Do you like her songs?

I have been singing quite many years as a mezzo soprano before I changed into soprano range. That's why I can still handle the deeper registration good enough.
I don´t like much what Emma Shaplin is doing. Her style is not something that I prefer. She is very special and you whether love her voice or not.