MasterClass: Mariah Carey Teaches the Voice as an Instrument

With 19 No. 1 records and five Grammy Awards, your new instructor is Billboard’s “Greatest Female Artist of All Time.” Mariah welcomes you to her class and gives you a first look at her newest project, the Butterfly Lounge.

Learn how Mariah makes music: by using her voice, communicating with melody, and collaborating with other musicians. Mariah begins to reimagine “The Roof” with a string quartet.

Like any good storyteller, songwriters can use their personal experiences as inspiration. In this lesson, Mariah delves into song studies and reveals the origins behind two of her most personal songs: “Outside” and “Sunflowers for Alfred Roy.”

Mariah’s work is the blueprint for today’s pop music. In this lesson, learn how she uses samples as building blocks for original songs. She also shares how Mobb Deep’s “Shook Ones, Part II” inspired her writing of “The Roof.”

Mariah shares her love for the underappreciated art of background vocals and revisits the backgrounds for “The Roof” with Grammy Award–winning singer-songwriter Brandy in the Butterfly Lounge.

Mariah breaks down key elements of her process as she continues her recording session with Brandy. Then she combines the new background vocals with the string quartet session.

Lyrics aren’t the only way to communicate with listeners. Working with the string ensemble, Mariah demonstrates how instrumentation can express emotion—in this case, love and longing, or “the misery,” as she calls it.

As an instrument, the voice needs to be maintained and can be strengthened over time. Mariah covers mental preparation, humidity, and vocal rest. She also shares how vocal nodules helped her reach the whistle register.

Mariah reflects on her journey as a musical artist, and she provides tips for navigating the industry and maintaining creative control. She also reveals the full version of “The Roof,” created during her class.