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Singers compared by vocal range

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C

ComputerMKII

Banned
Click to see the interactive chart: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/20/top-artists-vocal-range_n_5357698.html

Comparing The Top Artists, Past And Present, By Vocal Range

Concert Hotels put together an interactive chart examining the recorded vocal ranges of the world's greatest, and most popular, singers. Plotting the octaves successfully captured in the studio, the chart demonstrates just how far across the keyboard their pipes have spanned, listing the songs in which each vocalist has hit their lowest and highest notes.

At the top of the chart: Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose, closely followed by Mariah Carey, Prince, Steven Tyler and James Brown. At the very bottom: country singer Luke Bryan, who is just topped by Taylor Swift, Karen Carpenter, Sam Cooke and Justin Bieber.

While the chart is extremely informative, it is important to remember that it represents the recorded vocal range of each of these artists, not necessarily their actual range. This also doesn't define Axl Rose as the greatest singer of all time. Vocal range is a great indicator of a vocalist's talent, but there is much more that goes into it: tone, creativity in melody composition, lyrics and dynamic abilities, to name a few. It also helps when a vocalist has a great band or composition behind them.
Click to expand...
 
B

BumbleB

Banned
My boy Axel
3AQmK.gif
 
IrishNinja

IrishNinja

Member
well of course mariah's near the top, didn't know about axl's range though

how is rihanna not closer to the bottom...shame seeing nina simone so low as well
 
S

SegaShack

Member
How could they do this list without Michael Jackson? Makes no sense. That dude had an insane vocal range. Listen to 2000 Watts and then Someone Put Your Hand Out.
 
A

Ahasverus

Member
Why Pop-only though? Music's best voices are in rock/metal. Floor Jansen is probably top 5 of female singers in the world.
 
A

Ahasverus

Member
linsivvi said:
Axl Rose is pop now?
Click to expand...
OK Mainstream Pop/Rock. Or Rock in pop culture.
Although we can all agree on Taylor Swift's talent lol.

Still, vocal range is nothing in the great scheme of things, however the lack of it adds the overall unquality of some voices. As Perry's or Bieber's.
 
A

AlexMogil

Member
Here's the highest note a singer has screamed and the lowest note a singer has warbled in a chart.

Range is nothing without control.
 
R

royalan

Member
Leona Lewis said:
Range in and of itself is pointless - lots of rock singers can reach some impressively high summits, but their voices aren't connected all the way up to that peak.

Mariah's is super impressive because her voice is fully connected and supported from bottom to top.
Click to expand...

AlexMogil said:
Here's the highest note a singer has screamed and the lowest note a singer has warbled in a chart.

Range is nothing without control.
Click to expand...

Agreed.

I'll go ahead and style to that list, as well. It's the reason why someone like Adele is considered one of the best pop vocalists in the world, but her technical range is limited in comparison to a lot of the people listed.

They better recognize my girl Christina, tho.
 
L

Lazy vs Crazy

Member
Van Morrison being low on the list tells you that your place on the list has nothing to do with your value as a singer.

Because man is he amazing.
 
R

royalan

Member
Zom said:
Are you kidding me that axl rose can reach a lower tone than barry white? lol
Click to expand...

This is exactly what people are talking about when we say range doesn't tell the whole story.

Axl Rose may have been able to technically produce a lower note than Barry White, but he's not a bass singer and doesn't exhibit good qualities that low (at least, now in any song I've ever heard).

Barry White, on the other hand, was a true Bass singer, with a fully connected and resonant voice while singing in that lower range.
 
J

jay

Member
ComputerMKII said:
Neither :/ I've had a weird musical education (of lack thereof)
Click to expand...

Fair enough. Metal singers sometimes scream, shriek, sound like Cookie Monster, and also sing. It seems like it would be a hard thing to map, though really Patton is the only person I've mentioned who would get any sort of respect as an actual singer.

Edit: Ha, see above.
 
S

sooperkool

Member
Minnie Ripperton had a 5 octave range. She should be on the list.

In her recordings, Riperton's highest recorded note reached in the whistle register was F7 on the third scale of "You Take My Breath Away". Riperton reached this extremely high note before on an early recording of "Teach Me How to Fly" and "Could It Be I'm in Love". Also in a live performance of the song "Ruby Tuesday" from Rotary Connection, she sang an F#7. In the song "Loving You" she sings a walkdown on the A Major scale from F#6 to A5. In a 1998 interview for Vibe magazine, Mariah Carey cited Riperton as an influence on her

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnie_Riperton#Vocal_ability
 
O

offtopic

He measures in centimeters
Leona Lewis said:
Range in and of itself is pointless - lots of rock singers can reach some impressively high summits, but their voices aren't connected all the way up to that peak.

Mariah's is super impressive because her voice is fully connected and supported from bottom to top.
Click to expand...

This. Don't really care if they can utter a low growl or scream a super high note without control or support. Mercury blows Rose away in terms of usable range.

Also, where is Lambert? Destroys most of those voices.
 
B

BurnOutBrighter

Banned
Bruno Mars only looks low because he sings in chest voice for everything, including his high notes.

"Theeere'll be nooo sunshiiiiine, if I lose you baaaaby" is stupid hard to sing like him.
 
D

DeaconKnowledge

Member
royalan said:
This is exactly what people are talking about when we say range doesn't tell the whole story.

Axl Rose may have been able to technically produce a lower note than Barry White, but he's not a bass singer and doesn't exhibit good qualities that low (at least, now in any song I've ever heard).

Barry White, on the other hand, was a true Bass singer, with a fully connected and resonant voice while singing in that lower range.
Click to expand...

What do you mean by connected? Layman's terms please.
 
M

Mumei

Member
That's inaccurate for Mariah, at least. There is no F2 in Sweetheart, and she's never gone that low live. She has hit a solid-for-a-soprano G#2 in an interview, and slid down to a very brief F#2 once live, though. And she never hits a G7 in the studio version of Emotions; it "only" goes to E7. But she has hit up to a staccato Bb7 in live performances.
 
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