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[hachi]

These bass notes don't even make sense.

I'll need an explanation of how they came up with all these sub-bass ranges. A typical bass singer bottoms out at around an E2 and will perhaps, if strong, hit the D2 or even C2 just below that, but those are impressive notes to pull off.

They ascribe a G1 to David Bowie. If capable of truly hitting anything that low, he'd be a Basso Profundo, which is very rare. Not only that, but the song cited (Gemini Spacecraft) isn't Bowie's lowest performance, and a bizarre selection for this. Are they measuring something like the slight, weak fry at about 1min30? For the lowest note Bowie growls in any kind of measurable way, they should start with something like his cover of I Feel Free (just under 1min mark) from Black Tie White Noise.

Oddly enough, they do have Johnny Cash essentially correct at a stately and memorable B1 in the chorus of Daddy Sang Bass. Compare that song to Bowie's Gemini Spacecraft -- which they are saying is somehow far lower -- and this list quickly loses credibility.

 

[royalan]

These bass notes don't even make sense.

I'll need an explanation of how they came up with all these sub-bass ranges. A typical bass singer bottoms out at around an E2 and will perhaps, if strong, hit the D2 or even C2 just below that, but those are impressive notes to pull off.

They ascribe a G1 to David Bowie. If capable of truly hitting anything that low, he'd be a Basso Profundo, which is very rare. Not only that, but the song cited (Gemini Spacecraft) isn't Bowie's lowest performance, and a bizarre selection for this. Are they measuring something like the slight, weak fry at about 1min30? For the lowest note Bowie growls in any kind of measurable way, they should start with something like his cover of I Feel Free (just under 1min mark) from Black Tie White Noise.

Oddly enough, they do have Johnny Cash essentially correct at a stately and memorable B1 in the chorus of Daddy Sang Bass. Compare that song to Bowie's Gemini Spacecraft -- which they are saying is somehow far lower -- and this list quickly loses credibility.

The bolded is the answer to your question.

These lists tend to be a measure of the sound that comes out of your mouth in the most technical sense. Most of these singers would have narrower ranges if they just measured the notes they were able to produce and sustain with power, resonance and control.

 

[Diprosalic]

i have like the opposite of absolute pitch, i don't understand any of this vocal range stuff.

 

[Mumei]

These bass notes don't even make sense.

I'll need an explanation of how they came up with all these sub-bass ranges. A typical bass singer bottoms out at around an E2 and will perhaps, if strong, hit the D2 or even C2 just below that, but those are impressive notes to pull off.

They ascribe a G1 to David Bowie. If capable of truly hitting anything that low, he'd be a Basso Profundo, which is very rare. Not only that, but the song cited (Gemini Spacecraft) isn't Bowie's lowest performance, and a bizarre selection for this. Are they measuring something like the slight, weak fry at about 1min30? For the lowest note Bowie growls in any kind of measurable way, they should start with something like his cover of I Feel Free (just under 1min mark) from Black Tie White Noise.

Oddly enough, they do have Johnny Cash essentially correct at a stately and memorable B1 in Daddy Sang Bass. Compare that song to Bowie's Gemini Spacecraft -- which they are saying is somehow far lower -- and this list quickly loses credibility.

The explanation is pretty simple:

1) Did I hear something that sounded particularly low or high?
2) If yes, how low or high was it?
3) Write it down as part of his range.

Voilà; you have that person's total range. It's sort of meaningless without more context and creates false equivalencies but that's what it is.

Though you are using something of mismatched comparison, because those ranges are based on operatic voices. Those bass notes are the lowest notes that a bass can project without a microphone and over instrumentation; they aren't necessarily the lowest notes a bass could possibly hit.

You could make the same argument about some of the women: A soprano vocal range is C4 - C6, and even contralto ranges generally don't go below E3, but you have women here who are supposed to be singing notes down into the top of the second octave or high into the seventh octave. It's not that they are somehow Ewa Podles and Ingeborg Hallstein in a single person; it's just that they are singing with a microphone which greatly expands the possibilities for what notes are audible / usable in a performance.

Sidenote: That F#3 that Ewa Podles does in that video is amazing. Good Lord.

 

[royalan]

i have like the opposite of absolute pitch, i don't understand any of this vocal range stuff.

There's a thread for that.

 

[Sickboy007]

I would like to know where Demetrio Stratos would stand on that list. He was able to perform quadrophonies with a wider range than some of those artirts' entire catalogues.

 

[VanquishUK]

Huh? You need to listen to "Under Pressure" again, Freddie hits notes only 20% of humans and most dogs can hear. And Paul has a very pleasant voice, even though you're right that Freddie's is better.

Sorry I meant "wider vocal range".

 

[Mumei]

i have like the opposite of absolute pitch, i don't understand any of this vocal range stuff.

It's pretty simple, really. The letter indicates the note; the number indicates the octave. A higher number indicates a higher octave. In scientific pitch notation, which is what is used here, an octave goes:

C C♯ D E♭ E F F♯ G G♯ A B♭ B

♯ indicates "sharp", or a semitone above the previous note and below the next note; ♭ indicates "flat" or a semitone above the note below it and below the note above it. They are essentially interchangeable; both B♭ and A♯ are correct and which one is used seems to be a matter of the key of the music. I'm terrible at determining the key something is played in and so I tend to just stubbornly stick to that.

So, a piano has this range:

A0 B♭0 B0
C1 C♯1 D1 E♭1 E1 F1 F♯1 G1 G♯1 A1 B♭1 B1
C2 C♯2 D2 E♭2 E2 F2 F♯2 G2 G♯2 A2 B♭2 B2
C3 C♯3 D3 E♭3 E3 F3 F♯3 G3 G♯3 A3 B♭3 B3
C4 C♯4 D4 E♭4 E4 F4 F♯4 G4 G♯4 A4 B♭4 B4
C5 C♯5 D5 E♭5 E5 F5 F♯5 G5 G♯5 A5 B♭5 B5
C6 C♯6 D6 E♭6 E6 F6 F♯6 G6 G♯6 A6 B♭6 B6
C7 C♯7 D7 E♭7 E7 F7 F♯7 G7 G♯7 A7 B♭7 B7
C8

And each letter and number combination refers to a specific frequency, which can differ depending on the tuning standard. The A440 standard (A4 at 440Hz) is the general tuning standard used by concerts in the United States and Europe.

 

[Tarkus]

Here's a breakdown of the vocal range and talent of Chris Cornell (Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave, Solo). The notes in the respective song clips are listed. His range spans B1-C6.

The powerful Chris Cornell

The guy who made this video also has similar videos for many of the vocalists that have been listed in this thread.

 

[chadtwo]

Well it's pretty affirming for my musical tastes to see the likes of David Bowie, Thom Yorke and Jeff Buckley near the top.

 

[agrajag]

If we include falsetto, Daniel Gildenlow of Pain of Salvation does some impressive stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz_sTVXKmjQ

 

[Soodanim]

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

I always think of Minnie when someone mentions vocal range, and a little disappointed it took so long for someone to mention her. I was amazed the first time I heard Loving You.

 

[Jezbollah]

Matt Bellamy would have been a good addition to that list.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0RU0sWCMtc

 

[Jon Armdog]

How about Mike Patton?

This list is incomplete without Patton. Pretty sure he's got Axl beat in terms of range:

http://therangeplace.forummotions.com/t105-mike-patton


Sung range: E♭1-E7
Total range: E♭1-F♯7

Significant high notes:

F♯7 ("Delirium Cordia")
F7 ("Litany IV")
E7 ("Abraxas", "Page 17 & 18" live, "The Man in the Blue Slip")
C♯7 ("Introduce Yourself" live at Download Festival 2009, "Smaller and Smaller")
C7 ("Happy Birthday" live)
B♭6 ("Egg" demo)
A6 ("Aubade")
G♯6 ("Like I Love You" live)
F6 ("Book of the Month" live)
E6 ("Caligula", "Malpractice")
E♭6 ("The Sorceress")
D6 ("Cuckoo for Caca" live Exit Festival 2010, "Litany I", "Act Three: A Barren Plain at Midnight; An Unnamed Location", "Almadel", "Litany II", "Litany III", "Litany IV", "When Good Dogs Do Bad Things")
C♯6 ("Libera Me", "Litany V", "Nuit Silencieuse", "Sleep (Part II): Carry Stress in the Jaw") live in Germany 2000)
C6 ("Templi Secritum")
B5 ("Der Golem" live Director's Cut Live 2011, "Grand Guignol (Version Vocale)", "Litany VI", "Caffeine", "Litany I")
B♭5 ("Act One: A Secluded Clearing in the Woods; A Single Bed in a Small Room; The Innermost Chapel of a Secret Temple", "Litany I", "Shapeshifting")
A5 ("Flashback", "Litany III", "Slayer Medley" live, "Red Clover", "Star A.D.", "Templi Secritum")
G♯5 ("Mr. Nice Guy", "Crépuscule")
G5 (Act Two: A Medieval Laboratory; In the Magick Circle", "Just a Man", "Psychoanalytwist", "Litany IV", "Crépuscule")
F♯5 ("One Step Beyond", "Murder of the Magicians", "Zombie Eaters")
F5 ("High Anxiety", "The Initiate", "She Loves Me Not", "Nuit Silencieuse")
E5 ("Caffeine" live, "Cape Fear", "Der Golem", "I Won't Forget You", "Litany V", "Mood Swing", "Surprise, You're Dead" live, "9 x 9")
E♭5 ("Mayday", "Star A.D.")
D5 ("A Leper with the Face of a Baby Girl", "Ashes to Ashes" live, "Edge of the World", "Tabula Smaragdina", "Epic" live, "Jockstrap")
C♯5 ("Urlo Negro", "Ars Moriendi", "Cuckoo for Caca", "Caffeine" live, "Grand Guignol (Version Vocale)", "Rosemery's Baby")
C5 ("Il Cupo Dolore", "Mr. Nice Guy", "Vanity Fair", "Star A.D.", "Bird's Eye", "Violence", "Soulympics", "Mescal Rite 1", "Rosemary's Baby", "Slowly Growing Deaf", "Last Cup of Sorrow" live, "Just a Man" live, "The Gentle Art of Making Enemies" live, "Ben" live, "Lookaway" live, "MTV Medley" live, "Der Golem" live, "Simply Beautiful" live)
B4 ("Bloody Mary", "Falling to Pieces", "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer", "Infinito", "Kill the DJ", "Star A.D.", "Ajde Jano" live, "Rotgut", "The Morning After", "The Real Thing", "Thunderball" live, "God Hates a Coward", "Light Up and Let Go", "Midlife Crisis" live, "Surprise! You're Dead!" live, "We're Not Alone", "When the Stars Begin to Fall", "White Hats/Black Hats")

Significant low notes:

E♭1 ("Orc")
F1 ("Cudgegokalalumosospasashatetewaat")
F♯1 ("I Can Almost See Them", "Everything's Ruined")
G1 (Voice acting in The Darkness)
G♯1 ("Ballad of a Thin Man", "Book of the Month")
A1 ("A Thousand Eyes", Bionic Commando voice acting, "Der Golem", "Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion", "I Can Almost See Them", "Putting on the Blitz")
B♭1 ("Ballad of a Thin Man", "Book of the Month", "Delìrivm Còrdia", "Dracula Cha Cha", "How U Feelin?", "Vanity Fair")
B1 ("Antelope Ceremony", "Crépuscule", "Lookaway" live, "Happy Birthday" live, "King for a Day", "Midlife Crisis" live, "Kool-Aid Party", "Mood Swing", "The Waste")
C2 ("Cudgegokalalumosospasashatetewaat", "Ford Mustang", "Honeymoon", "Crépuscule", "Mojo", "Where Is the Line", "Cradle Song", "Point and Click", "Star A.D.", "RV", "Paths of Glory", "Stone Letter", "Stripsearch", "Just a Man" live, "Birdsong", "Jockstrap", "Midlife Crisis", live in Moscow 2012, "Pristina" live)
C♯2 ("God Hates a Coward", "Mayday", "Pit Stop", "Sweet Smell of Success", "The Devil Rides Out", "The Omen (Ave Satani)", "Where is the Line", "20 Km Al Giorno")
D2 ("Caffeine" live Hurricane 2009, "Don't Even Trip", "Anger Management", "Pitie Pour Mes Larmes", "Take This Bottle", "Litany IV", "Everything's Ruined", "Crack Hitler", "Helpless", "La Chanson de Jacky", "I Come", "Catch My Heart", "Pink Cigarette", "Mescal Rite 2", "Quote Unquote", "Helpless" live, "White Hats/Black Hats")
E♭2 ("The Christmas Song", "War Song", "Kindergarten", "Planemo", "Catch My Heart", "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer", "She Loves Me Not", "Spider Baby", "101 North")
E2 ("A Small Victory", "Aubade", "Caffeine", "Delìrivm Còrdia", "Evidence", "Ghost Dance", "G.I. Joe", "Kool-Aid Party", "Land of Sunshine", "Malocchio", "Point and Click", "Prairie Fire", "The Ballad of Hank McCain", "Totem", "Waratorium")

 

[Pizza Luigi]

Where the fuck is Stevie Wonder?

 

[devonodev]

Ever heard of Kyo from Dir en grey, by the way?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_JCPh-J5sU

I don't understand how he does some of the things he does with his voice

And he pulls it off perfectly live too.

Spoiler

There was that brief moment he didn't but he's all good now

 

[Hurley]

Not sure if posted yet but the Range Place youtube has a video showing Axl's range, damn some of those lows especially in TWAT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KIXiy5sTBM

 

[Charmicarmicat]

Holy fuck. That was awesome to watch and try to guess what else could be left toward the end. Some of those clips go WAY back and REALLY deep into his discography. To think the dude is 42 years old and some of those G#5s were as recent as 2011.

Saw him live at the end of 2012 and he still pulls everything off live too, just an incredible singer. Fear Factory opened for him and he put Burton C. Bell to shame, that guy can barely hold a note nowadays.

 

[SBH]

I've always liked David DeFeis.

Not the most technical singer, but I like how he tells the stories with his range.

Here is an example.

 

[Blearth]

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

Yeah, like, totally bro.

 

[teruterubozu]

Well it's pretty affirming for my musical tastes to see the likes of David Bowie, Thom Yorke and Jeff Buckley near the top.

Yeah this list is very arbitrary. Thom Yorke & Jeff Buckley are relatively popular but "top" artists? Pretty sure Judas Priest sold more records than Jeff Buckley.

 

[MidgarBlowedUp]

Is Geoff Tate on the list?

I wonder if he has a larger range than axle? If not, then "where do we go now, ahh where do we go now"

 

[Diprosalic]

It's pretty simple, really. The letter indicates the note; the number indicates the octave. A higher number indicates a higher octave. In scientific pitch notation, which is what is used here, an octave goes:

C C♯ D E♭ E F F♯ G G♯ A B♭ B

♯ indicates "sharp", or a semitone above the previous note and below the next note; ♭ indicates "flat" or a semitone above the note below it and below the note above it. They are essentially interchangeable; both B♭ and A♯ are correct and which one is used seems to be a matter of the key of the music. I'm terrible at determining the key something is played in and so I tend to just stubbornly stick to that.

So, a piano has this range:

A0 B♭0 B0
C1 C♯1 D1 E♭1 E1 F1 F♯1 G1 G♯1 A1 B♭1 B1
C2 C♯2 D2 E♭2 E2 F2 F♯2 G2 G♯2 A2 B♭2 B2
C3 C♯3 D3 E♭3 E3 F3 F♯3 G3 G♯3 A3 B♭3 B3
C4 C♯4 D4 E♭4 E4 F4 F♯4 G4 G♯4 A4 B♭4 B4
C5 C♯5 D5 E♭5 E5 F5 F♯5 G5 G♯5 A5 B♭5 B5
C6 C♯6 D6 E♭6 E6 F6 F♯6 G6 G♯6 A6 B♭6 B6
C7 C♯7 D7 E♭7 E7 F7 F♯7 G7 G♯7 A7 B♭7 B7
C8

And each letter and number combination refers to a specific frequency, which can differ depending on the tuning standard. The A440 standard (A4 at 440Hz) is the general tuning standard used by concerts in the United States and Europe.

thank you for taking your time to write this post but i honestly don't understand any of it. you lost me at "octave".

 

[sooperkool]

I always think of Minnie when someone mentions vocal range, and a little disappointed it took so long for someone to mention her. I was amazed the first time I heard Loving You.

Thanx Mike, i thought I was the only one.

 

[ComputerMKII]

thank you for taking your time to write this post but i honestly don't understand any of it. you lost me at "octave".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsQ6WFJweyU

 

[Gustav]

Hail to the king, baby. Axl Rose is the best frontman in history. Well, was.

 

[NinjaBoiX]

thank you for taking your time to write this post but i honestly don't understand any of it. you lost me at "octave".

An octave is essentially a pre-determined scale of notes. A C, for example, can be very high or very low depending on the octave, but it's still a C.

 

[Xun]

Interesting list, but it's not entirely accurate by any means.

Plant could reportedly hit C♯6 (?), unlike the A5 listed for example.

It's such a shame what happened to his voice, but in his prime he was insane:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpytsMK41eQ

I'd be interested in seeing the vocal range of my bands singer, since I'm sure it would be quite impressive.

He holds back a lot nowadays though, but in the past his version of Grace was up there with Jeff Buckley.

 

[Trickster]

Truly surprised to see people like Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber near the bottom of that list

Spoiler

not really

 

[SillyEskimo]

I found this for Maynard James Keenan of Tool, Perfect Circle, and Puscifer. I don't really know what any of it means, but I think he has a great voice.

Voice type: Baritenor
Vocal range: G1-G5

Significant high notes:
G5 ("Rosetta Stoned", "Ticks and Leeches")
F♯5 ("The Three Little Pigs")
F5 ("Stinkfist" live 2006)
E♭5 ("Stinkfist" live Nickelsdorf 2006)
D5 ("Crawl Away", "Hush", "Jerk-Off" live, "Opiate", "Stinkfist" live 2006, "Ticks and Leeches")
C♯5 ("Know Your Enemy")
C5 ("Bottom", "Forty-Six & Two", "The Patient", "When the Levee Breaks")
B4 ("Eulogy", "Passive", "The Pot", "No Quarter", "Parabola", "Forty-Six & Two", "Pushit", "3 Libras", "Maynard's Dick", "The Outsider", "Hush", "Opiate", "Prison Sex", "Crawl Away", "Passenger")
B♭4 ("Hooker With a Penis", "Jerk-Off" live, "Pet", "Sober", "The Grudge", "The Hollow", "Undertow")
A4 ("H.", "Hooker With a Penis", "Jimmy", "Stinkfist", "Third Eye", "Right in Two", "Swamp Song", "Part of Me", "Intolerance", "Prison Sex", "Bottom", "Crawl Away", "4°", "Flood", "Disgustipated", "Orestes", "Sweat", "Reflection")
G♯4 ("Judith", "Magdalena", "Orestes", "Rose", "Thomas", "The Grudge", "The Outsider")

Significant low notes:
C3 ("Disgustipated", "Imagine", "Sober", "Swamp Song", "The Grudge", "When the Levee Breaks" live)
B2 ("3 Libras", "Blue", "Disposition", "Opiate", "Parabola", "REV 22:20", "Thinking Of You", "Weak and Powerless")
B♭2 ("Fiddle and the Drum")
A2 ("10,000 Days (Wings Part 2)", "By and Down", "Pushit")
G♯2 ("The Undertaker")
G2 ("Intension", "Wings for Marie Part 1")
F♯2 ("Wings for Marie Part 1")
F2 ("Drunk With Power")
E2 ("Vagina Mine")
E♭2 ("Drunk With Power", "Momma Sed")
D2 ("Indigo Children", "Lateralus", "Queen B.")
C♯2 ("Let's Have a War")
C2 ("Rosetta Stoned", "Trekka")
B1 ("Indigo Children")
G1 ("Queen B.")

http://therangeplace.forummotions.com/t414-maynard-james-keenan

 

[Fourth Storm]

Is Geoff Tate on the list?

I wonder if he has a larger range than axle? If not, then "where do we go now, ahh where do we go now"

Tate should definitely be on that list, as he had in his prime both a rich lower register and full sounding high notes. I don't think he hit anything above that high b flat though. Nor did he croak out anything below that F1. This study obviously doesn't really take quality of tone or resonance into account, which is where he truly shines imo, but then again, that's all pretty subjective. Still would have liked to see him up there.

Maybe if he and Queensryche didn't go down the shitter in the 90s, he'd be well known enough to have made this list.

 

[Booty Patrol]

The link in the OP crashed my phone browser twice

 

[zer0blivion]

I wonder where Martin Tielli would fall on that scale.

Rheostatics - Shaved Head

 

[hachi]

The explanation is pretty simple:

1) Did I hear something that sounded particularly low or high?
2) If yes, how low or high was it?
3) Write it down as part of his range.

Voilà; you have that person's total range. It's sort of meaningless without more context and creates false equivalencies but that's what it is.

Though you are using something of mismatched comparison, because those ranges are based on operatic voices. Those bass notes are the lowest notes that a bass can project without a microphone and over instrumentation; they aren't necessarily the lowest notes a bass could possibly hit.

Oh, I'm well aware of all the close-mic techniques that allow for sub-bass notes to be used, but the measurement of a legitimate note still needs some basic scrutiny. I focused on Bowie because I know all his tracks so well, and it's absurd to say that the very slight fry you can barely discern during a slide up to a note in that song has anything to do with his range. Anyone can make that near whisper of a sound at that frequency into a mic, and I actually mean pretty much anyone, no hyperbole. On the other hand, the B1 hit by Johnny Cash in Daddy Sang Bass--while also using some guttural fry--is actually sung and used melodically with power.

There are further problems here with condensing an entire career. Bowie's lower range has always been pretty resonant, but he never hit notes below an E2 anytime in his younger years, likewise only hitting those very high notes they measured during the early period and not late (and usually skips or alters very high notes in concert once he aged). I feel that the very real issue of a range that slowly shifts downward over time, particularly in male vocalists, is not handled at all.

In essence, the notes measured are so useless that one walks away from this chart with less understanding of the respective ranges, rather than more, and that's a problem. Someone needed a more meaningful operational definition before they measured.

 

[Jayburner]

We can all agree last 20 years is complete garbage for vocals or any type of music?

 

[thoseAREmySHOES]

I didn't realize Eminem's high notes in Not Afraid were actually him... I thought it was some sort of digital effect or something. Huh.

 

[Touchdown]

lmao @ the lack of georgia brown


my girl slays mariah both live and in the studio

and doesn't even have to pretend live, unlike NOTED FAKERS xtina/childpleaseriah

 

[Sinnick]

I would find the chart more meaningful if it compared each artist's "singable" vocal range. I'm listening to Prince's "God" which supposedly contains his highest recorded note and I seriously question whether he could actually hit that B6 while singing. Can he squeak or shriek it out? Yes, but I'm sure a lot of regular folks could do the same which makes the feat not quite as impressive.

 

[Rektash]

Just leaving that here!

High notes in the second part are just insane.

 

[lenovox1]

We can all agree last 20 years is complete garbage for vocals or any type of music?

The type of singing done is different, it's amplified, but there haven't been as many technically accomplished singers on Broadway since classical vocalist used to do musical theatre as a nice diversion or vacation.

 

[Mumei]

Oh, I'm well aware of all the close-mic techniques that allow for sub-bass notes to be used, but the measurement of a legitimate note still needs some basic scrutiny. I focused on Bowie because I know all his tracks so well, and it's absurd to say that the very slight fry you can barely discern during a slide up to a note in that song has anything to do with his range. Anyone can make that near whisper of a sound at that frequency into a mic, and I actually mean pretty much anyone, no hyperbole. On the other hand, the B1 hit by Johnny Cash in Daddy Sang Bass--while also using some guttural fry--is actually sung and used melodically with power.

There are further problems here with condensing an entire career. Bowie's lower range has always been pretty resonant, but he never hit notes below an E2 anytime in his younger years, likewise only hitting those very high notes they measured during the early period and not late (and usually skips or alters very high notes in concert once he aged). I feel that the very real issue of a range that slowly shifts downward over time, particularly in male vocalists, is not handled at all.

In essence, the notes measured are so useless that one walks away from this chart with less understanding of the respective ranges, rather than more, and that's a problem. Someone needed a more meaningful operational definition before they measured.

Well, yes. You are quite correct; it is essentially useless because there are no standards used for what notes count and what notes don't count. Instead, the standard is, "Did he produce it out of his mouth? It counts!" which is why it looks like most everyone has a three and a half to four octave range, when most of them probably sing within a fairly ordinary-for-pop two or two and a half octaves at a given point in their careers.

But I was only trying to clarify that the argument that the argument that, "They ascribe a G1 to David Bowie. If capable of truly hitting anything that low, he'd be a Basso Profundo, which is very rare," would be accurate only if they were talking about his usable vocal range while using the standards of operatic music.

 

[SegaShack]

When I first heard 2000 Watts, I was blown away at how deep his voice was. So good.

It's obvious that they didn't search Michael's catalog for his deepest and highest vocals. 2000 Watts is deeper than anything. Hell Butterflies changes between incredibly deep to very high. Butterflies, Someone Put Your Hand Out, Don't Stop Till You Get Enough, and Lovely One are much higher than Smooth Criminal.

 

[zer0blivion]

They posted an update.

Turns out Mike Patton, and not Axl Rose, is the greatest singer of all time

 

[CheesecakeRecipe]

They posted an update.

Turns out Mike Patton, and not Axl Rose, is the greatest singer of all time

I mean, we all knew this from the get go anyways.

 

[bennywhatever]

Surprised they didn't list Myles Kennedy, the frontman that's singing with Slash now. He has the same range as Axl, except he can actually control it.

 

[teruterubozu]

They posted an update.

Turns out Mike Patton, and not Axl Rose, is the greatest singer of all time

I'm surprised they counted David Lee Roth's hoarse hawk squeals as actual notes.

 

[jufonuk]

No Rob Halford?

breaking the law, of good singers being represented

They posted an update.

Turns out Mike Patton, and not Axl Rose, is the greatest singer of all time

he is amazing.

 

[Obscura]

Where is Diamanda Galas?

Edit: Just saw the updated list. Nice... Really cool to see Devin Townsend get some recognition.

 

[CloudWolf]

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.

I find it mindblowing that people can figure this out from just listening to performances.

 

[Revolver]

Where is Diamanda Galas?

Just below Patton in the updated list. I'm okay with that.