The Best Vocal Ranges

mike_l

I thought Roger Waters took the lower vocals and David Gilmour or Richard Wright took the higher.

I could be wrong, it wouldn't be the first time.

Lixarto

Don't get me wrong, I like his voice, but he can't really sing.

(Sometimes I sound a bit like him ...)

close2u

I too thought 'Roger Waters'???

I'm wondering if they included his total recorded output and some of that was high-pitched screams and shouts.

Grunfeld

Some of those extremes of range just look wrong... but I wonder if I'm getting confused with where middle C is again (this is just one of those facts which I can never remember).

Let's take the example of:
Roy Orbison - 3 octaves (E2 to E5)

What frets are those?  (I know where to find frets!)

Lixarto

close2u said:

I too thought 'Roger Waters'???

I'm wondering if they included his total recorded output and some of that was high-pitched screams and shouts.

Yes, this crossed my mind too. If that's the case, I think the researchers are being wilfully perverse.

PolarityMan

Lixarto said:

close2u said:

I too thought 'Roger Waters'???

I'm wondering if they included his total recorded output and some of that was high-pitched screams and shouts.

Yes, this crossed my mind too. If that's the case, I think the researchers are being wilfully perverse.

I'm pretty sure that is why Mike Patton is so high, he makes some pretty weird ass noises.

imalone

No Shirley Bassey? Had a quick look and apparently not that high either, think she'd come in below Karen O, who I really like, but maybe not the best way to compare singers.

EricTheWeary

I suppose range also doesn't mean being able to hit the notes between accurately.

imalone

PolarityMan said:

Lixarto said:

close2u said:

I too thought 'Roger Waters'???

I'm wondering if they included his total recorded output and some of that was high-pitched screams and shouts.

Yes, this crossed my mind too. If that's the case, I think the researchers are being wilfully perverse.

I'm pretty sure that is why Mike Patton is so high, he makes some pretty weird ass noises.

Where are you putting the hyphen there?

sweepy

Doesn't mean a damn if they can't carry a tune, both tonally and emotionally

monquixote

It get's thrown around that a lot of singers have a six octave vocal range without a real consideration of what that means. 

Marah Carey has a bit over five and it's nuts how high she can sing. 

I think the Axl Rose claims are based on the crazy lows he hits in some of the G&R backing vocals 

FelineGuitars

Axl Rose has several ranges - almost like 3 different voices he utilises but they don't seem to run into each other , so I do question if his range should be counted as continuous.

Freddie Mercury's range got smaller later in his career because of nodes/nodules on is vocal chords, but he used his range really well and had a lot of emotion in his voice

koneguitarist

How can anyone put Elvis below so much dross is unbelievable to me

viz

James Labrie 2.5 octaves? That guy has 4 at least.

thisisguitar

Bobby McFerrin can sing polyphonically…. (if you watch this whole clip you're in for a treat)

scrumhalf

Marcie Levy (Shakespeare's Sister and Eric Clapton's late 70s band) has a huge range. The only problem was she insisted on using it on every bloody song.

I don't understand how Axl has got there, all I can hear are different versions of a cat being scalded.

richardhomer

scrumhalf;259856" said:

Marcie Levy (Shakespeare's Sister and Eric Clapton's late 70s band) has a huge range. The only problem was she insisted on using it on every bloody song.

She takes the lead vocal on 'Innocent Times' on EC's 'No Reason To Cry' album which is spectacularly over the top. There's a sort of 'okay, this might be my only chance to be in the spotlight' quality to it.

And then she became Marcella Detroit and did it again....

Octahedron

Honestly some in the list really surprised me! I wouldn't have thought Maynard from Tool and Serj from System of a Down would really have that impressive a vocal range!!!

Where's Freddie Mercury and Justin Hawkins?? OR the chick from this band... There's some power in this voice: