Members Mr Songwriter Posted June 21, 2007 Members Share Posted June 21, 2007 I was just going through the songs in my band's set before on my guitar and I figured out that the lowest note that the main singer regularly sings is probably G (3rd fret on the thick E string, she has quite a low voice for a woman) and the highest note that she can comfortably do is B below Middle C (my understanding being that Middle C on the guitar is the first fret on the B string) which would give her a range of about 1? octaves. When I look at it like that it doesn't sound like very much, but I'm wondering if that's typical or not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dexter Frank Jr Posted June 21, 2007 Members Share Posted June 21, 2007 Usually, most singers are capable of singing in 1 1/2 to 2 octaves comfortably (without losing air/punch). Myself as I'm a tenor do ok from B-B on a normal day. There are very few that go over 2 1/2 octaves and still sing well in both ends. The weird thing about the range of this woman you post about is she's basically got the range of a baritone certainly not a "natural" range for a woman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr Songwriter Posted June 21, 2007 Author Members Share Posted June 21, 2007 Usually, most singers are capable of singing in 1 1/2 to 2 octaves comfortably (without losing air/punch). Myself as I'm a tenor do ok from B-B on a normal day. There are very few that go over 2 1/2 octaves and still sing well in both ends. Ah, thanks for the info. The weird thing about the range of this woman you post about is she's basically got the range of a baritone certainly not a "natural" range for a woman. You're not the first person to have pointed that out to her, but she's had two kids, so I'm pretty sure she must be female. That kind of range is handy too, because it means we can do a lot of guitar band songs (Beatles etc) in the original keys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members maybeyes2 Posted June 21, 2007 Members Share Posted June 21, 2007 Usually, most singers are capable of singing in 1 1/2 to 2 octaves comfortably (without losing air/punch). Myself as I'm a tenor do ok from B-B on a normal day. There are very few that go over 2 1/2 octaves and still sing well in both ends. The weird thing about the range of this woman you post about is she's basically got the range of a baritone certainly not a "natural" range for a woman. While I agree with your comment on 1.5-2 octave range being normal. I have to disagree on the Baritone comment. My wife sings in a chorus and does barbershop stuff as well and there are many women who are in the Bass and Baritone range, although as a whole we tend to think that it is unusual. I think we see it as unusual because in mainstream we only tend to see the lead and tenor voices. Not many female singers that are well known sing bass or baritone. Therefore, we tend to see it as an anomaly when it really isn't:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Anesthesia Posted June 21, 2007 Members Share Posted June 21, 2007 Well after 6 singing lessons I can just hit the low E on a guitar and I can hit the F on 10G with my falsetto. This give me pretty much 2 octaves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RupertB Posted June 21, 2007 Members Share Posted June 21, 2007 Me: Two octaves D to D in chest voice. Maybe another half an octave of falsetto. Always sang baritone in the choir. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vanlatte Posted June 21, 2007 Members Share Posted June 21, 2007 I don't think there is any such thing as a "typical" range, everybody is different. In fact a lot of singers would sound much better if they find their own range and stick to it, instead of trying to sing outside of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrcpro Posted June 21, 2007 Members Share Posted June 21, 2007 That kind of range is handy too, because it means we can do a lot of guitar band songs (Beatles etc) in the original keys. That's very unusual. I've worked with a lot of females, and I can't recall any that couldn't get at least up to an E above middle C. I think that you're figuring this wrong though. A range that low will not allow you to sing any Beatles songs in their original key. Not even "Words Of Love", the lowest one I can think of off the top of my head, which goes as high as D above middle C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Scafeets Posted June 21, 2007 Members Share Posted June 21, 2007 I have 1/8 of an octave range. I guess that's why the band keeps me fourth on the vocal depth chart....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nerol1st Posted June 21, 2007 Members Share Posted June 21, 2007 I can do 2 octaves my girl can do 2 and a half (clasically trained). The average is between 1.5 and 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ToneGrail Posted June 21, 2007 Members Share Posted June 21, 2007 3 1/2 octaves here. The top half octave is falsetto. Consistently, I can sing from the lowest E on a guitar to the highest A at the 17th fret on the 1st string. Depending on how late it is in the day, I can go as high as the 19th fret on the high E string. In the morning my vocal chords aren't stretched out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ihateyouguys Posted June 21, 2007 Members Share Posted June 21, 2007 My normal range is F below low C (first fret on low E string) to at least the B above middle C, so about 2 and a half octaves without going into falsetto. When I'm practicing (which I haven't been lately), I can extend the bottom to E and take the high range up a bit so the range becomes about 3 octaves. The good news for your singer is that I've found it's a lot easier to extend the range up than it is to go down. With good breath support you can move enough air fast enough to let physics work for you, but once you get down to the bottom of your range, it's harder to go much lower without it sounding unnatural. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rhat Posted June 21, 2007 Members Share Posted June 21, 2007 To me the big deal isnt the range as much as where your break point falls. For a song in C i can sing it up or down an octive, However its not my best key to sing in. Give me G or A anyday. Now that may not be what technically is a break point ...since you have another one where you go into tiny tim mode lol. rat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Real MC Posted June 21, 2007 Members Share Posted June 21, 2007 Many famous singers don't have much more than an octave range in their voice whether they are baritone, tenor, alto, or soprano. The range usually drop as you age. Phil Collins and Geddy Lee can't hit those high notes like they used to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ihateyouguys Posted June 21, 2007 Members Share Posted June 21, 2007 I don't think there is any such thing as a "typical" range, everybody is different. In fact a lot of singers would sound much better if they find their own range and stick to it, instead of trying to sing outside of it. To add to that, I think most singers should concentrate on the portion of their range where they're most comfortable instead of constantly spending time at the peaks of their range. IMHO those upper and lower extremes should be reserved for occasional runs during a song, not be the place they spend the entire song. The upper 1/3 of my range sounds good and I'm glad I can get there for certain songs, but I really don't want to stay there for long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr Songwriter Posted June 21, 2007 Author Members Share Posted June 21, 2007 That's very unusual. I've worked with a lot of females, and I can't recall any that couldn't get at least up to an E above middle C. I think that you're figuring this wrong though. A range that low will not allow you to sing any Beatles songs in their original key. Not even "Words Of Love", the lowest one I can think of off the top of my head, which goes as high as D above middle C. Actually, now that you mention it we have changed a couple of the keys on the Beatles numbers we do : All my loving (a semitone higher than the record)A little help from my friends (transposed from C up to F) ...but we do do 'I should have known better' in the original key, but she doesn't always hit that high B note. We used to do 'Help' in the original key too, but she was having trouble with that high note on 'Please' at the end. We also do 'Hide your love away' in the original G. The good news for your singer is that I've found it's a lot easier to extend the range up than it is to go down. With good breath support you can move enough air fast enough to let physics work for you, but once you get down to the bottom of your range, it's harder to go much lower without it sounding unnatural. Thanks, I will tell her that, I don't think she's ever had any lessons, so it might be worth a go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrcpro Posted June 21, 2007 Members Share Posted June 21, 2007 She's got a pretty normal range then. The highest note on "Hide Your Love Away" is G4- the G above middle C. The "Please" harmony note in "Help" (key of A) is actually C#5- an octave and one above middle C, with the low harmony note A4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fingerpicker Posted June 21, 2007 Members Share Posted June 21, 2007 If I am healthy I can do some rock songs where the highest notes are around the 5th fret high E string . (Like All Right Now -free)My bandmates can hit notes on the 10th fret high E! We are doing Tesla, GnR, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gomer Pyle Posted June 22, 2007 Members Share Posted June 22, 2007 I'm 52 and go from the open E to the twelfth fret on the high E. 3 octaves for me. I lost about two half steps in the last 25 years or so but I don't sing in that range as often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nerol1st Posted June 22, 2007 Members Share Posted June 22, 2007 Your voice doesn't stop developing until your somewhere in your mid 30s. This is information told to me by my girl. This is why young people can't get main parts in operas, apparently it will blow out your voice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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