Not everyone listens to music to admire the voice and the vocal range of the leading singer. For many listeners, the most important thing is the music or beat. Some are willing to ignore the singer’s range and the lyrics for the sake of the music. However the most successful bands/singers are usually the ones who manage to combine quality music, meaningful lyrics and a great vocal range.Vocal Range is basically “the measure of the breadth of pitches that a human voice can” vocalize (Wikipedia definition).
Basically, it is how low and how high a note a voice can produce while singing. Sometimes it is about “talent” and sometimes can be an obligation or a choice, as singers of different genres may use aids for singing (microphones, talk-boxes and such) and they may choose to sing in different ranges.Vocal ranges are used to determine voice types.
For women, the main three types are soprano, mezzo-soprano, and contralto. For men, there are four types: countertenor, tenor, baritone, and bass.Since letters and numbers are used for classifying vocal ranges according to voice type, I should list those notations and what they represent before bragging about some of rock’s diverse vocals.For men: it is C3- C5 for tenor, F2- F4 for baritone and for bass, it is E2- E4. For Women: it is C4- C6 for Soprano, A3 — A5 for Mezzo-soprano and F3 – F5 for Contralto.Some singers can go beyond these limits. The Rock VocalistsFreddie Mercury was the singer/songwriter/piano player of the highly popular and critically acclaimed rock band Queen from the time the band was formed in 1971 until his death in 1991.Freddie’s speaking voice was in the baritone range but he preferred singing in the tenor range. His range included F2 — E6, to F6 and F5.Freddie’s vocals were over a four-octave range.Roger Meddows- Taylor is the Queen drummer and he provided back-up vocals as well.
He frequently contributed to the band’s songwriting process and he even sang lead vocals for the songs he created himself. While Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant was great at singing high notes (for instance E4), he couldn’t sing very low. Both Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor could sing as high as Plant but they could also go much lower (A1 for Roger Taylor and E1 for Freddie Mercury. Even though Freddie has a higher range, he has been inspired and influenced by Plant’s singing style.Elvis Presley is both a tenor and a baritone.
In one music critic’s words, Elvis is “a high baritone, calculating his range as two octaves and a third, from the baritone low G to the tenor high B, with an upward extension in falsetto to at least a D-flat.”Linda Ronstadt is an American rock singer born in 1946. She is mostly famous for singing cover songs and her high vocal range. Her voice can go from contralto and soprano. And just like Freddie Mercury, she is known to use her range in one song.Matthew Bellamy is the singer/songwriter/piano and guitar player of the alternative/progressive rock band Muse. He has been known to hit A2, A4 and A5.Axl Rose is the singer of the hard rock band Guns N’ Roses, founded in 1985.
Nov 02, 2007 Singers of 01011001: Steve Lee and Anneke van Giersbergen - Duration: 5:24. Joseph Burdette 40,061 views. Jun 11, 2016 - Band-Exodus Voice type-tenor Vocal range-F2-G#5 Vocal octave-3 High notes: G#5-feeding time at Zoo, toxic waltz, G5-alone in the dark,.
The band lost its original line-up in 1996 (lead guitarist Slash and several other members left) but Axl continues to front the band. Axl can sing in the tenor range, bass and baritone. Moreover he can also sing a high soprano. All of the above mentioned singers are and were AWESOME as well of those many others that are not being mentioned for now (still way to many out there of the same or better caliber) Bottom line is, let’s not forget that we are blessed for being able to appreciate and recognize their singing capability talents and for us to enjoy their singing quality components and styles. All of us to be lucky to be alive and have the honor and prestige to enjoy their singing rocking style and to be part of it all in this rock and roll world. Just the thought of selecting who is the best singer and competing for which one sings the best and giving different personal opinions, that on itself is GREAT. The selection determination process it is just magical when you appreciate their power chords, and all the singers that we enjoy listening to on our daily lives are not just winners but our number one brothers as well.
As it is well known, it all depends on different factors such as the state of mind, age, personal situation, etc. To determine who is the “ultimate singer king” thank goodness is always hard and thanks to the many choices on the rock singing profession and that should be construed as an AWESOME thing as well. You people need to get off Farrokh Bulsara’s (Freddie Mercury) bandwagon. He was a great singer. Not denying thatBut he was far from the highest ranged or the “greatest,” which is all a matter of opinion anyway.There are far more singers who had a higher range, and in my opinion, more style and class than he did.
And they also had more depth than he did.Any 80s and early 90s hard rock/ heavy metal singer blows Mercury out of the water.Mike Matijevic, Mark Slaughter, and Rob Halford sing circles around Mercury.There are plenty more too.I’m also extremely surprised noone had Tim “Ripper” Owens on this list.He was the guy the movie Rock Star was made after. He took over as Judas Priest’s lead singer and I think he’s one of the top vocalists who ever sang a note.
Steve Perry is the best rock vocalist of all time! Listen to some of the albums and live shows between 1978 and 1981.
He is a tenor altino which is a very rare male voice. He has incredible range, power and beautiful vibrato, and clarity. He sings in the alto range and rarely uses falsetto, but when he does, it’s in the soprano rangeI demonstrated in the live versions of Wheeln the Sky is and Mother, Father. He also shows an unbelievable talent when demonstrating multiple accurate leaps bacback and forth over the passaggio.
He ruined some of these vocal abilities by performing over 200 shows a year. Steve Perry is also the best and most accurate vocally singing live.
The Big O is greatly underappreciated by the young crowd. His 4 octave range did not make use of falsetto.and it was smooth, full power and he did it with ease. He and another great song writer of the early 60’s wrote his biggest hits to demonstrate his wonderful range and smooth delivery.For the record, I totally agree with the sane comments here that ranges of 5 octaves and wider are mistaken.
No human has that kind of range. The low A of a piano literally vibrates at a point that’s an octave or more lower than well known bass singers like Josh Turner, Johnny Cash and Trace Adkins can reach while high C is probably 12 notes higher than a squeaky soprano can reach. There is admittedly a Brazilian soprano who can squeak almost 8 octaves starting from typical soprano range and extended well beyond piano range but it’s called a whistle and can’t be discerned by human hearing so rule that exception out.Folks need to get real. I’m really happy someone mentioned Corey Taylor on here. He amazes me.
“Wait And Bleed” by Slipknot to me really showcases his unique ability to sing perfectly clear and melodic then go into straight up Death Metal vocals and back to clear again then back to Death Metal vocals and so on. And he sings pretty much all melodic in Stone Sour and has a fantastic voice.I know he trains with Melissa Cross in NYC. She teaches most of the extreme Metal singers to do what they do without harming their voices. If you want to get a taste of her techniques get either or both of The Zen of Screaming Part 1 and The Zen of Screaming Part 2.
This is the dumbest thing on the internet. “SIX OCTAVES”! LOL obviously no actual singers posting here.3 octaves of mere chest+head voice is very impressive, especially if those 3 octaves are included in their tessitura.If you go to a vocal school, you won’t find many men that can have a resonant G2 in chest, and have a controlled G5 in head or mix voice.Of course you’re talking “rock singers” which accepts any old sloppy screeching and has NO standards at all in terms of technical accuracy. Freddie Mercury could not even sing WWTLF written in the original key of G, FFS let alone pull off the actual difficulties required to sing that song “correctly”. I will assume for a second that you know about music and its technical performance as much as you claim to.
Glenn Hughes? Better than the lot of them and he still has the same range as he had in his “prime”, Freddie actually decreased in his range as he got older, but Glenn Hughes only developed a stronger control of his vocals. Even in his 60’s he could sing the pants off of anyone. I am pretty sure that Taylor sings falsetto when he does the really high notes, and falsetto shouldnt be included in your “vocal range”, because then basically everybody has 4 octaves.
Glenn Hughes has always had an incredibly high head voice, like Freddie Mercury. He should actually be the one doing the modern Queen shows rather than Paul Rodgers.Rob Halford also had an extremely impressive range in his prime (Sad wings of Destiny-era), he later started singing falsetto after Defenders of the Faith. You should listen to the song Dreamer Deciever/Deciever, there he sets an example of his not only incredible range, but his extreme capacity of control.Ian Gillan had an extreme vocal range just before and after he started playing in Deep Purple. If you listen to the original album of Jesus Christ Superstar, he completely overshadows the rest of the vocalists.
I think the decision of having Ted Neeley doing the musical and movie was a very good choice, as Ian Gillan simply would have stolen the show. Although around the time of “Who do we think we are” you could actually see that he was beginning to wear himself out and on the “Born Again”-album he displays some seriously high notes, however they are aswell in falsetto.King Diamond is another notable singer, who is renowned for his incredibly high notes, however they are always falsetto. Axl Rose also sings alot of falsetto and I highly doubt his head voice could match that of say Glenn Hughes.Singing in falsetto isn’t very hard, but it is extremely hard to manage to control it and make it sound clean.
Steve Lee Vocal Range Reviews
It is actually very hard to even hit the right notes without intense training. King Diamond perfected the art of falsetto-singing, but his head voice took damage from it, as it did with Axl Rose and other falsetto singers. It is very hard to maintain a good falsetto over the course of 40 years it is, however, easier to take care of a really good head voice, given that you are not smoking and screaming at your wife too much. Freddy Mercury was a smoker and so his head voice was somewhat stagnated in his late career. Still, all of them are amazing singers, but Glenn Hughes truly has the best voice of rock n roll. Axl Rose did NOT sing in falsetto.
I know his teacher, Ron Anderson, and we discussed Axl.’s voice. I being a classically trained tenor knew it wasn’t falsetto. It’s completely connected tone. More specifically he’s singing in the pharyngeal voice which is what most high rock singers use. You’re shortening the vocal tract which accentuates the higher frequencies and allows one to sing higher into head voice. Then he twangs the epiglottis. Basically partially closes the epiglottis so the sound emitted from the vocal folds bounce off that additional reflective surface which gives the voice a brassy tone.
What many think of as nasal. So much of this thread is subjective. We all have our favorite singers.
To me Freddie Mercury is a music genius. He wrote beautiful songs and fronted one of the best bands in history. His voice is amazing and if it declined in his “older” years, remember he sang right up the the last few months until he died at age 45. Freddie is my #1 forever. Chris Cornell was absolutely fantastic in the Soundgarden’s days.
“I am the highway” proved he never lost it. I don’t count octaves, A voice that sends chills down my spine is my sound meter. Peace to all.
Teaching a rock singer can be a very challenging experience. As a voice teacher, it’s easy to get trapped in between creating a healthy technical foundation for the voice and matching the extreme demands of the singer’s particular rock genre. In this blog, we want to give you some ideas for how to make this an easier task.
What do rock singers need?Before we can think about how to best teach rock singers, we need to understand the requirements of the genre. From the perspective of vocal technique, what is it that rock singers need to be able to do in order to be true to their genre?Although there are many sub-genres in rock music with different sound ideals, nearly all of them demand that you sing in a pitch range that isn’t easily accessible to most. It is the area in between what we call the first and third passages (in male voices between E4 and Eb5, and in female voices between A4 and Ab5). Some rock music even goes beyond that range.
And most rock music not only occasionally goes there, but it basically lives there for the biggest part of the song! So the first thing a rock singer needs is good control over this comparatively high pitch range; it has to become very natural for the singer to use it.In many cases, rock music also requires an aggressive sound. Singers often try to produce this sound by pushing the voice too hard, which makes it even harder to sustain the relatively high pitches.
Regularly pushing the voice too hard will also increase the risk for vocal damage or functional problems. So a second important vocal skill that you need to have as a rock singer is being able to produce aggressive sounds in a relatively safe way. General strategyThe main technical goal with rock singers should be the same as with every other singer: You need to establish vocal balance as the home base for their voices. But in many cases, the way to that goal might be a little different than usual.
You will have to tolerate and even use certain deviations from vocal balance if they help the singer stay true to the requirements of their genre.In order to get a better idea of what I’m talking about, let’s look at a very common example that you will find in many rock voices. The typical rock singer will face the problem that they can push their voice to a certain point as they approach the top notes, but then at a certain pitch—when they can’t push any harder—they will have a break in their voice. That’s because they want to hang on too hard to the feeling of chest voice and a thicker vocal fold. Ironically, their approach eventually causes the very opposite; there is so much muscular engagement that they suddenly have to completely let go to a very thin vocal fold. Then they lose any connection to the chest voice in order to be able to raise the pitch further.So what you will have to do as their teacher is thin out the vocal coordination before the break and thicken it above the break.
Since most singers aren’t immediately able to find a perfectly balanced coordination, you have two options while they are working on it: Number one is to have the singer lean toward a headier and thinner coordination in order to stop the pushing and pulling before the break. From this position, you could then gradually thicken the sound again.Now is this a good idea for rock singers? The answer is, it depends.
From a technical point of view, it might be if the singer pulls so hard that nothing else makes them stop. With regard to sound, it might work for a female symphonic metal singer or a male singer who wants to sound like Coldplay. But if you intend to sing Classic Rock, Hard Rock, or Power Metal, this alone surely isn’t your preferred strategy, and this approach to vocal balance simply wouldn’t be very suitable to your genre.Therefore, a much better (second) strategy for most rock singers is to gradually thin out the pushed and chest-dominated sounds. That doesn’t mean that you can’t also mix headier exercises into your lesson plan. In fact, you will have to do so in order to really balance out their voices. But while you do so, you have to make sure that singers also practice getting closer to vocal balance while still being able to hold on to what gives them their characteristic sound.
Working on vocal technique shouldn’t feel like you are taking their voices apart or are taking away from their style. How to make this happenThe so-called pharyngeal sounds are usually great tools to thin out the voice while the singer is still able to hold on to some of the stability of the thicker chest feeling. Producing pharyngeal sounds involves raising the larynx in a way that helps to thin out the vocal folds while at the same time creating a sound that is very compatible with the biggest part of rock music. With these effects, they usually also serve as great range-building tools for rock singers.Still, these unfinished sounds shouldn’t be the final destination of a singer’s vocal development. Once they have easy access to the required range, you should start to move toward a less pharyngeal and more normal sound.
Because even if a slightly raised larynx is quite common in rock music, a singer needs to develop the skill to also sing and vocalise with a more relaxed larynx posture. Otherwise, the voice will never become truly balanced and can’t develop its full potential.If the pharyngeal exercises don’t have the desired effect, as an alternative strategy, you should try a combination of low larynx exercises and edgy sounds. This will relax the singer’s vocal production while the edgy sounds help to connect to more chest voice and feeling.It’s also a good idea to pay attention to any kind of manipulation through extrinsic muscles around the larynx.
In particular, you want to monitor tension in the tongue, the jaw, or the neck musculature and address it accordingly.Please also be aware that vowels in rock songs, especially in the hook lines, are usually pretty open. Acoustically, this is necessary in order to produce the sound and intensity associated with the genre. So even though more closed vowels may help you to encourage thinning out a too-thick and chest-dominated coordination, keep in mind that you will ultimately have to go back to more open vowels. Therefore, you should start to challenge the singer with open vowels as soon as possible. See if they can keep the more balanced vocal production as you put them on more and more open vowels.
Be prepared for some back and forth between different vowel shapes.For this purpose, it is helpful to consider that adding a slightly pharyngeal character to the voice can make it easier to open the vowels and still have relatively thin vocal folds. As the singer starts to master the more open vowels that way, you should try to gradually reduce the pharyngeal character. Remember that at the end of the day, we want the singer to be able to sing with a relaxed larynx position, not imposed to any extreme. Song choiceWorking on the right songs is critical in rock music.
There is so much material that is very, very hard to sing, and as a teacher, you want to make sure that you don’t overburden the singer. This is even more important in rock, since most of the time you are dealing with pretty aggressive sounds. There is no reason to unnecessarily increase the chance of hurting the voice by pushing for high notes or melody lines that are simply out of reach or clearly too difficult at the singer’s current stage of vocal development.As a guideline, you don’t want the song to go into an area that the singer can’t constantly vocalise in. What about effects?Many people make a big deal out of learning vocal effects like distortion, screaming, growling, etc. But when you approach these effects from a balanced vocal function, they really aren’t that hard.
Actually, for many singers, these effects come pretty naturally once the “clean” vocal sound is in place and balanced. Then producing these effects only requires minor adjustments to the vocal tract, which tires out the voice a lot less than they would otherwise.Trying to work on effects before the “clean” sound is well-established is possible, but it quickly creates bad habits.
So if you want to train vocal effects before the voice is balanced well, do it in a pitch area that can already be produced easily.Producing aggressive rock sounds and effects can become very tempting to the singer. Thus, you want to make sure they understand that in order to keep everything functioning well, they have to tune their voices toward vocal balance and not toward those extreme sounds. Because in the long run, regardless of the strategy you choose for a rock voice, the goal is to always make vocal balance their home base. Some examplesIt’s always good to also have examples to listen to when you talk about singing. So here are some rock song examples with singers who are really good at combining good vocal technique with a genre-typic rock sound. Of course there are many more, but these few you don’t want to miss:“Jane” by Mickey Thomas with Jefferson StarshipMickey’s ease of vocal production is simply outstanding, and he manages to create a great rock sound using very few vocal effects. Please also pay attention to the fact that although his voice is balanced very well, for stylistic reasons, Mickey Thomas sings with a slightly raised larynx that many would refer to as a little “twang.”“Don’t Stop Believin'” by Steve Perry with JourneyIn this track, you can hear that Steve Perry’s sound is a little heavier than Mickey Thomas’s.
Steve Lee Wrestling
That is partly due to his vocal timbre, but it also has to do with the fact that he sings this song with a little thicker vocal production and partly very open vowels. For instance, listen to the words “girl” (0:19–0:20), “South” (0:39–0:40) or “nights” (1:50–1:54), to name a few very obvious examples.
That all contributes to a little rougher vocal sound than the one we heard from Mickey Thomas, although it would still be classified as a “clean” sound.“Year of the Tiger” by Myles KennedyDiving into more recent rock music, you can hear the raised larynx even more clearly in Myles Kennedy’s voice than in the examples before. He seems to do that from a balanced vocal home base so it won’t keep him from reaching the high notes.“Run for Cover” by Brandon Flowers with The KillersBrandon Flowers truly exemplifies that you can be a successful rock singer without strongly relying on a raised larynx sound. Listen to how little of that pharyngeal/twangy sound he uses in his singing. Of course that’s also a stylistic choice and not adequate for all genres of rock music (maybe not even for all of The Killer’s songs), but it is a nice and interesting contrast to the other examples.“Sweet Sacrifice” by Amy Lee with EvanescenceAs the first female example, Amy Lee’s pretty, well-balanced voice allows her to mix aggressive Power Metal with Symphonic Metal elements in this song. Pay attention to the open vowels and slightly raised larynx in the more aggressive parts contrasted with the more closed vowels with a lower larynx position during the more legit and symphonic passages.“Whataya Want from Me” By Adam LambertAdam Lambert has managed to establish himself as a pretty serious rock singer over the last several years, especially since he is touring the world as Queen’s new front man. His voice is a great example of how a balanced instrument and the constant use of vocal effects can go hand-in-hand.
In this song, listen for the ease in vocal production when he is going through his range, adding distortion effects on many notes.“Try” by P!nkIn this last example by P!nk, you’ll be able to hear a lot of the things we have already talked about before: the open vowels, slightly raised larynx, vocal effects, etc. Still, everything is happening relatively close to vocal balance, making it a very sustainable way of singing rock music.I hope you enjoyed this blog and that it was of some help to you. If you have any questions about this or another topic, post them in the comments section below!
Andreas is a founding member, mentor teacher and manager of the Institute for Vocal Advancement (IVA), an organisation based in Las Vegas, Nevada that trains singing teachers and singers worldwide. He runs a very successful voice studio in his hometown of Graz, the second biggest city in Austria where he trains singers from all over Austria and Europe in person and over the Internet. Andreas is known for high-quality vocal instruction and effective help to singers of all genres and levels.Before Andreas decided to focus on singing and vocal pedagogy he graduated from law school and worked at a law firm that specialised in business and corporate law. He still lectures on constitutional and governmental law at the University of Technology in Graz. His legal background includes working at the Institute for Tax Law at the Law School of the Karl-Franzens-University at Graz, where he published articles and a book on Austrian and International tax law. Due to Andreas’ combined skills singers frequently consult with him for his expertise in dealing with the recording companies or for career advice.Andreas believes that the future development of vocal pedagogy will make old singing traditions and modern science meet. Having a comprehensive knowledge about classical and modern vocal pedagogy Andreas is currently also studying physics in Graz in order to be able to understand the scientific principles that govern vocal organ even better.