
The vocal ranges of the greatest artists of all time - seesawtron
https://www.concerthotels.com/worlds-greatest-vocal-ranges
======
piaste
If you're interested in this sort of thing, there's actually an internet forum
of geeks who are quite dedicated to collecting and reviewing the ranges of
many, many singers:

[https://therangeplanet.proboards.com](https://therangeplanet.proboards.com)

Here's the Dimash Kudaibergen page, for example:

[https://therangeplanet.proboards.com/thread/30/dimash-
kudaib...](https://therangeplanet.proboards.com/thread/30/dimash-kudaibergen)

------
watersb
[https://youtu.be/JEz1qGS0T1Q](https://youtu.be/JEz1qGS0T1Q)

Dimash Kudaibergen is a rare combination of uncanny natural ability and a hell
of a lot of training.

If you are interested in vocal range, I don't know anyone with a greater set
of vocal texture.

Opera musicians aren't on this list, but wide vocal range is table stakes for
that genre.

~~~
BjoernKW
A range of 6 octaves is positively superhuman.

Even Yma Sumac, who is often cited when it comes to the widest vocal range,
was just barely short of 6 octaves.

Since I've just looked this up: Tim Storms (
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Storms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Storms)),
the current world record holder when it comes to vocal range, has one of 10
octaves (with the lower end extending into infrasound, i.e. being inaudible to
the human ear)!

~~~
phaus
Mike Patton from Faith No More/Mr. Bungle/Tomahawk supposedly has a range of
6.5 octaves, but some people say it doesn't count because it includes
screaming. He does a lot of weird stuff but he's one of my favorite vocalists.
Regardless of whether or not his range is 6.5 octaves it is definitely
extraordinarily wide.

Tim Storms is an interesting case, I've heard of him before but honestly
before I heard his music I would have thought it would be impossible to have
the widest vocal range in human history and at the same time make music sound
so boring and lifeless.

I'm not into Christian music at all but even still Amazing Grace is a
legendary song. However, Tim's rendition of it makes me want to fall asleep.

The deepness of his voice is interesting, but out of all the clips of him
singing I haven't heard anything that made me feel like he was a world class
talent.

Which is quite different from everyone else mentioned in this thread. I don't
particularly like the work of many of the musicians mentioned here but their
performances are often astonishingly good.

~~~
NikolaeVarius
Whats wrong with screaming? Screaming and growling require very measured
technique

------
globular-toast
No Kate Bush? I suppose everyone will have their own favourite omission,
though.

I'm surprised that Karen Carpenter is not much different to Taylor Swift. The
former sounds a lot deeper, but I guess the difference is in timbre rather
than pitch.

I had no idea about the range of Axl Rose. But male singers always have an
advantage in that they can hit very low notes and also have access to
falsetto. Mariah Carey is also exceptional due to access to the whistle
register. Christina Aguilera is one of the more impressive singers on the list
for me.

Does "vocal range" necessarily mean the singers can hit every note (or every
possible pitch) between those notes? I know from singing myself that the notes
in the "overlap" portion between different vocal registers can be difficult.
Also some vowels are harder to hit at certain notes than others. This can make
some songs problematic even if they are technically within your range.

------
16bytes
I'm highly skeptical of the lower ranges. Typically, a professional bass has a
range down to around C2, and can hit a loud E2. There are some exceptionally
low voices, especially in Russian choirs[1] that routinely hit B1s, maybe even
a little lower.

To say that Axl Rose can hit an F1, is simply a mis-characterization of what
vocal range is. "There was a time" simply doesn't contain any vocals in that
range. Barry White did have an exceptionally low voice, but F#1 is similarly
unbelievable.

David Bowie growls out an atonal "Well..." in "I took a trip on a Gemini
spacecraft". How anybody assigned that a note value is beyond me.

The women have similar problems. Nine Simone hits an E2? That's an _octave_
below where contra-altos normally operate.

It seems "range" in this article means that the singer once produced a noise
that had a vague resemblance to a sung note that was interpreted by some
article writer. As opposed to say, something that could actually be written
down on sheet music and sung. Which is a shame because this list does include
some with exceptional ranges.

[1]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJWihxRM9bU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJWihxRM9bU)

------
rabidrat
That's really cool that they got the information for even some obscure talents
like BjÃ¶rk and BeyoncÃ©.

~~~
VMG
is it the http header?

    
    
        content-type: text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1
    
    

I suspect the developer used utf8 on his system but has no control over the
response headers

~~~
allendoerfer
In this case he could use http-equiv meta-tags.

~~~
VMG
there actually is a meta-tag with utf8 so my explanation doesn't seem to hold

------
kikokikokiko
As an amateur singer, I feel deeply disappointed by the fact that Chris
Cornell isn't on this list. The range this guy had was unbelievable, even in
his later years. I personally find it easier to sing Guns and Roses songs than
to sing Audioslave or Cornell's solo songs. Such a beast of a singer and
composer.

------
amelius
It would be nice if the _register(s)_ used by the artist for different parts
of the range were shown in the diagram.

For example it is much easier to sing in head register in the higher ranges
than in chest register. And as another example, Mariah Carey's famous high
notes are sung in flute register.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whistle_register](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whistle_register)

------
cambalache
"Greatest artists of all time"

Mostly American pop singers.

~~~
88840-8855
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr8ljRgcJNM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr8ljRgcJNM)

~~~
jbarberu
Interestingly I was actually looking to see if they had Till in the list :)

------
riztaak
Searched Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, couldn't find.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nusrat_Fateh_Ali_Khan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nusrat_Fateh_Ali_Khan)

~~~
seesawtron
Correct title "greatest artists in the West"?

~~~
seanhunter
More accurate would be "A selection of well-known Western pop musicians". Kind
of strange that hn is giving airtime to something like this.

------
clumsysmurf
Not a complete list without Bruce Dickinson !

~~~
manaskarekar
Here’s a longer list with some of the best vocalists, headed by none other
than Mike Patton.

[https://www.vintagevinylnews.com/2014/05/digging-deeper-
axl-...](https://www.vintagevinylnews.com/2014/05/digging-deeper-axl-rose-is-
not-singer.html?m=1)

~~~
dwd
Interesting list, surprised to see Doug Pinnick on there. I'm mainly familiar
with his bluesy style with Kings-X in the early 90s and would not have
suspected he had that kind of range.

------
ChrisMarshallNY
Does "The Singing Vacuum Cleaner" from _The Fifth Element_ count?

Despite the rather ludicrous costume given the actress, the singer behind that
piece is actually quite good:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inva_Mula](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inva_Mula)

~~~
dijit
For whatever it's worth, that song was considered to be impossible for humans
to actually perform..

Humans always being ready to destroy expectations, someone of course did it,
Jane Zhang the opera singer:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrJFNYOw4wk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrJFNYOw4wk)

~~~
mercer
Dimash does an amazing version too:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5zMupUOgQo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5zMupUOgQo)

------
pivic
I wish they'd have incorporated Diamanda Galás:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wau9-J1vPDM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wau9-J1vPDM)

------
dddw
I guess Mike Patton would have the whole range.

~~~
bravura
Yes, Mike Patton has even a larger range than Axl Rose. He is also much more
innovative and experimental, trying a variety of vocal techniques and song
styles, which is quite exciting.

------
dharmach
>>The World’s Greatest Singers

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kupamanduka](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kupamanduka)

------
sleepydog
I was expecting Whitney Houston to be higher in the list, there's really no
one like her.

~~~
nmpennypacker
Bingo. I'm not sure that her rendition of the Star Spangled Banner was taken
into consideration by this site.

------
Freeboots
This would be super cool if you could play audio of the artist, or just some
representation to give an idea of what this means in real life.

I've got no idea what keys play what sound, and even less idea what a "range"
is. It would be cool to hear something that would help me understand this.

~~~
mkl
I was hoping the piano keys at the bottom would play notes, but they don't.

~~~
karmakaze
Yes, seeing the keys at the bottom make me want so badly for them to be
clickable and play notes. Maybe even bind them to

    
    
      1..0-= (black keys)
      QW..OP[]\
    
      AS..I;' (black keys)
      ZX.../

------
ReptileMan
#define GREATNESS MOST_ALBUMS_SOLD

While there are some amazing voices on the list, it is mostly commercially
successful.

------
the_kLeZ
It's sad that they don't even thought about when in the timeline the vocal
note was sang and recorded. The majority of singers shift their vocal range as
they age. This is especially true for male singers that usually tend to shift
down their pitch.

~~~
gdubs
Paul McCartney is pretty competitive about this and likes to point out that
his contemporaries have lowered there pitch, and he has stayed the same.

Impressed at the Axl Rose numbers — I came looking for Robert Plant, who I’ve
always thought had a pretty insane range.

------
zabil
I am glad with just one album (in his lifetime) Jeff Buckley is on the list.

------
smitty1e
WTF Pat Benatar?

This list is just so many promises in the dark without her.

~~~
BjoernKW
I think you could say they just tried to hit you with their best shot.

------
Dahoon
"greatest USAnian pop-singers of all time"

------
codeulike
There's a song by the french artist Camille called Money Note which is a
sortof satire on the competition to achieve vocal range. The lyrics are pretty
funny. At the end she hits a C8, although its kindof as a shriek.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H3iix0CMJU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H3iix0CMJU)

------
mrep8
I think this is only US pop&rock industry, I'm sure there's singers out there
better than this. They are awesome, but I don't buy "World gratests...blah".
They forgot Ynwie Malmsteem singers, the guy from "Leonardo" song. Sebastian
Bach from Skid Row is there? Well...

------
FlyingSnake
It’sa sad day when shallow content like this reaches the HN front-page.
Calling a narrow subset of U.S.American/UK artists as “greatest artists of all
time” is a big joke on the art of singing.

Others are complaining about missing Nusrat Khan, or Dimash but heck, they
didn’t even include Western greats like Pavarotti!

~~~
matsemann
Ooor instead of being angry about the page and calling it a sad day, you could
be happy about the interesting discussion it generated? Lots of new stuff here
I've never heard about that was cool to check out.

~~~
kerkeslager
Ooor instead of responding only to people's emotions and trying to control
them, you could respond to the content of their post and admit they have a
point. We all have choices.

Saccharine positivity is ruining HN. In the past few days I've seen HN posts
that:

1\. Said a company's behavior only _looks_ immoral, but it's actually not
their fault, because they're just following incentives.

2\. Said volunteerism isn't needed right now because lots of people are out of
work.

3\. Complained about a long-form article not containing science, because they
only read the first few paragraphs of the article.

The first is a reprehensible position, the second is harmfully ignorant, and
the third is willfully ignorant. But all they had to do to get upvotes is say
these horrible things in a nice tone. Responses which called a spade a spade
got downvoted and/or deleted entirely.

This isn't even "being kind". It's not kind to screw people over because
you're following incentives. It's not kind to encourage people not to
volunteer during a time when the need for volunteerism is at a high. HN is
optimizing for a shallow veneer of being kind over actual kindness.

I've considered just leaving HN in the past few weeks, but decided to stick
around and try to change things. But at this point, getting downvoted or even
banned doesn't feel like much of a loss to me. That's not to say you should
care if I leave--you should care that your forum is becoming a place where
people pat each other on the back for innovating, whether or not they actually
innovate or their "innovations" are uninformed or harmful.

And sure, this did generate some interesting conversation, but the most
interesting thing to me is The Range Planet[1] link, which could have been the
original submission.

[1]
[https://therangeplanet.proboards.com](https://therangeplanet.proboards.com)

~~~
yesenadam
> Saccharine positivity is ruining HN.

Hehe that made me laugh out loud. I've not heard that before. Has that claim
been made before on HN? (Links to comments welcome, thanks.)

~~~
kerkeslager
I've made the claim before, in different words, but to be honest I think the
post you're responding to is the clearest summary I've personally written. My
thoughts on the subject are a work in progress, and I'm not aware of anyone
else saying this. I'd be happy to hear if others think the same thing.

------
louwrentius
Interesting that Somebody like Minnie Riperton is missing. She could even
articulate in the whistle register.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnie_Riperton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnie_Riperton)

------
HumblyTossed
I don't know much about the subject, but take Mariah Carey (not trying to pick
on the girls, honest), but she can make a really high pitch sound, so does
that count? Or does she have to be able to actually _sing_ at that note for it
to count?

~~~
jiofih
It’s called a whistle note, and yes it counts. It’s a lot harder than singing
in the standard range.

------
johnlbevan2
It would be good to see where Camille comes on there:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H3iix0CMJU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H3iix0CMJU)

------
jerzyt
As interesting as it is, I'm really curious how this list was compiled. Was it
just a manual process, or was it done with some FFT?

As a side note, I'm glad Madonna didn't make the list.

------
layoric
Not on the list but a good addition.

Chester Bennington: G#2 - F5

[https://youtu.be/ZT9y0GkHtW4](https://youtu.be/ZT9y0GkHtW4)

------
akerr
Chris Cornell. Maybe C#2-G6? but with power.

[https://youtu.be/GNFQzvahiI4](https://youtu.be/GNFQzvahiI4)

------
jiveturkey
"greatest"? what's the definition of "greatest"? specifically, why is justin
bieber on that list.

------
HumblyTossed
Does the keyboard work for anyone else so you can hear the note? If not, seems
like a missed opportunity.

------
mothsonasloth
No Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden; he has one of the highest ranges.

Also Myles Kennedy from Alter Bridge

------
lmilcin
Based on this, the craziest duo in history: Johnny Cash and Taylor Swift.

------
RBerenguel
I wonder what Meat Loaf's range is (since it's not in the chart)

------
jiofih
Missing Ariana Grande who hits C7 on several songs (and live).

------
LeoNatan25
Where is Pavarotti?

------
swyx
would be nice to sort by some sort of date method where we could see the
increase in pitch of pop singing over time

------
jariel
Ann Wilson.

Also, dudes have an advantage in falseto.

~~~
NovemberWhiskey
How so? Both men and women have a falsetto register.

~~~
jariel
Men can sing in lower registers, women cannot.

Men reach way into female range by virtue of falseto.

I submit: Axl Rose, at the top of the charts as an example.

------
nkozyra
Seeing Prince on there made me realize they must be including falsetto in the
range, which strikes me as off, a bit.

Since I saw Whitney Houston mentioned, Steve Perry would be a noteworthy 80s
omission.

~~~
mkl
Why is that off? Falsetto is still singing. They include whistle register too.

------
oxymoran
I find singing to be boring. You are either born with the talent or not. It’s
nearly impossible to practice your ass off to go from tone deaf to the voice
of an angel. On the other hand, you could pick up a guitar be tone deaf,
practice your ass off, and eventually be a virtuoso. That’s much more
impressive than being born with an ability to sing.

~~~
kikokikokiko
Good luck if yoy think that anyone can become a virtuoso on the guitar. I
believe you do not really understand what this expression means. And on the
singing thing, it's just like playing an instrument, you are born with a
baseline hardware (your pipes) and software (your ears). It's a little bit
more limited, in terms of how much you can improve from this starting point,
than with an instrument, but you can for sure get better through practice.

