41 replies to this topic

[tselekoglu]

I heard that Whitney's is 7 or 8. If you ask me, I know nothing about octaves. I only know, octave is something about music. But I think 7-8 very good. So, what about Amy? Do you know anything?

[Uno]

3 Octaves and 1 semi tone D3-Eb6

[Cecilia]

No way did Whitney have a 7 - 8 octaves vocal range. No one has a vocal range like that. I would say she probably had a comfortable 3-4 octave range that she could stretch to 4.5 with more effort, although some people say she had a 5 octave range.

I think Amy probably had a range of about 3 octaves.

A wide vocal range does not necessarily make someone a better singer.

[tselekoglu]

---------- Post added at 06:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:33 PM ----------

No way did Whitney have a 7 - 8 octaves vocal range. No one has a vocal range like that. I would say she probably had a comfortable 3-4 octave range that she could stretch to 4.5 with more effort, although some people say she had a 5 octave range.

I think Amy probably had a range of about 3 octaves.

A wide vocal range does not necessarily make someone a better singer.

Thanks guys. And yeah, I got it. But I still think, Amy had a more unique voice than Whitney.

[amysarmynow]

.
The divadevotee site usually gets the numbers right.

http://www.divadevot...file-range.html

But, "numbers" don't always tell the full story and can lead to faulty conclusions.

Vocal Type: Contralto

Vocal Range: 3 Octaves and 1 semi tone D3-Eb6

Vocal Pluses: Unique and thus instantly recognisable voice. Naturally adept singer with a great technique and brilliantly individual phrasing. Her voice is connected well through the registers and maintains its character throughout. Also has an emotive voice that communicates the songs subject exceptionally.

Vocal Negatives: Unique style may make it harder to adapt to different genres of music.

While a good-faith argument can be made that "she ran out of time" to fully disprove that notion, I find the notion meritless on its face. LHT and the "jazz efforts" make it clear, to me, that there were really "no limits" to what AJW could do.
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[Amy Jenna Harper]

Thank you!!It's very nice to know!!^^

[Elsie]

A wide vocal range does not necessarily make someone a better singer.

Yes... To me even a tuneless drunk Amy sounds better than anyone still.

[Alexdurrant7]

3 Octaves and 1 semi tone D3-Eb6

This is very inaccurate. Amy hit MUCH lower notes than that in her live performances (e.g. in TDOTO at iTunes festival & pretty much every performance of Some Unholy War), and in Body & Soul she hits some very low notes during the "I surrender myself to you body and soul" bits where she's singing the line at the same time as Tony.

[antceleb12]

No way did Whitney have a 7 - 8 octaves vocal range. No one has a vocal range like that. I would say she probably had a comfortable 3-4 octave range that she could stretch to 4.5 with more effort, although some people say she had a 5 octave range.

I think Amy probably had a range of about 3 octaves.

A wide vocal range does not necessarily make someone a better singer.

Whitney, according to the site posted above, had a 3.3 octave range (which I am actually surprised a bit).

http://www.divadevot...al-profile.html

But, there is actually a Brazilian singer named Georgia Brown who is in the Guinness Book of World Records for have the largest range of 8 octaves. But that is VERY rare.

Aside from that, the highest seems to be Mariah Carey with about a 5 octave range.

[prettymaryk]

Whoa, 7-8 octaves is unspeakable. I'm not even sure that's physically possible! Most of it is probably just squeaks. People often say about singers that they have a 5-octave range, but in reality, some of those notes are just barely there and they're not properly supported. (Which absolutely isn't to say that 5-octave range singers don't exist, but it is still something that's often exaggerated.)

Just as an example, I sing (soprano) and have basically a 3.something octave range (E3 to G6 or something like that) but I can't really hold the extremes on either side - only about 2.5 octaves actually fully work, with support. Amy's voice is much lower and quite unique, unlike mine, but I'd say about 3 octaves.

But octaves mean nothing - Marlene Dietrich had a range of 1-2 octaves, and they were stupendous. On the opposite end of the scale, Philippe Jaroussky (countertenor) has a range of about 2 octaves, and they're beautiful. Most contraltos, which is what Amy is, have a range of 2-3 octaves, as far as I know. She's in great company. Freddie Mercury had a beautiful voice and a 4-octave range, but even he sounded almost intolerable sometimes, on the higher end. Amy always sounded amazing.

*edited to add* WOW Mariah Carey's high notes... 0.o Never listened to her, not really planning on it, but WOW.

*edited again to also add* From a BBC News article which coincidentally mentions Amy: "In the latter years of Billie Holliday's life it was a pretty limited range, [...] But she had this enormous expressivity which she was able to convey in seven to 10 notes, which is actually the range of your average pop song. Someone like Amy Winehouse, for example, mostly limits herself to about seven notes in a song. It's very difficult at the top of the range because you just can't articulate words up there." - Gillyanne Kayes, voice researcher/trainer.

And this very true - Amy's actual range was quite big but most of her songs stay in the same octave. Obviously with exceptions.

Edited by prettymaryk, 15 February 2012 - 02:56 AM.

[what'sinsideher]

Whitney, according to the site posted above, had a 3.3 octave range (which I am actually surprised a bit).

http://www.divadevot...al-profile.html

But, there is actually a Brazilian singer named Georgia Brown who is in the Guinness Book of World Records for have the largest range of 8 octaves. But that is VERY rare.

Aside from that, the highest seems to be Mariah Carey with about a 5 octave range.

Oh God, have you heard Georgia Brown? I mean, I will admit I know nothing about the technical aspects and octaves and such but her high notes sound terrible. The normal bits sound fine but during the high parts she is basically screeching like nails on a chalkboard! It scared my dog!

[Birdieava]

Mariah WH0??????Check out YMA ZUMAC Yma Sumac VoiceYma Sumac recorded an extraordinarily wide vocal range of slightly over five octaves from B2 to C#7 (approximately 123 to 2270 Hz). She was able to sing notes in the low baritone register as well as notes above the range of an ordinary soprano. Both low and high extremes can be heard in the song Chuncho (The Forest Creatures) (1953). She was also apparently able to sing in an eerie "double voice".Google or YouTube YMAYou'll be amazed, she sounds like a bird.BirdieAva L0v€s YMA xo

---------- Post added at 06:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:16 AM ----------

BTW the range is like unimportant, right?Amys voice IS the most beautiful

[prettymaryk]

Birdieava, I've heard Yma Sumac. I was just shocked that something like that exists in the current pop industry, where most people have extremely forgettable or digitally created voices. Yes, range is unimportant but I'm not talking about her range, I'm talking about her high notes. And they're not "important", but they're fascinating to say the least.

[tselekoglu]

WOW!

[Birdieava]

T!!!!!! Hooooly BeeeJeeezusss!!!!!!!!!!!Is she human????I'm completely perplexed......whatttttdaaaaa???????******AMAZING*****ABSOLUTELY AMAZING*****^^^^^^^