# Singers with really small ranges?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-with-really-small-ranges/643653
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [December 10, 2012, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-with-really-small-ranges/643653 "2012-12-10T23:54:48Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2012, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-with-really-small-ranges/643653/41 "2012-12-11T22:39:18Z")
I’ve been wondering what Billie Joe Armstrong’s range is. I find it easy for me to sing along with most Green Day songs, and I was wondering if he and I have really similar ranges, or if perhaps he just has a relatively small range.
My singing range isn’t too big - the E below middle C to about the D above the C above middle C.
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### Author:  [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2012, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-with-really-small-ranges/643653/42 "2012-12-11T23:08:20Z")
Leonard Cohen.
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### Author:  [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2012, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-with-really-small-ranges/643653/43 "2012-12-11T23:54:25Z")
> [@EmilyG](#):
>
> I’ve been wondering what Billie Joe Armstrong’s range is. I find it easy for me to sing along with most Green Day songs, and I was wondering if he and I have really similar ranges, or if perhaps he just has a relatively small range.
All the Beatles had fairly limited ranges, and I believe that helped make them so successful as pop songwriters - pretty much anyone can sing any Beatles song.
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### Author:  [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)
#### Post date: [December 12, 2012, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-with-really-small-ranges/643653/44 "2012-12-12T00:07:37Z")
> [@dataguy](#):
>
> Frank Sinatra
>
> I didn’t realize this until I was singing along with a CD of his greatest hits. His range is just about one octave.
Try singing “The Lady is a Tramp” in just one octave. It’s his songs, not his voice range.
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### Author:  [@sco3tt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sco3tt)
#### Post date: [December 12, 2012, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-with-really-small-ranges/643653/45 "2012-12-12T00:20:15Z")
[MC Hawking](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YlTvOPQSlM)
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [December 12, 2012, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-with-really-small-ranges/643653/46 "2012-12-12T01:05:02Z")
Freddy Mercury was a piker at four octaves.
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### Author:  [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)
#### Post date: [December 12, 2012, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-with-really-small-ranges/643653/47 "2012-12-12T01:14:15Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#):
>
> Elvis Presley? Undeniable star power but he never seemed that great of a singer to me, nor does his voice seem that rangey. But then I have a tin ear so what do I know?
Elvis actually had a pretty decent range. You can hear it on his gospel records. Listen to “Milky White Way” and then “I John”.
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### Author:  [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)
#### Post date: [December 12, 2012, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-with-really-small-ranges/643653/48 "2012-12-12T01:22:38Z")
Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead could manage one note. See “Box of Rain”
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### Author:  [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)
#### Post date: [December 12, 2012, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-with-really-small-ranges/643653/49 "2012-12-12T01:26:46Z")
> [@gaffa](#):
>
> All the Beatles had fairly limited ranges, and I believe that helped make them so successful as pop songwriters - pretty much anyone can sing any Beatles song.
Completely and utterly disagree. George and Ringo, as part time singers perhaps, but John and Paul were all over the map.
Compare John in “Twist and Shout” to “I Want You (She’s so Heavy).” In the former he rips his vocal chords out and gives it everything he’s got, and in the latter he’s laid back, more baritone and bluesy, and he’s got everything in between. On “Just Like Starting Over” he goes from Elvis impersonator to his usual familiar nasal tone and back throughout the song.
Paul is a wonderful singer who took inspiration from Little Richard for his high-pitched “OOOOOOOOs” and shows a wide range on “Oh Darling” and “You Never Give Me Your Money.”
These guys are almost the antithesis of limited range, IMHO.
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### Author:  [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)
#### Post date: [December 12, 2012, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-with-really-small-ranges/643653/50 "2012-12-12T01:36:04Z")
> [@C. Montgomery Burns](#):
>
> Elvis actually had a pretty decent range. You can hear it on his gospel records. Listen to “Milky White Way” and then “I John”.
I just did, and what a nice surprise! I hadn’t listened to any of Elvis’ gospel stuff before and those were good tunes. I think I might have to change my mind.
I’ll be going back to listen to more of his gospel stuff, that’s for sure. I wasn’t mature enough to appreciate it back in the day. Thanks for the horizon-broadening. 🙂
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### Author:  [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)
#### Post date: [December 12, 2012, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-with-really-small-ranges/643653/51 "2012-12-12T01:51:08Z")
Thinking of the Bee Gees: does falsetto consist of only one octave?
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### Author:  [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)
#### Post date: [December 12, 2012, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-with-really-small-ranges/643653/52 "2012-12-12T01:53:47Z")
> [@the\_diego](#):
>
> Thinking of the Bee Gees: does falsetto consist of only one octave?
Are you familiar with the Bee Gees work prior to the disco era? They had some fantastic pop songs in the day, of all octaves!
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### Author:  [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)
#### Post date: [December 12, 2012, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-with-really-small-ranges/643653/53 "2012-12-12T02:34:04Z")
Where are the Girls? Yeah, those were the days.
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### Author:  [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)
#### Post date: [December 12, 2012, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-with-really-small-ranges/643653/54 "2012-12-12T04:10:43Z")
> [@Leaffan](#):
>
> Paul is a wonderful singer who took inspiration from Little Richard for his high-pitched “OOOOOOOOs” and shows a wide range on “Oh Darling” and “You Never Give Me Your Money.”
>
> These guys are almost the antithesis of limited range, IMHO.
Agreed. I can sing most popular songs without too much problem, maybe some adjustments here and there. A lot of Paul McCartney songs have a wide vocal range with high tones for a guy to hit. His stuff is typically more difficult than average to sing for limited range folks such as myself. I usually have to lower either the chorus or verse an octave to get through it without straining too much. Lennon could hit some higher notes too in songs such as In My Life.
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### Author:  [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)
#### Post date: [December 12, 2012, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-with-really-small-ranges/643653/55 "2012-12-12T04:41:51Z")
Roger Waters has a limited range, unfortunately he seems quite fond of going outside it.
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### Author:  [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)
#### Post date: [December 12, 2012, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-with-really-small-ranges/643653/56 "2012-12-12T14:54:46Z")
Fred Schneider seems to have a range of nearly a minor second.
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### Author:  [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2012, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-with-really-small-ranges/643653/57 "2012-12-13T13:03:34Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#):
>
> Roger Waters has a limited range, unfortunately he seems quite fond of going outside it.
Waters is an interesting case. I’d agree that, for the bulk of his performance career, he had very limited range either due to young inexperience, or older vocal age/damage.
He had a very short sweet spot though, peaking right at **The Final Cut** , book-ended by **The Wall** and **Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking** , where he showed an incredible range. I’d compare his range to Billy Joel or Ian Anderson in their prime. Prior to these, he was simply outdone in comparison to Gilmour’s superior range. Afterward to these, he still had the emotional expression, but his vocal chords were shredded into near-monotone.
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### Author:  [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2012, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-with-really-small-ranges/643653/58 "2012-12-13T13:34:44Z")
> [@Leaffan](#):
>
> Are you familiar with the Bee Gees work prior to the disco era? They had some fantastic pop songs in the day, of all octaves!
Or the stuff post-disco (specifically the stuff from just before Maurice died).
Hell, even the disco stuff isn’t all the heavy falsetto of Stayin’ Alive. How Deep Is Your Love is generally on the high side, but within a natural vocal range for the most part.
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### Author:  [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2012, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-with-really-small-ranges/643653/59 "2012-12-13T13:53:32Z")
I was singing along with Pearl Jam’s “Jeremy” in the car yesterday. It struck me that I wasn’t having problems hitting any notes, and I have a very small range.
So: Eddie Vedder.
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### Author:  [@Dkg2u](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dkg2u)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2017, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singers-with-really-small-ranges/643653/60 "2017-06-27T02:33:52Z")
I love the discussion. I’d just say that it’s not so much how many octaves you can sing, but more what you can do with the music to thrill your audience, then that’s the ticket. Elvis could sing 2.25 octaves but could make love with his low baritone and get you dancing with his higher baritone to low tenor. Frank Sinatra had more vocal dexterity than range. Jazz singers have an agility that keeps us engaged. Johnny Cash was a bass-baritone but the resonance of the voice made his ballads immensely enjoyable. I thing Tom Waits is more about texture than range. Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen smoked and drank their way to change their voice to what we have heard in their later years.
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