| From: Tako Oda To: VOCALIST <vocalist> Subject: RE: 7 octaves (was: Questions) Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>
> Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2000 20:27:34 -0000 > From: "Libenson, Roni" > > Do you mean you can hit a certain note (e.g. C) in 5 different octaves? > That's a range of only 4 octaves. But even if you have a range of 5 octaves, > again I say, every semitone counts - can you get another 2-3 semitones into > your range? Difficult? Well, 2 additional octaves is 24 additional > semitones... Now, think again!
It sort of depends on what you consider your range. There's my "bel canto" voice which has the usual range, but then there's my "avant garde" voice :) When beauty of tone and singing over an orchestra are not an issue, you might be surprised how quickly one can tack on an octave or two to one's range!
A couple of composers have asked an unamplified E1 of me. On another occasion I had to record the B above the "Queen of the Night" F. Pretty? No way, but it's still 5 and a half octaves. To consider one's operatic range the only legitimate measure of range is to discount many different kinds of singing. Consider: throat singing, harmonic chant, yodelling, whistle voice, Russian choral strohbass, falsetto. All these are outside the standard bel canto palette, yet they serve a highly expressive purpose.
Tako Oda Graduate Student in Composition Mills College Music Department http://www.mills.edu/PEOPLE/gr.pages/toda.public.html/music/singer.html
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