Re vocal range and music, C is the starting note, so it’s C-D-E-F-G-A-B and back to C.

I guess the “three year old” version :) would be “Do-Re-Mi” from The Sound Of Music, remember that? The song only has the eight notes of one octave of the major C to C scale. So if you start with “Do(e), A Deer”, that’s C* and then you go from there… Do (C) Re (D) Mi (E) Fa (F) So (G) La (A) Ti (B) Do (C). Note that the last Do is one octave higher, so the first Do is C4 (also known as middle C) and the 2nd Do is C5.

So Anoop’s C5 is the 2nd Do… Adam keeps going to A5 (La). It’s amazing! (And the other contestants have fine ranges too, there’s no disrespect intended and range is just a gift, it’s not really competitive). UPDATE: Adam hit a Bb5 in ‘Play That Funky Music’… incredible!

More technically, Adam could be considered a Countertenor… the average Countertenor’s range is approximately G or A3 to E5 or perhaps F5, so making it to A5 is exceptional. (At that point, it’s generally called “falsetto” or sometimes, though controversial, “head voice”.) Just for reference, when you hear the expression “high C,” usually sung by a Soprano, that’s C6, 2 steps above A5 (and 2 octaves above C4, “middle C”). Not to be confused with Hi-C juice drink ;)

The challenge for such a singer is managing the lower middle range, because there are some notes that can be sung with regular or falsetto voice, and the transition between registers must be blended or smoothly managed. Because he’s doing it so well, that’s one of the reasons people say they can’t put their finger on it but it makes them shiver or get goosebumps.

“Tea, a drink with jam and bread… and that brings us back to Do!” Hope that helps!

Best, Michael

(* OK purists it was changed to B Flat in the movie but that was for the transition from speech to song)

Question was: “Hmmmm…. still WAY over my head.  I don’t know the alphabet of music!  If it goes A, B, C, D, are you saying that Anoop hit a higher note than Adam?  I’m sorry for being a pest, I just want to understand how far apart Adam’s voice is in the industry, his range, power, etc. Can you explain it again “like I’m a 3 year old” (from the movie “Philadelphia”)?”

Posted in: Industry Perspective by nymichael / Tags: Adam Lambert