4

On this post on Music SE,

In popular music I don't believe it's true. You hardly see women singing above F5 or G5, while tenors, like Bruno Mars for example, easily reach A4 or C5. At the same time, you can find women (not only contraltos) singing around F3 and G3, but I can't think of any popular song these days where a male singer reaches one octave lower than this.

This answer does say so, right. There are a plenty of pop songs where a male singer sings A4-C5 and also where a female singer sings F3-G3.

I did see some examples where a female singer sings above F5-G5, but I, too, have never gone through pop songs where a male singer sings F2-G2.


Can someone give at least one example of a pop song where a male singer sings F2/G2?

2 Answers 2

5

This was considered pop at the time (it was in the top-20, it even made it to no.1 in the UK) "I Was Born Under a Wandering Star" sung by Lee Marvin. Goes down to Db2.

This is more R&B, but was also in the pop charts at the time: "Proud Mary" by Ike and Tina Turner. It's more than just a harmony part he's singing and it goes down to F#2.

A lot of vocal harmony groups have a bass who sings down to C2.

2
  • 1
    Really? (Can't imagine a bass dropping down to C2 (nor an alto dropping down to C3)) Do they use vocal fry to drop down to THAT low? The lowest note of a bass is usually E2.
    – user7708
    Jan 26, 2020 at 3:09
  • 3
    @MaikaSakuranomiya Most basses can't sing that low, but there are enough who can and some can sing even lower. basso profundo
    – PiedPiper
    Jan 26, 2020 at 10:13
5

According to this chart, R&B pop icon Barry White's voice went all the way down to F#1(!) on his version of War's "Low Rider". White was famous for his smooth basso profundo. White was a big-name star in the 1970s with a number of #1 R&B hits. The album with "Low Rider" (Staying Power) was nominated for two Grammy awards in 1999.

It's true, however, that the deep bass voice is not currently in style, and would be hard to find on today's pop charts.

0

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.