Vocal music

Vocal music is a type of singing performed by one or more singers, either with instrumental accompaniment or without instrumental accompaniment (a cappella), in which singing provides the main focus

World traditions#

Indian classical music is based on a rich vocal tradition, wherein even instruments are evaluated on their ability to follow the human voice, imitate it, or recreate the same expressions.
Elaborate untexted vocal improvisation was and still is an important element in Turkish and Middle Eastern music traditions. Such music existed prior to the 13th century and the First Crusade into Palestine and the city of Jerusalem, possibly even before the year 900.
The modern descendants of the ancient Kung tribes and clans of Southern Africa utilize similar traditional music techniques.
A form of improvisation known as thillana is a very important feature of Carnatic music from South India.
Tuvan throat singing often features wordless and improvised song. The sygyt technique is a particularly good example of this.
The Anglo-Saxon and Gaelic communities.
Hasidic Jews use a form of voice improvisation called nigunim. This consists of wordless tunes vocalized with sounds such as “Bim-bim-bam” or “Ai-yai-yai!” often accompanied by rhythmic clapping and drumming on the table.
Puirt a beul, also known as “Mouth Music”, is a Scottish vocal technique imitating the sounds of bagpipes, fiddles, and other instruments used in traditional Scottish music. It was popularized in North America by Scottish immigrants, and has been incorporated into many forms of American music from roots music to bluegrass.
The Cante Alentejano is just based on vocal music. It is one of two Portuguese music traditions part of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists, the other being Fado.

European classical vocal music#

Solfege, a vocalized musical scale, assigns various syllables such as “Do-Re-Mi” to each note. A variety of similar tools are found in traditional Indian music, and scat singing of jazz.

Jazz and popular music#

Hip hop music has a very distinct form of vocal percussion known as beatboxing. It involves creating beats, rhythms, and scratching. The singer of the Icelandic group Sigur Rós, Jón Þór Birgisson, often uses vocals without words, as does Icelandic singer/songwriter, Björk. Her album Medúlla is composed entirely of processed and acoustic vocal music, including beatboxing, choral arrangements, and throat singing. Singer Bobby McFerrin has recorded a number of albums using only his voice and body, sometimes consisting of a texted melody supported by untexted vocalizations.

Songs#

:See :Category:Song forms for short forms of music with words that are sung.

Extended techniques that involve lyrics#

The Second Viennese School, especially Alban Berg and Arnold Schoenberg, pioneered a technique called Sprechstimme in which singers are half-talk, half-sing, and only approximate pitches.

Wide-ranging voices#

Adam Lopez – E2 to E♭8
Ariana Grande: C3 – E7
Avi Kaplan: E1 – F5
Axl Rose: F1 – B6.
Beyoncé – G#2 to F6
Cher: C3 – E6
Clara Butt: A2 – B5
Daniel Gildenlöw: A1 – A5. Top range may be heard on songs such as “Dea Pecuniae”, “A Trace of Blood” or “This Heart of Mine”; for low range, “Imago”, “Of Dust” and “Beyond the Pale” are good examples.
Dimash Kudaibergen: F#1 - D8.
Elizabeth Billington: A3 – A6.
Elvis Presley: B1 – A5. Presley’s B1 may be heard on the song “Such a Night”, and on “Mystery Train” an A5 is reached towards the end. Towards his later career, he developed a rich baritone voice which still mastered the higher register with immense power, such as on “An American Trilogy”, “Unchained Melody” or the joking “Little Darlin’”.
Ewa Podleś: A2 – E6.
Farinelli: C3 – C6.
Freddie Mercury: F2 – E♭6. Mercury’s F2 can be heard in the backing vocals of “All Dead, All Dead,” and his E♭6 was done at various live performances.
Frankie Valli: F#2 – G#5.
Georgia Brown – G2 to G10
Isabella Colbran: F#3 – E6.
Lucrezia Aguiari: C4 – C7.
Mado Robin: B3 – D7.
Manuel García: G2 – D5.
Maria Callas: F3 – F6. In his review of Callas’s June 11, 1951 concert in Florence, music critic Rock Ferris of Musical Courier said, “Her high E’s and F’s are taken full voice.” In a 1969 French television interview with Pierre Desgraupes on the program L’invité du dimanche, La Scala’s maestro Francesco Siciliani speaks of Callas’s voice going to high F.
Mariah Carey: F2 – F8. Carey has hit an F2 while singing “You and I” live and an F8 while swimming with a dolphin, making her vocal range exactly six octaves and one of the biggest in popular music history.
Michael Jackson: E2 – B♭6
Prince: A1 – G7
Tim Buckley: F♯2 – A5
Tim Storms: G−5 – G5
Yma Sumac: her range was said to be “well over four octaves” and was sometimes claimed to span even five octaves at her peak. From A2 to B7