Lana's Vocal Range

[MermaidTrailerHeaven 454]

I searched, and did not find any topics on Lana's vocal range and style, so I thought I would start one being that I am a bit of a vocal range fetishist. (Which is hilarious because I know fuck all about music theory and can barely recognize notes by ear)

Anywhoo!

 

This is Lana's vocal profile on DivaDevotee. What do you think?

 

 

Lana Del Rey

 

Vocal Type: Mezzo-Soprano

Vocal Range: 3 Octaves and one note (B2-C6)

Whistle Register: No

Vocal Pluses: An emotive and expressive voice that uses Lana Del Rey's ability to act more so than her ability to hit notes to convey emotion. This is helped by her phrasing and brilliant intonation that maintains that the lyrics are always clear, audible and understandable.

 

Lana Del Rey's lower range is dark and full with a slight smokiness and is often utilised with a languorous tone and a quiver to the voice. The mid-range- hear Dark Paradise- is of medium weight, and has a sweetness and youthfulness that is not present in the lower extremes of the range. Her upper register is easily accessed and is mostly used in its warm and breathy timbre, contrasting with the lower end of her range. However, Lana Del Rey has demonstrated an ability to solidify the notes in her head voice, to create a more resonant tone- Born to Die.

 

The voice has a clear and pure tone and an overarching character that makes the voice easily identifiable no mater what part of the range Lana Del Rey is singing in.

 

Vocal Negatives: Some have called Lana Del Rey's lazy drawl "soulless" and "hollow". Also, her live performances have been criticised for being pitchy and unpolished, resulting in accusations that she is unable to actually sing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hearing Lana's earlier work as Lizzy, especially live, I almost wonder if she may be a soprano? I think her voice sounds best while singing ridiculous high notes!

[lola 6,640]

Del Rey possesses an expansive contralto vocal range, which has been described as unique, captivating, and highly emotive, being able to transcend from sounding high and girlish in her timbre, down to a low and jazzy sound with great ease, although both these areas of the voice can be conflicting in the contrast of their sound, polarizing opinion.^{[133][134][135][136]} When recording in the studio Del Rey is known for vocal multi-layering, double tracking and overlays which, as it has been noted, is difficult for her to replicate within a live setting, especially with the lack of backing singers to fill out the original vocal style.^[133] Contemporary music critics have called her voice "smoky",^[137] "gravely",^[21] and reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe.^[21]

Del Rey stated the use of her lower vocals on the tracks from Born to Die, claiming that "people weren't taking me very seriously, so I lowered my voice, believing that it would help me stand out. Now I sing quite low... well, for a female anyway."^{[138][139][140]}

"I sing low now, but my voice used to be a lot higher. Because of the way I look, I needed something to ground the entire project. Otherwise I think people would assume I was some airhead singer. Well, I don’t think… I know. I’ve sung one way, and sung another, and I’ve seen what people are drawn to.”, she said on the topic.^[6]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lana_Del_Rey#Voice_and_timbre

[MermaidTrailerHeaven 454]

Yes, see I thought she was a natural contralto at first, (given what I do know on the subject) and actually, the article on DivaDevotee originally stated that she was a contralto, but has since change it to mezzo-soprano on account of people arguing that her lower vocals sounded forced/strained live, that her mid range sounded best, etc. I personally think her upper sounds best. Well, it's my favorite I guess.

 

But I really do think Lana is a great singer. And just to be able to reach the lower notes that she does is amazing, I still like the sound of her lower chest register myself. It's one thing that makes or breaks her with people I find. My friends make fun her her low vocals, but its what drew me to her in the first place. Just as she had hoped for in her audience.

[Chocolate Eyes 548]

My guess at first was mezzo-soprano.

[MermaidTrailerHeaven 454]

http://www.divadevotee.com/2012/01/lana-del-rey-vocal-profile-range-3.html

For reference

[Mileena 2,691]

i love her range, i wish i could sing like that! 

[Chocolate Eyes 548]

i love her range, i wish i could sing like that! 

I really feel the same way.

[MermaidTrailerHeaven 454]

I really feel the same way.

Me too, I mean, I don't even know what to tell you, my range is C3-E5, but I don't have the weight that even Lana, being a mezzo, has in her C3-E3, and definitely not the upper pipes, my head voice is like if feathers could let out cries of terror!

 

Basically what I'm saying is, hell yes, I wish I could sing like that

[Mileena 2,691]

i'm a music gcse student and i have no idea what anybody is talking about. i guess i can sing some of her songs OK, i mean it's not like strangled cats or anything but hm i have more of a screamy voice anyway. 

[MermaidTrailerHeaven 454]

i'm a music gcse student and i have no idea what anybody is talking about. i guess i can sing some of her songs OK, i mean it's not like strangled cats or anything but hm i have more of a screamy voice anyway. 

 

You're doing better than me, I don't know what I'm talking about, but I'm talking anyway! Haha. The voice really interests me. I'm not a good singer. But I like it. And I love to listen,

[DUKE 2,530]

What an interesting thread idea.

 

That being said, I have to admit that I have no idea what everybody is talking about besides a little bit of terminology here and there. However, I find Lana's vocals to be extremely interesting and by lengths more colourful than those of fellow other pop musicians. She uses her singing voice in so many different ways. Yes, especially during live performances this sometimes may sound odd, but I enjoy hearing her wide timbre and seemingly endless vocal possibilities. She has a distinctive way of conveying emotion since she does not have a typically trained voice. Really looking forward to see that in concert. 

[evilentity 13,343]

This is helped by her phrasing and brilliant intonation that maintains that the lyrics are always clear, audible and understandable.

[Creyk 11,699]

 

Thought the same thing.

When I read that, I was like

[Hello Heaven 1,578]

Yes, someone clearly hasn't visited this thread: http://lanaboards.com/index.php?/topic/437-boarding-school/page-6

 

-

Other than that, although I have no idea what you're talking about, that's gotta be a good thing because you must know a lot more about Lana's voice than me who just knows that it's good and better than anything I could do with my voice. 

[Jord 3,481]

I don't understand any of this whatsoever but it's still very interesting. Thanks for posting!

[MermaidTrailerHeaven 454]

What an interesting thread idea.

 

That being said, I have to admit that I have no idea what everybody is talking about besides a little bit of terminology here and there. However, I find Lana's vocals to be extremely interesting and by lengths more colourful than those of fellow other pop musicians. She uses her singing voice in so many different ways. Yes, especially during live performances this sometimes may sound odd, but I enjoy hearing her wide timbre and seemingly endless vocal possibilities. She has a distinctive way of conveying emotion since she does not have a typically trained voice. Really looking forward to see that in concert. 

Thanks

 

-you're getting to see her live? Ahhh I am superbly jealous. At least the USA fans have the chance of running into Lana. My country is completely off the Lana map!-

 

I love that there are many voices of Lana. If you listened to the different parts -low, mid-range, head voice (high pitch)- you wouldn't think they all from the same person!

 

 

And just to help anybody out a little, though Wikipedia will do a better job than me, the female voice is generally divided into 3 categories. Soprano the highest, Contralto the lowest, and Mezzo-Soprano is the middle ground, sort of a soprano with a bit of smokiness. This is where Lana supposedly sits.

 

Now, E3 (the E note below middle C), is considered an amazingly low not for a female to hit. And Lana can access B2! That may not sound like much of a stretch, but has anybody tried to hit that lowest note in Ride? (C3) that's no easy feat! And impossible for some people -which does not mean lack of vocal talent, don't worry-

 

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Lana's lower range, is that she is a mezzo soprano! This is the same vocal classification as Taylor Swift, and Selena Gomez. Yeah. Chew on that.

 

And we can't forget about that high note in Cola. Gave me shivers! I didn't even know she was capable of that. Some other remarkable points were the live Mermaid Motel performances (just love it), and on Off to the Races.

 

 

Here are some videos documenting Lana's vocal notes, I suggest everybody watch, and fall in love.

 

Full Vocal Profiles

 

 

Sorry I can't imbed, I'm on an ipad!

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=o58e7Uzj0s8

 

 

 

Lana's B2

 

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HTzwiEx-YGE

 

 

C3

 

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=11axg0-OLm8

 

 

High D6

 

 

[PinUpCartoonBaby 1,017]

Really interesting topic!

Her vocal range is absolutely stunning! If I could sing like that for only one day I'd sing the whole time to listen to my "dark and full with a slight smokiness" lower range and this omfg so beautiful high voice.

 

I think, during live performances she actually seems more comfortable singing high notes so I'm really curious to see her live in concert if she'll blow my mind with her extremely deep notes or if she'll keep it all safe and avoid them. She also did this at some other performances, for example at Ride she often sings higher notes instead of C3.
 

[trailerparkdarling- 86]

I also have no idea what all the terminology means, but it's a really interesting thread because since hearing Lana's unreleased stuff I have been fascinated with her amazing vocal range. I was utterly shocked by 'Sirens' because it's so different from the sort of smoky voice of BTD and Paradise. 

[MermaidTrailerHeaven 454]

for example at Ride she often sings higher notes instead of C3.

 

I noticed that! Something I found odd too- on musicnotes.com, it states that the vocal range on the song is F3-E5. Wtf??

 

 

http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtdVPE.asp?ppn=MN0112674

 

[Chocolate Eyes 548]

Me too, I mean, I don't even know what to tell you, my range is C3-E5, but I don't have the weight that even Lana, being a mezzo, has in her C3-E3, and definitely not the upper pipes, my head voice is like if feathers could let out cries of terror!

 

Basically what I'm saying is, hell yes, I wish I could sing like that

I don't know what I am, or was. I was an alright singer when I was younger (11-14). Sadly I lost any ability to carry a tune after that.