There are some amazing singers out there today with a vocal range that appear to be able to hit a huge variety of high and low notes. With her soulful belting out of songs like Someone Like You, you are probably curious about Adele’s vocal range.
Adele’s vocals range over three-octaves from note B2 up to note D6. A three-octave vocal range is fairly common among singers. Due to improper vocal training, Adele developed polyps that had to be removed from her vocal cords. The result was the ability to hit higher and lower notes with less strain.
You can read more below about vocal range and whether Adele has an extraordinary or average range compared to other singers.
What is Vocal Range?
Vocal Range is the span of someone’s voice from the lowest note to the highest note that their voice can produce. Their voice will usually cover at least a few octaves. An octave is the note range from A to G and each octave is given a number. A person’s vocal range may go from G2 all the way to A4. Middle C sits as you guessed it, in the middle of the note scale and is the most recognizable music note to man. It is denoted as C4.
Adele’s Vocal Range Explained
Adele has a voice type known as mezzo-soprano, which among female voices tends to have more ranger. The lowest note that she can hit is B2, while the highest note she hits is D6. That means she has a vocal range of three octaves.
Adele’s three octave vocal range was not entirely evident until she had a polyp removed from her vocal cords between the release of her albums 21 and 25.
What Are Average Vocal Ranges?
Adele’s vocal range is nothing special and quite average. She sits not even near the middle of the scale in terms of diversity of range. Two and three octave vocal ranges are very common. Among professional singers, even a four octave vocal range is very common.
Some other artists with three-octave vocal ranges are Celine Dion, The Weeknd, Usher, Kesha, Alicia Keys, Kelly Clarkson, Bruno Mars, and Rhianna. And that is just a sampling of the number of artists with a three-octave vocal range. Examples of artists with a four-octave vocal range are Christina Aguilera, Marvin Gaye, Whitney Houston, Cyndi Lauper, Leona Lewis, Sir Paul McCartney, Ariana Grande, and Freddie Mercury.
You can see where Adele’s vocal range sits in comparison to other female singers by watching the below YouTube video.
Who Are the Elite Vocalists?
It is not until reaching the list of five-octave vocal range singers that you hit the truly elite. It should come as no shocker to find out that singer Mariah Carey has a five-octave vocal range. Carey has been called one of the greatest vocalists of all time and has inspired countless singers. Prince is also famous for a five-octave voice. His range is clearly heard through songs like Kiss, 1999, Let’s Go Crazy, and Little Red Corvette.
Axl Rose, the frontman of Guns N’Roses, can range through five-octaves. This should come as no surprise if you’ve heard him hitting all of the highs and lows in songs like Paradise City and Sweet Child o’ Mine. Finally, Minnie Ripperton, the singer of the famous song Lovin’ You also had a five-octave range.
There are singers who have six-octave ranges, however, they are few and far between. The world’s current most prolific six-octave vocalist would probably be the Kazakh singer Dimash Kudaibergen.
Compared to the artists listed above, Adele has a fairly banal vocal range. She can’t compete with the likes of Mariah Carey, but she does have a soulfulness to her music. That soulfulness and singing well within her own range are what has made Adele so successful today.