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How can you tell what register a song is written in?

Music Theory
avwb  
21 May 2011 03:01 | Quote
Joined: 19 May 2011
Karma
How are you able to tell what register a song is written in? (bass, tenor, alto or soprano) Does it depend on the frequency of the pitch? If so, what are the frequency requirements for every particular registers?
Empirism  
21 May 2011 04:49 | Quote
Joined: 23 Jun 2008
Finland
Lessons: 4
Karma: 35
Well, Im no proffessional and I think you know this stuff actually better than me, but I believe that you can determine what register a song is written of voicing range of the song

the range, register transitions, voice tone all have meaning in that.
Hope this get you a trail, because im afraid my knowledge is not enough to help further.

here are some

Soprano: C4 – C6
Mezzo-soprano: A3 – A5
Contralto: F3 – F5
Tenor: C3 – C5
Baritone: F2 – F4
Bass: E2 – E4


Emp
avwb  
21 May 2011 05:10 | Quote
Joined: 19 May 2011
Karma
It's a start...
The song I am thinking about has a pitch range of 845Hz – 4.819Hz
Are you able to tell how that fits into the above 'diagram'?
Thanks
DanielM  
21 May 2011 09:04 | Quote
Joined: 11 Apr 2011
United Kingdom
Lessons: 1
Karma: 12
845Hz=G#5
4819Hz=D8 (I'm assuming the decimal place is a typo as 4Hz is out of human hearing)

I used this site to convert: http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/music/note/ I think someone who can exceed C6 is known as an unlimited soprano.

I'm curious though did the song give you the frequencies and why not notes or did you work out the frequencies and how? And why not work out the notes by ear?
avwb  
21 May 2011 18:18 | Quote
Joined: 19 May 2011
Karma
Thanks, that's helpful. I used an iPhone app to tell me the frequencies but it couldn't tell me the notes. And how am I supposed to work out the notes by ear??

Still.... what register does that make the song??
AlexB  
21 May 2011 18:48 | Quote
Joined: 13 Jul 2009
Mexico
Licks: 2
Karma: 23
LOL Wut? a song is not made in a register,a voice is under a register,if you want to know the key of a song,listen to it,search on your guitar for the root note of the song (use your ears) and that will be the key,depends if its minor or major,OR learn tons of theory abd apply it
DanielM  
22 May 2011 04:36 | Quote
Joined: 11 Apr 2011
United Kingdom
Lessons: 1
Karma: 12
@AlexB oh shizzle I didn't realise this wasn't a singing thread D: I saw register and I went into autopilot. Nice save though.

@avwb using an app to tell you frequencies won't work there are too many drums, bass, guitar, voice all of them add to the sound wave. The app will likely take in the sound at a high sampling rate (I think I'm regressing back to last years physics and computing lessons and educated guesses). This high sampling rate may add high frequencies that aren't there (if you sample at greater than 2 times the highest frequency you get frequencies that aren't really there)

But the app will change this massive jumble of sound into averages and construct a pure sine wave and give you the frequency of that making it inaccurate... *checks self* yep pretty sure of that.

AlexB's right use your ear & theory not fancy gadgets to do this it's better for you musically as well.


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