Thom Yorke's vocal range

[psyoptica]

I've always wondered if Yorke's high range is head voice or falsetto. Like the singing on Lotus Flower for example. What is that? It sounds like falsetto but it sounds almost too thick to be falsetto.

[angrybeaversfan]

Whats number 6 from? It doesn't say in the description.

[TheBarbon85]

@angrybeaversfan "Creep". I thought everyone would know, given that it's by far their biggest hit.

[merdufer]

As somebody who barely hits G#4, it annoys me how many A4s there are in pop songs.

[pianod00d]

@merdufer I completely concur. Over the past five years, I've managed to carefully extend my range from an E4 to a G#4, but I still cannot for the life of me hit an A4 without extending into goofy voice cracking territory...

[capcomcrazyl4]

Thom Yorke = boss

[Chaziltasm]

I don't know about you, but as soon as Street Spirit came on I just briefly blown away for a second, just cus I wasn't expecting it. I forget how beautiful that song is.

[stillilllife]

@Chaziltasm Yeah, I reacted the same way. I hadn't forgot how beautiful it is, but it still felt like a new and beautiful song for half a second there.

[MxMagpie]

Amazing. I'm actually impressed by whoever made this that they figured out whatever that last note was :P And to the people talking about Bellamy, he used to have an awesome voice/range, then his vocal chords got the better of him. He just can't pull them off anymore.

[mussman717word]

What are all the songs in order, please?

[RitterVonBek68]

thom has a fabulous voice still to this day but the most impressive voice out there has to be Jonsi from Sigur Ros, I'd like to see someone count his vocal range.

[StillLifeWithMangoes]

@RitterVonBek68 well he relies heavily on falsetto which doesnt require much skill. I'd say one of the most impressive voices is cee lo green, he does a cover of reckoner in full voice which is amazing.

[Theproxy1]

the song I will is very High

[fishflow200]

@TheBarbon85 Yeah, listen to the all knowing nameless uploader. 

[TheBarbon85]

@fishflow200 Barbon, actually. But all-knowing is about right.

[fishflow200]

@TheBarbon85 haha good one

[ThePizzaCow]

Shit.....how many octaves is that?

[TheBarbon85]

@ThePizzaCow 4+ with falsetto, 3+ without.

[Matthewsongcovers]

@TheBarbon85 Should falsetto really count as range? Anyone can squeak a bit and get higher.

[TheBarbon85]

@Matthewsongcovers Falsetto range er, clearly counts as range. Now for your G#6.

[Matthewsongcovers]

@TheBarbon85 I dunno. I personally don't count falsetto as range. Even if everyone else does. When I use falsetto it just seems a lot easier than normal singing. Also, my falsetto is fairly high. I have no trouble hitting any of the *falsetto* notes that matt bellamy hits, but can't hit all of his non falsetto notes.

[TheBarbon85]

@Matthewsongcovers Let's gain some perspective. Matt Bellamy's highest mix note is Bb4, which would be challenging to most folks. By comparison, hitting an Bb4 in falsetto is easy for Bellamy, or anyone. However, reaching a G#6 in falsetto is not easy for most people. Bellamy's highest falsetto note is G#5, a full octave lower than the last note in this video. Hitting common pop music high notes (G4, A4) in falsetto is not impressive, but delving well into the 6th octave is.

[juniwilliams]

@ThePizzaCow not really that impressive compared to matt bellamy.

[TheBarbon85]

@juniwilliams Not sure how that works, when Yorke has a greater range than Bellamy. According to multiple online sources, Bellamy's range is A2-Bb4(-G#5), which the average person on the street could match. Excessive use of falsetto shouldn't be confused with having a great range, either in chest/head or falsetto range itself.

That said, I do quite like a few Muse songs and consider Bellamy the better technical vocalist of the two, but Yorke's by far the better singer/songwriter.

[juniwilliams]

@TheBarbon85 could have sworn i heard him reach C#6 on a track. That being said, i eat my words. Didn't watch the video until the end. G# 6!!! thats fucking unreal. However, the reason i prefer matt bellamys voice is more so do with his vibrato and strong powerful chest voice. But i certainly prefer radiohead as a band. What song is the last?

[Fuckmau5]

@TheBarbon85 So true. Can't dispute Bellamy's skill but he doesn't have a fraction of the expression that Yorke has. Not since Showbiz anyway.

[juniwilliams]

@TheBarbon85 i humbly concede. I guess it boils down to taste. I prefer bellamys tone and vocal control. However, i must agree that his lyrics lack any mystery nor creativity half of the time That being said, i think both musicians are brilliant vocalists. I would love to hear them collaborate.

[Tuscelli]

@juniwilliams who gives a damn about it. matt bellamy is nothing compare to other thousand singers who are much more impressive than him. i believe it's a matter of taste, nothing else.

[anetchi]

Man I LOVE RADIOHEAD!!!!! :D

[spammeifyoumust]

@TheBarbon85 IMO, in rock music, the peak years, for virtually all male singers, are between 24 and 35. Of course if you sing well within your range in your 20s, then people may not notice the change when you're 46. It'd probably be less apparent if pop singers took voice lessons. Sadly most don't until long after the damage is done.

[TheBarbon85]

Seriously, what's with the people asking which songs the notes are from? Can y'all not read the description or something?

[harvestmoonvalley]

what song was it at 0:22???

[patrickjackson93]

@harvestmoonvalley Street Spirit (Fade Out)

[YorkeBellamy7]

@harvestmoonvalley Oh my! Street Spirit (Fade Out) :)

[sergioShuletti]

@harvestmoonvalley

street spirit

[angusm621]

@harvestmoonvalley Fade out

[orlandocastill0]

THATS RIGHT...

[Longpigmss]

I think sulk is pretty good singing, the last chorus in particular.

[TheBarbon85]

@Longpigmss Yeah, there's a good B4 on the last chorus.

[theone456]

he doesnt hit those high notes anymore, not that he cant.

[Braxium1]

Little babies eyes... <3

[SanityMachine]

0:48 that could be mistaken as muse, no doubt! eheh

[TheBarbon85]

@SanityMachine Yeah. There's definitely a similarity in the timbre.

[chib65vpu]

That epic A4 is from Creep ;)

[loljustice31]

Oh my god, Thom Yorke! He's the most perfect, most beautiful, most brilliant thing that ever graced the face of the earth! Is there anything he can't do, I heard he pisses pure stardust...

[namemename]

what is F5 and A#5 and G#6??

[Kidamneziac]

@namemename I don't know what you are asking, therefor I can't really answer. Do you mean you want to know how to make those chords? What kind of insight are you looking for here, this is youtube, not askjeeves.

[JelloSamurai]

that fucking last note

[eddy67]

Thom can't do most of these anymore

[wurble]

E2 is skip divided. Not a clue what F2 is

[shein555]

what song is F2 and E2???

[difficilekriss]

@shein555 E2 is ''Skip Divided'', F2 is ''Bittersweet'', Thom Yorke ft. The Venus In Furs from the soundtrack of ''Velvet Goldmine'' :)

[shein555]

@difficilekriss thank you mr!!!!

[StillLifeWithMangoes]

@TheBarbon85 is the C5 in this falsetto? Or just head voice? It doesn't sound as though his voice breaks to me.

[TheBarbon85]

@StillLifeWithMangoes Falsetto.

[StillLifeWithMangoes]

I don't get why people get so argumentative over whether someone is tenor or baritone, didn't realise they were concrete divisions that everyone falls into. Thom Yorke is a Light Baritone/Low tenor in the peak of his singing career, these days hes definitely a baritone however, as his voice is deepening with age.

[joshdh95]

@TheBarbon85 eh? how's he playing a chord with his voice?!

[TheBarbon85]

@joshdh95 How do you mean?

[aqimwolstenholme]

@joshdh95 lol, chords/notes are not necessarily guitar chords.. it applies to anything that can change in pitch, which include voice.. correct me if I'm wrong D:

[TheBarbon85]

@aqimwolstenholme A chord is a group of notes played simultaneously. Thom is certainly not playing chords with his voice in this video.

[aqimwolstenholme]

@TheBarbon85 okay, thank you for correcting my mistake right there :D honestly, i always thought chords is the same thing as notes. D:

[seanqwertybob]

Love that B4 from Stop Whispering

[CalumnMcAulay]

Are you sure the last one is Thom Yorke and not James Brown? ;-)

[Unnamed0909]

I wish I had nearly the vocal range of Thom Yorke.

[kleoarisphil]

@TheBarbon85 ok man,great job! thom yorke is awesome !

[TheBarbon85]

@kleoarisphil Thanks. That he is!

[overcastx3]

I know nothing about singing, but I am really impressed that so many of you guys can differentiate between all these different notes. Thom is the best!

[somewhathumanlike]

Were the last few after Paranoid Android real?

[TheBarbon85]

@somewhathumanlike Yes. You'll find them on the unofficial albums mentioned in the video description.

[MrNickMMM]

Also vocal range better than Freddie Mercury' s.

God, I love this man.

[andross637]

@MrNickMMM not sure about that. their chest/head range is about the same but fred can hit a pure falsetto e6, while yorke is very raspy in the same area, suggesting that fred could have ascended to g#6 with much greater ease had a song required it. i think its safe to say that fred blows yorke away when all things are considered, and yorke would be first to admit it, since queen were his first favorite band.

[antonio610]

No baritone can do a D5 that carelessly, end of story. Chris Cornell can't do it, Daniel Gildenlöw can't do it, Geoff Tate can't do it.

[GoodGuitarSolos]

@antonio610 There are baritones who can do incredible D5s, you are wrong.

[rocanlover151]

wow!!!!

[GoodGuitarSolos]

Great F5, sounded a lot like Robert Plant.

[bevanmcg]

@GoodGuitarSolos I was just writing that I thought I heard Robert Plant in there when I noticed your comment. Uncanny - just like him !!

[SetingSun]

What's song is the F5?

[TheBarbon85]

@SetingSun See the video description.

[AeroCooper1]

Holy shit that F5 sounds like Chris Cornell!!

[TransmissionHydrogen]

is an A#5 higher than a G#? If not, is a G#6 higher??

General curiosity :) p.s Thom IS AN AMAZING VOCALIST!

[TheBarbon85]

@TransmissionHydrogen A#5 is higher than G#5. G#6 is higher than A#5.

[TransmissionHydrogen]

@TheBarbon85 Thanks :L Is a G# higher than either of those, it's a note my friend says he's working on? Sorry for hounding you with questions!

[TheBarbon85]

@TransmissionHydrogen You can't compare the G# to other notes unless you know which octave it's in: the number after the note specifies the octave. For example, G#4 is an octave (eight notes) lower than G#5. I'd imagine your friend is probably tring to reach G#5 using mix voice, which would be pretty impressive. That would mean that your friend is employing the technique Yorke uses on the F5 to hit a note a little higher than that one.

[TransmissionHydrogen]

@TheBarbon85 Oh! I see, thanks so much!

[catythatzall4now]

Without radiohead one might never find out how full range their voices might be:) merci thom

Merci

Editor of vocal range:)

C

[XsoysuicidaX]

I'm blinded by your daylight!

[GoodGuitarSolos]

Great low tenor, my favourite note is the B4 from "You".

[pepemazter]

@GoodGuitarSolos I actually think he's light baritone, not low tenor. A tenor never would reach an E2

[KCJacksonMuz]

@pepemazter You're right. He's a light baritone. I tell people this all the time and everyone thinks he's a high tenor, because he abuses his falsetto in almost everything these days. And also, because his lower range is so light. I'm a light baritone and my highest note is A4 in chest. My belt sounds exactly the same as his on Creep.

[sippe555]

@KCJacksonMuz high tenor? Who has ever called him a high tenor? Thom is a low tenor.

[GoodGuitarSolos]

@KCJacksonMuz Yorke is a low tenor.

[bajuriphd]

this video is enough to put Liam Gallagher to the bottom of the deepest ocean

[TheBarbon85]

@bajuriphd Lol. Liam was the man back in the mid 90's though.

[breachmania]

@bajuriphd He's already there man haha

[stereosanctity7]

@bajuriphd hes a prick...compared to thom anyway lol...but seriously ive heard liam's an asshole...probably because he not related to Rory Gallagher and that pisses him off

[loveandpig]

@bajuriphd liam just sings different

[daebat]

nice, thanks

[junyaB]

little babies eyes.. eyes, eyes, eyes

[JUSTNO1SE]

Great vid

whoo first dibs

ahem ahem

The last one sounds like a nazgul, thom yorke can scream like a nazgul..nazguls dont have s on Thommy.

[TheBarbon85]

@JUSTNO1SE Hehe, thanks.

[platinumdynamite]

Great video. He's certainly an exceptional singer. Some of those chest notes are incredible for any male singer.

[manuelgui15]

nice!

[ziguratti]

I didn't realize second song (F2)! Do you have someone who knows?