Tuesday 31 January 2012

[Vocal Profile] Lana Del Rey


Vocal Type:Dugazon
Vocal Range: 3 Octaves and one note (B2-C6)
Whistle Register: No
Vocal Pluses: An expressive voice that carries the emotional narrative of the lyric through Lana Del Rey's uncanny ability to channel whatever character is contained within them. This is accentuated by her brilliant intonation and phrasing which maintain that the song words are always clear, audible and understandable to a listener. Very much influenced by Nancy Sinatara, Lana has adapted and modernised her sound for a new generation.

The lower range is thick and dark with a slight smokiness[Born To Die (live)]. It is often utilised with a languorous tone and a quiver to the voice. Though at odds to her lighter, speaking voice, this artificially darkened sound appears to come comfortably.

The mid-range is of medium weight, and has a sweetness and feminine youthfulness that is not noticeable in the lowest extremes of the voice [Dark Paradise]. The Diva can play with the delivery here to create a variety of emotive  palettes. For instance, she can sound sorrowful and dejected with a slow, hazy and laborious delivery [God Knows I Tried]; enamoured with a warm and solid tone [West Coast]; nostalgic and melancholy [Old Money]; or playful, with a clear and youthful pop timbre [Brite Lites]. It's a versatility that is borne from the Diva's musicality and ability to manipulate the tempo, timbre and weight of her voice.

Lana Del Rey's belt is predominately head voice heavy, creating a timbre that is light, feminine and without stress or strain [Tired Of Singing The Blues]. As a result of this choice, the voice can step into its falsetto [Pawn Shop Blues] or flip back and forth between the two registers [Kinda Outta Luck] with ease.This choice of mix means Lana's belts lack resonance or real projection.

The upper register is easily accessed and is mostly used in a warm and breathy falsetto style. However, the Diva has demonstrated an ability to solidify the notes and use a head voice that is resonant, full and displays better dynamics than its falsetto counterpart [Cola].

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 a product of studio magic.



80 comments:

  1. I have yet to be convinced....I really love her style and lyrics but not the singing or the melodies....I am trying, DD, I really am! But at the moment I am still referring to her as 'Lana Dull Beige'.

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  2. Don't hurt yourself!! lol. I think she's just one of those polarising people who you love or hate

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  3. Love her, but hopefully when she does more live performances, we can get an actual live vocal profile. Plus I would like to know where she has used her whistle register because I didn't hear it in the video provided or else.

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  4. I love her voice. I wouldn't call it "soulless" and "hollow" but hypnotic. 

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  5. hold on...contralto?ok,maybe a low mezzo,but i think not contralto e_e

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  6. I don't know but her lower register sounds too forced and unnatural to me. I believe she is a mezzo but maybe a few more cigarettes could help her become a full contralto. lol

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  7. I'm so happy she won the Brit award for best International Breakthrough Artist!

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  8. Whats the song of C6 ??

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  9. She's not a contralto, no way in hell. Her child-like head voice is so much more natural. She said that she deliberately started to sing lower to make herself stand out from other girls. Listen to her first album as Lizzy Grant and other earlier recordings as proof. 

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  10. isn't C#3 - C6 two octaves, 5 notes & a semitone?

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  11. That would be 2 octaves 7 notes and a semitone haha

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  12. Lana Del Ray has a mixed place in my heart. Her music is amazing. It is very rare for me to prefer an artist by lyric quality more so than vocal. And even that being said her vocals are so emotive on her songs. Her live performances do need some polishing but I feel she doesnt sound bad live? She does get a little pitchy but I feel she does it on purpose because it isn't random. She seems to segment parts of her songs in levels of pitch. Im not trying to make excuses for her but honestly although she isn't a powerhouse she has truly something in her voice that is so strong. Im not sure what it is but you have to really listen.

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  13. Also your face doesn't have to be full of passion to the point you look like a wacko on crack to be emotive and expressive. Just putting that out there guyzzzz lol.

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  14. She is most definatley alluring on some level! I do really like her stuff! Hoping though as you said, she will brush up on her live performances!

    She at the very least is someone interesting and unique in a way that is extremely rare at his point in time!

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  15. I think her Pitchiness may have to do with the fact that she is pushing her lower notes. I mean her speaking voice is so high and cute, completely different from her "Sultry" voice. And her head voice is so pure and natural. And very much so for her uniqueness! I would say I wished there were more of her but that would take away from her unique quality!  

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  16. i love her i think she is very different from everyone
    shes not a technical singer but some people forget that music is also about soul and emotion 
    i think shes a great emotive singer who has an interesting voice 

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  17. Cyberghost30002 April 2012 at 03:21

    Umm, being a technical singer doesn't stop one from emoting.  look at Mariah Carey, a great technical singer who can emote.

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  18. Lana eonni, strengthen your contralto voice so you can belt higher. :D

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  19. Your totally right, and I noticed the head voice sound more so in her pre-fame work! Hopefully due to that pushing the lower notes which can be more detrimental than forcing higher she will look after those pipes!

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  20.  I think Lana's biggest weakness is that she's pretty pitchy live.
    She's getting better with her pitch though, her cover of "Goodbye Kiss" at BBC live lounge was on key except for maybe 2 or 3 notes.
    She has a very beautiful voice, her lower register is very solid as well.
    It's incredible and admirable how much she developed her lower range and how quickly. If you listen to her first ep Kill Kill and then Born To Die you'd have to remind yourself that it's the same person singing. Her lower register used to be weak, yet now she can produce a solid Bb2 and phrase in just about all of the 3rd octave.

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  21.  Yeah, she's said before that she sings low on purpose because people take her more seriously. Link to the interview, please?

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  22. Almost everyone agrees that Lana is a mezzosoprano trying to perform in contralto range, so why don't you just change it?

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  23. She can sing why are people saying she cant?

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  24. I totally agree with you, she has a fantastic voice at that. The problem is a lot of her live performances have been slightly 'off' like that Saturday Night Live situation, she is getting better live however!

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  25. Pretty much.Especially if you look at her older live videos when she was still Lizzy Grant - she's performing in her comfortable range and you can tell the difference.

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  26. actually shes a mezzo soprano , with no doubt about it. she uses her low range to look diferent, but shes not a contralto.

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  27. I am pretty certain she's a mezzo-soprano with a now well-developed lower register.

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  28. Looking like I will be catching her live next year....

    http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DzZipNI4ieA/UDEry9w5TwI/AAAAAAAABpk/PaBGzkrXeH8/s1600/funny-gifs-very-excited_123011.gif

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  29. I noticed that on live performances she often starts a note flat but then goes higher to correct pitch. But she really CAN sing !

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  30. I just reviewed all of the back material and I have to agree with the foregoing: Elizabeth Grant is a painfully obvious mezzo-soprano and there is nothing contralto about her voice. However, Lana del Rey, the character she has created, does sing in the contralto tessitura. The truth is the world knows her as a contralto, but she really is not.

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  31. yep, i remember discussing this with someone else a few months back. was supposed to change it, but just never got round to it!:D

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  32. No problem. That's how I described it to an acquaintance.
    Me: "Elizabeth Grant, the actual woman, is a mezzo-soprano."
    Him: "But Lana del Rey, the character, she's a contralto?"
    Me: "You've nailed it."

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  33. I thought her vocal type is contralto? Because she got soooo low and deep voices there :O

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  34. She's not a true contralto although she sings in that tessitura. If you listen to her entire voice and its placements, you'll quickly see they don't match a natural contralto. Contralto =/= low voice alone. Many a mezzo-soprano has a good lower registers and there are even rare sopranos with good lower ends. Vocal classification is about the voice's natural tessitura, color, weight, and warmth, as well as its quality between the registers. She's no contralto: She can indeed sing sultry lows, but the voice's actual strength is in its midvoice, her voice is not thick and weighty, and her head voice is light and bright. This is a mezzo. If you listen to her earlier recordings as May Jailer or on any of her other projects, you'll see how natural she sounds when she sings up from where she is singing. She deliberately uses her low range to sound distinction which is why its sounded so pushed at her debut.

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  35. I agree she is a mezzo that has somewhat developed lower end and it like to play with that. Her lower register lacks the clarity that her mid-range has, and her head voice is supper light and and has somewhat of airy quality too it.

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  36. Yesterday I watched a pretty interesting interview.She said herself she is not a contralto,but actually a mezzo-soprano.Singing low is not her comfortable range,but she does it to "stand out" from other artists.

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  37. because it sounds dull that is why, her pitch doesn't really change and for calling her a soprano NO WAY IS SHE A SOPRANO I heard her sing in a higher pitch she is not a soprano at all Watch "Lana Del Rey (lizzy grant) she sounds totally different she intentionally lowers her voice

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  38. i totally agree except for being a mezzo, uh uh there is no way she is a mezzo I only say that cause I heard her sing as lizzy grant and it was softer higher pitch but it wasn't soprano believe me.

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  39. Lol that woman isn't technical at all and she has a very powerful voice compared to lana but what do you expect her mother taught her technique as she was an opera singer so she passed it down to her mother that is why you hear her do a whistle register, which opera singers learn to do.

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  40. Is this updated to include her singing in "The Paradise Edition"? I think her voice matured some in the period in between albums, and I'm pretty sure she hit a D6 in "Cola" (or D7, I don't know how those notes are categorized).

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  41. Her high note: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOmuO5NvVew

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  42. It doesn't even say she's a soprano, it says Mezzo-soprano. It's a completely different vocal type.

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  43. Because she sucks live. And she sounds more like she's groaning than actually singing. But it's really all taste.

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  44. Soprano and mezzo soprano are 2 different things...mezzo's can have the same vocal weight as a soprano but differ when it comes to color, tone, and tessitura. Mezzo's tessitura can be from E3-E5 to A3-A5. Soprano's can sit around B3-C6 but it may vary slightly... As for color, mezzo's can have a bright chest, and to my knowledge it can be as bright as a sopranos. However in head voice, that is where the differences really take place. Mezzo's generally lose ease above soprano C while soprano's stereotypically can maintain ease up to Eb6.

    Some mezzo's give the illusion of a contralto...Look at Anastacia and Tasha Cobs....Those two women are dramatic mezzo-sopranos that can easily belt pass G5.

    Then you have very light weight mezzo-sopranos with high tessituras like Ciara and Hailey Williams. Both have youthful voices with a tessitura around A3-A5 (G5 for ciara).

    There are also light weight mezzo's with dark, warm, reedy, or brassy colors such as Kimbra and Beyonce. Both have Tessitura's of E3-E5 although their vocal styles vary slighty.


    Then you have the most light weight of all mezzo-sopranos that have soprano like weight but strange unique colors. Michelle Williams and Demi Lovato are too that I can easily describe. The two have very different voices from each other. Michelle has a reedy voice while Demi has a more metallic voice.


    As for sopranos, you have heavy weight sopranos with tremendous upper chest power and can belt extremely high. These range from brassy tones to reedy tones to even a thick whirling tone. Look at Haley Reinhart, Patti Label, possibly Jenifer Hudson.


    Then there are sopranos with a very girly tone that have a ring to their belts. Very light weight mid ranges but contrasting lower ranges may be seen. Look at Leona Lewis, Mariah Carey (In her mayday).


    I hope this helps you. As for what you were trying to say for LDR, IDK.....She is definitely a light weight mezzo with a dark tessitura.

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  45. She sucks. Her voice in general, tone, accent/enunciation, pitch are all awful.

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  46. Charley Hawkins11 March 2013 at 18:08

    I feel proud that I can sing like her!xx

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  47. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOmuO5NvVew

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  48. I took a Lana break and then started listening to more of her new music. Her voice is SO Bright. I'm not confident she's a Mezzo anymore. Even though she doesn't use it too much her headvoice is very very light and round. Its strong. Moreso than her chest voice. I feel like she may be a Soprano...but then again. I could be wrong. Her voice confuses me.

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  49. She's a dugazon, if that helps clear up the confusion.

    Lana's voice to start with was a soprano, that's blatant.

    However she successfully trained her voice to handle lower tessitura, similar to how Callas trained such a heavy and dark voice such as hers to tackle soprano high notes. The end result left Lana with a hybrid voice, her voice neither belongs to the soprano fach or the mezzo fach. A dugazon, which is typically a darker coloured soprano or a light mezzo soprano voice.

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  50. Whistle register cannot be learnt.

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  51. Opera singers do not use whistle register.
    It can't be projected.

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  52. Yes it can. Anyone can access whistle register, but not everyone should. Some people just don't know how to instinctively access it, some have to be taught or discover it on accident and nurture it from there.

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  53. LOL I don't think the question is whether she has a voice. I think the debate goes more to mastery of that voice.
    Personally I have some doubts about that mastery as well but I like her voice, like what she is aiming for and think she is a good songwriter. Wishing you a great time! :)

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  54. I am in full agreement with this.

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  55. i read once she is a dugazon soprano, how would that be

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  56. My favorite singer with a dark brassy warm coloring is Angela Mccluskey of Tele pop music fame

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  57. Yeah, well some of my stuff is innacurate in my above post but mostly correct.

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  58. So whats the result?

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  59. She hits a C♯6 in "Cola".

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  60. This is the one note in the song I can't hit, frustrating me no end. I am a countertenor :( I love Lana's songs, and I can usually hit the notes - but not that time

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  61. Do you warm up your high notes? I am a countertenor as well and my falsetto reaches G#6 and I can whistle up to G#7. I think should warm up your vocals a little bit before attempting to hit those notes.

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  62. Oh my god! Than you are an amazing singer!
    Do you have a youtube channel?

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  63. Well to be far I'm only an amatuer I still need some work to do. I'm working on my vocals with my vocal trainer. The only reason why I know this much is because of my trainer. That's reminds I need to practice "Why God?" because I'm seeing him tomorrow!!!

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  64. well I hope you continue working on your voice and maybe someday uploading some videos on youtube so we can hear/see you singing. Good luck tomorrow!

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  65. Awww that's really sweet !!! (^-^) Thank you!

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  66. OK LANA WAS AMAZING!!! She could hit the high notes with ease and she demonstrated the voice she has in the studio!! Although, i have a negative comment:Her low notes were very shaky and unaudible...(I mean notes under an E3)...but she was great...most of her songs were really greattt....(also i think she tries to reach these low notes by lowering her larynx box) THANK YOU

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  67. Good to hear you had a great time. Thanks for the short review. :-)

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  68. Well I am a baritone and i can't barely hit a G5...

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  69. I'm a baritone too and i can go up to C#6 on falsetto

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  70. Good Job Dudeee!!! Well I can hit a B5 but It will soung pushed and too harsh so I am building my vocal range slowly...but really a C#6 that's really nice! When I say that i can reach a G5 people say to me "So what?" But I believe it is difficult for a baritone...

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  71. that's amazing! what's the lowest note you can hit? ^___^

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  72. so how was she?? :D

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  73. the term Dugazon is used to refer to a type of mezzo soprano not soprano

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  74. Thank you!!! I reached a new note C8 my lowest note on certain day Bb1 or C2.

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  75. I'm just now really listening to her. I got into her music because of the strange stories she tells in her lyrics, but I can't deny her odd vocal abilities. It's like listening to smoke and laser beams, if they could sing.

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  76. i'm a bass and i can hit from a C1 to F#8 with or without warming up

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