Sunday 12 May 2013

[Vocal Profile] Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder

Vocal Type: Lyric Tenor
Tessitura:   2 Octaves (F3-F5)
Vocal Range: 3 Octaves 5 Notes and a semitone (F2-D#6)
Whistle Register: No
Vocal Pluses: Stevie Wonder's lower register is light in weight with a color that is nasal, which makes his lower register sound somewhat thin. It extends down to D2 with a vocal fry extension but he can hit an F2 with his modal voice. As a result, the F2 is much more healthy in its quality. Wonder exhibits a slightly smoky texture as he extends up to around the E3 mark, but his resonance is lost below G3. Overall, his lower register is achieved using decent technique.

His mid voice, spanning from G3-E4, showcases his nasal tone better. His voice is light in weight but somewhat thick in tone- most likely due to the nasal placement. In this register Wonder has plenty of freedom and agility. His falsetto, for a man breaks late at around E4 (2 notes shy that of a typical tenor) which places him in the realm of the highest tenors. Overall, this area is achieved using brilliant technique, via mixing or high nasal placement.

His belting register is the strongest and most impressive part of the range. Extending from E4 to an impressive A#5 (though the video claims a C#6 which is ridiculous) this is where his tone really shines. His E4 to B4 sounds light and thick with a slightly velvety texture, but as he hits the C5, his voice becomes brighter with mezzo-soprano like weight. His elasticity is uncanny for a male; being able to complete complex and quick vocal runs with ease. Wonder accesses these high belts with one of the most developed mix voices of all time. His technique in this area is generally phenomenal.

He generally exhibits a mix between head voice and falsetto called falsettone. It extends up to D#6, however it sounds at its most healthy at G#5. The sound itself is thick, lacking in defined resonance (though it is there as he transitions between falsettone and head voice, quite a bit above G#5) and sounds akin to a bugle in color. Any note above G#5 is not sung with the best musicianship and his technique in this register is not great.

Vocal Negatives: The head voice also needs to be improved on to strengthen its tone and connect it better to the lower range. The nasal quality of the voice is also not to everyone's taste.


Thanks to Montrez Rambo for this Profile!

45 comments:

  1. Well heres a profile I wasnt execting. lol Well done DD

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  2. Stevie Wonder, a legend and musical genius. He's definitely of the higher tenors -- you can check his placement and his timbre which is bright and ringing for male standards. He at times would bring up the chest voice very high in a gruff emotional passage in some of his songs but you can tell it was very far from his natural voice. His midrange was velvety, smooth, and pleasant. Some of his highest notes were unpolished but he didn't tend to use the highest are of the upper register except for emotional effect so it was fitting. His voice sounds most resonant in the midrange and lower part of the upper register throughout the mixing zone. He was quite a good mixer and his trademark sound and bright color can be attributed to his unique placement.

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  3. The profile seems to contridict itself at certain points but mostly good

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  4. I don't want to sound stupid, but I wonder if someone could explain the difference between the vocal range and tessitura?? It makes me confuse every time.

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  5. Give them a little time to iron out the details. Sometimes I get what they are trying to say, but you raise a good point.

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  6. Vocal range is the span between the lowest and highest notes a person can hit. The tessitura, however, is the area in which a singer sings most often in their songs -- essentially the part of the vocal range they use the most.

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  7. Lol I enjoyed your comment but it started to feel like an obituary after a while...with all that past tense.

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  8. That's because he's had such a lengthy career filled with modes. I suppose I was referring to his earlier work and hence the past tense. You still manage to keep me on my toes. LOL.

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  9. Not a problem. :-)

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  10. The fourth paragraph coincides with the second paragraph. Sorry about the disarray. It got split apart during editing. I should have made that point clear, sorry. It actually was referring to his mid voice, not his head tone. It was showing where his mid voice ended and falsetto ended which is E4.

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  11. I really don't care for the tone of his voice...but then again I don't really like male voices but I love how you're incorporating them into the site because they are interesting to read nonetheless. I remember a while back I asked everyone who their favorite male singer was/who they thought was the best male singer and Karen said hands down Stevie Wonder, so I hope she sees this.

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  12. I'm with you Hannah. I like some of his songs but could take or leave him as a singer. Lot more males I find more interesting vocalists.

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  13. Stevie Wonder makes me want to quit singing all together. "His belting register is the strongest and most impressive part of the range. Extending from E4 to an impressive A#5..." can I just crawl in a hole and die?

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  14. No because you should view him as a role model. He has an elastic balding range and an impressive mix and so can many other people with appropriate practice.

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  15. I was trying to point out the flaws, as an avid writer, I know flaws can easily be missed if noone points them out. In this article its how some of the things mentioned in positive sections were critiques it seem to give the whole profile slightly a negative connotation. Also how it praises his tone in his belting range then negates the compliment. I still believde it is a great profile, very indepth.

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  16. This profile is self-contradictory lmao.

    "Belting register... where his tone really shines"

    and then

    "tone, particularly in the belting range, is weak and lacking character"



    So his tone shines where it's particularly weak and lacking in character?

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  17. Myself...not so much on my toes because just ten minutes ago , telling someone else about this thread I found myself speaking in past tense and the other telling me...he's not dead. Rofl

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  18. Diva and I will talk about getting it fixed. Sorry about that.

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  19. Its nothing to feel sorry about its an amazing profile with a few mistakes.

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  20. this is an amazing birthday gift to him. Stevie is an AMAZING singer and songwriter he really emotes through the song and I'm really inspired by him. He's blind but he didn't let it hinder his dreams. and he is really kind and a down to earth person.

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  21. Honestly, I don't usually take singers as role models. I usually just admire the way they persevere to get in the industry or stay in the industry (mostly). Not much artists nowadays are exactly role-model material (ones that are nearer to our age).

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  22. Personally...I like to make up my own ''role''. ;-)

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  23. OMG, I failed to state what I meant. I meant a role model as in mixing abilities alone. He can't really be a role model to anyone except to...nevermind.. I was about to say something unintentionally mean. I need to hush. lol

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  24. I had no idea. This is amazing yet ironic. lol

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  25. Lol really why?

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  26. I genuinely had no idea it was the day before his birthday when we posted the vocal profile. Lol

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  27. stevie is not a lyric tenor. stevie is a leggiero tenor(aka. light-lyric tenor). stevie's timbre is warm but not rich enough to be a lyric tenor. his lower register is dark but light, similar to other leggiero tenors such as brian mcknight & usher.

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  28. lyric tenors would be brian littrell from the backstreet boys and elliott yamin.


    no haterade intended.

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  29. Lol. I think he is remarkable, also, like Josh said, he didn't let his disabilities affect him. So I don't mind.

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  30. Lol yes, I never got that 'role model'' thing. Being inspired by someone yes, desiring to follow someone...no.

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  31. Every part of his modal register retains that nasal quality. I know a Leggiero when I hear one and Stevie isn't one. He is a lyric tenor, with higher than average vocal breaks. His lower register, is consistently dark as should be for a lyric tenor. He does high nasal palcement for his mid voice which takes away from the natural velvety texture he has. Also, his lower belts (which for a leggiero tenor aren't supposed to get bright until about A4/B4) shows that rich velvety texture of a lyric tenor the most. Leggieros are warmer than lyric's by nature. Stevie's timbre doesn't strike me as the most warm to be considered a Leggiero. I stand by, Lyric tenor.


    There are huge tonal differences between Brian McKnight (a Leggiero tenor whose profile is a few short days away) and Stevies. Brian has a darker lower register, though their vocal weight is about the same. As the move up to the mid voice, which for Brian, his vocal break is on point for a typical tenor (C4/D4) while Stevie is slightly higher (E4). The tone here for Brian is dark and warm, with an extremely velvety texture. Stevie's tone is on the nasal side, and lacks darkness. It is though more youthful and buoyant in color which is a characteristic of a Lyric. The belting register, shows similarites, though Brian as a tad bit thicker here, even up to F5. Stevie loses that velvety tone after A4 and becomes very bright, like a mezzo-soprano. Brian retains that velvety texture and becomes equally as bright, while maintaining a tad bit more tonal thickness.


    For, me the belting register, is the only area that may lead to a bit of confusion but I believe him to be a lyric tenor. :)

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  32. Same here... But the problem is you probably wanna be your own role model. I just... I have no idea what I'm doing. LOL.

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  34. Real Leggiero Tenors in pop music are artists like Adam Levine and Michael Jackson. Usher is Lyric and Brian is spinto

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  35. I don't hear it in Adam or Michael. All I hear is lyric. Usher and Brian seem like leggieros because they lack a naturally nasal vocal colour, have dark velvety textures with robust lower ends and have that darkness up to around g4/a4. Comparing them to an operatic leggiero (Lawrence Brownlee), I hear more similarities than who else you mentioned.

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  36. Αbnormalitiеs in the nasal passages for example a deνiated sеptum

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  37. I agree. My operatic voice us substantially different from my pop voice. But I see your points though. But the lighter tenors like Adam and Stevie can sing those coloratura roles just fine with some training, so i see your point. How do you feel about Frank Ocean. I say he is a low tenor. He belts far too high to be a true baritone.

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  38. In my opinion I believe frank Ocean is a Lyric Baritone just like Omarion. this voice is at the higher end of the Baritone family so it will be confused with the tenor voice a lot. and also prince who is also a baritone but has a wider range that can go up to a soprano C7 which is whistle range from it's lowest stage. If these baritones sing with their head voice they can easily mis-identify as Tenors but the range of the Lyric Baritone is lacking so they can't hold notes as long as true tenors but the chest voice usually gives away a real baritone if your a good listener

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  39. I don't know much about baritones so thanks. I'm a lower tenor and I know that signature ring associated with tenors and most baritones have this thing called "stopping power" when they belt. I was a bit confused becsuse frank lacks that and the ring to his voice. I just went on and saw he was capable of belting B4s. And stuff that he was a tenor. Lol

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  40. Probably the best male vocalist ever.

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