Hit the High Notes singing game

November 22, 2019 1:34 AM

Sing to your browser and see how high you can go compared with 27 famous singers. [via mefi projects]
posted by ellieBOA (35 comments total)

I could match Scott Walker only with considerable difficulty, but not the mighty Rick Astley: thanks Rick, so much for 'never gonna make you cry'.
posted by misteraitch at 1:54 AM on November 22, 2019 [3 favorites]

I did make it all the way to F#5 (Frank Sinatra), but anywhere above C5 I sound enough like a strangled cat that the actual cat walked over to see what was wrong.
posted by uncleozzy at 3:34 AM on November 22, 2019 [12 favorites]

Yeah... First I learned that I am fairly tone deaf when it comes to hearing a note and trying to replicate it. Secondly, this was not made for people with my vocal range, which is more in the Brad Roberts range than Rick Astley range... and yes, even trying to replicate Mark Knopfler made the cats worried.
posted by jzb at 3:48 AM on November 22, 2019 [1 favorite]

It is so hard to stay on one note! I got to A5 Taylor Swift and stopped, my throat hurt after!
posted by ellieBOA at 4:07 AM on November 22, 2019

Hey, so, this is pretty cool, but I'm a baritone/bass. Is there any chance we could get the exact opposite of this game, so I could compare myself to Barry Carl and Thurl Ravenscroft?
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:21 AM on November 22, 2019 [11 favorites]

I can hit a note!
posted by oddman at 4:32 AM on November 22, 2019 [2 favorites]

The original idea was to measure full vocal range, but that was dropped partly because the pitch detection gets very iffy with low, croaky notes & bad mics make it even worse. If I can get it working better I might do How Low Can You Go?
posted by malevolent at 4:38 AM on November 22, 2019 [23 favorites]

I got to F5, and felt like I could get higher, but my pitch selection is so bad I didn't have enough breath to complete the note once I found it. My wife sings opera for a hobby, so I can't wait until she gets home for work and gives it a go. And unlike uncleozzy's cat, my cat left the room with concern, which doesn't surprise in the least.
posted by mollweide at 4:53 AM on November 22, 2019 [2 favorites]

I'm naturally a baritone. I knew things were going to go poorly when I sang the warmup note and was an octave below the target. I got as high as Sinatra before just sounding like a weird reedy scream.

The cat where I'm housesitting looked around wide-eyed as I did this, increasingly alarmed as the pitch went higher. It was worth it for his reaction alone.

I'd try the How Low Can You Go version of this, but the problem with being a baritone is that there's always someone who can hit a higher or lower note than you. I wish there were some test of just sounding, you know, pretty good in your normal range, because I feel like that's all I'm really good for.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 5:03 AM on November 22, 2019 [4 favorites]

Also, great project, malevolent!
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 5:04 AM on November 22, 2019 [1 favorite]

I sing Alto in our choir and have been tempted to go Soprano next term just because, darn it, 6'4" people with beards are very under-represented in the high voice sections. I've got the A if I'm warmed up, though it's a little thready.

Shapes, working on your tessitura ("sounding pretty good in your normal range") is much more important than having a ridiculous range. Focus on belly support, posture and making sure your resonators are open and relaxed.

Singing is wonderful, everyone should do some.
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:07 AM on November 22, 2019 [4 favorites]

Yeah, really, my only frustration with range is that I have to be careful at karaoke. Too frequently I'll discover the hard way that something is too high for me, and sometimes it seems like most things are. I sang "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" a couple weeks ago, and that was the absolute upper limit of what I could sing with real support. I know some places let you change the key that the song is in, but even then, you have to know to do it ahead of time.

I'm curious about the Range Planet now. It makes sense that people would keep track of singers' ranges.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 5:29 AM on November 22, 2019

I'm so used to the "in your own octave" instruction in choir warmups I automatically sang F3 in response to the opening F4. Oops.

This is really neat, but I'll have to come back and try this when it's not 6:30 in the morning and I have another note or two in me.
posted by egregious theorem at 5:44 AM on November 22, 2019 [1 favorite]

Rick-rolled!
posted by briank at 5:58 AM on November 22, 2019 [1 favorite]

This is great, but like a few others above, I more into the Caiaphas range than the Rick Astley.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:27 AM on November 22, 2019

I made it to Justin Timberlake, but bottomed out on Taylor Swift. When I was much much much younger, I could comfortably hit C6, but those days are plainly gone.

Pet Report: My half-deaf Jack Russell whined because I stopped throwing his toy.
posted by headspace at 7:09 AM on November 22, 2019 [3 favorites]

This seems cool but I already know that I have a vocal range of about three half-steps
posted by thelonius at 7:27 AM on November 22, 2019 [1 favorite]

Made it to Bowie and have convinced myself with neither evidence nor reason that I'll be able to hit Lennon/McCartney after a proper cuppa. To the kettle!
posted by youarenothere at 7:53 AM on November 22, 2019 [2 favorites]

The UI needs a redesign so I can set goals. It's kind of boring to just see the current target. Also, they should mention the song and word they hit their high note on, so you can try to match it.
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:10 AM on November 22, 2019

I cannot wait to play this when I get home.

Also, I cannot wait to go see seanmpuckett's choir in a couple of weeks (evening show!), yay!
posted by wellred at 8:32 AM on November 22, 2019 [1 favorite]

I apparently have the same top note as Justin Timberlake. This is irritating, probably because I used to be able to sing A5, and even—when we sang Fledermaus, because the music just takes you there—a top B.

This is what singing barbershop baritone does for a woman, I suppose.
posted by Pentickle at 8:52 AM on November 22, 2019

i hit britney spears but not, like, sounding at all good. interesting! i always felt like i was singing higher than apparently i do? also, my dog came in and checked on me, sweet girl
posted by gaybobbie at 9:06 AM on November 22, 2019 [1 favorite]

I got to Adele, but I'm pretty sure I'd be looking for another place to live if anyone else had been home.
posted by straight at 10:18 AM on November 22, 2019 [2 favorites]

I guess I can whistle as high as Mariah Carey can sing.
posted by straight at 10:21 AM on November 22, 2019

I made it to Kate Bush, but I already know my usual range is mezzo-soprano.

So what is it called when you sing something lower than your tessitura?
posted by droplet at 12:31 PM on November 22, 2019

Got to G6, Ellie Goulding, thought with considerably more strangled cat than Ms G.
posted by penguin pie at 12:56 PM on November 22, 2019

VERY screechy Kate Bush (F6). I will do it again after a good warmup sometime.
posted by wellred at 2:17 PM on November 22, 2019

I got to D6 at which point my voice defensively started getting the note an octave lower. I would like to try this after a good warmup too!
posted by batter_my_heart at 3:56 PM on November 22, 2019

I can get to a D6 from an un-warmed start but it doesn't sound good. Both cats were perturbed.
posted by merriment at 3:59 PM on November 22, 2019 [1 favorite]

Here to report that my attempt, too, resulted in cats coming to do a quick wellfare check. (C#6. Outdone by Freddie Mercury -- as it should be.)
posted by sldownard at 5:38 AM on November 23, 2019 [2 favorites]

I'm no Justin Bieber, apparently. I would definitely have a go at how low can you go, though.
posted by Wrinkled Stumpskin at 6:29 AM on November 23, 2019

Does the list include Morten Harket from A-Ha? Because the list should include Morten Harket from A-Ha.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 6:38 AM on November 23, 2019 [1 favorite]

I'm Justin Bieber good at singing online.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 6:39 AM on November 23, 2019

Kate Bush with an exhausted voice at the end of a tour - that's me!
posted by cocoagirl at 4:54 PM on November 24, 2019

Linked in Laura Olin's newsletter!
posted by ellieBOA at 2:57 AM on November 29, 2019