Why do people claim to have six or seven octave ranges?!
Question: Are people really stupid enough to believe they can sing six or seven octaves? First, put aside the fact that, even if they could produce a tone in seven different octaves, they couldn't possibly create a melody that even comes close to bordering on listenable in their extreme ranges. The most incredible singers in the world generally have between a two and three octave range at most. Even if you HAD a six or seven octave range, there isn't a single piece of music written that allows for that kind of wide vocal disparity...not even in the modern era! You basically would just be a freak show on tour with Barnum & Bailey if you could sing that low/high.
Clearly people who make these claims are ignorant. I wonder if they are just trying to make themselves look good or do they just not have any idea what an octave is? Let me clear it up for you...seven octaves would start 2 C's below middle C and, going up, would include the 4 C's above middle C also. Who you singing to? Dogs?
Answers: Are people really stupid enough to believe they can sing six or seven octaves? First, put aside the fact that, even if they could produce a tone in seven different octaves, they couldn't possibly create a melody that even comes close to bordering on listenable in their extreme ranges. The most incredible singers in the world generally have between a two and three octave range at most. Even if you HAD a six or seven octave range, there isn't a single piece of music written that allows for that kind of wide vocal disparity...not even in the modern era! You basically would just be a freak show on tour with Barnum & Bailey if you could sing that low/high.
Clearly people who make these claims are ignorant. I wonder if they are just trying to make themselves look good or do they just not have any idea what an octave is? Let me clear it up for you...seven octaves would start 2 C's below middle C and, going up, would include the 4 C's above middle C also. Who you singing to? Dogs?
Females
Greatest range: Eight octaves G2-G10, Georgia Brown, Brazil Watch Here (example of E7)
Highest vocal note: G10 (25087Hz), Georgia Brown, Brazil
Guinness lists the highest demanded note in the classical repertoire as G6 in 'Popoli di Tessaglia,' a concert aria by W. A. Mozart. However, this is not a standard repertory piece. The highest note in the standard repertoire is F6 in Mozart's aria "Der H?lle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen" Watch Clip" (sometimes called "The Queen of the Night's aria," though this character actually has two arias) from the opera Die Zauberfl?te. It calls for four F6's, which is often cited as the highest note in classical vocal music (she sings an additional F6 during the first Act aria, "O Zittre nicht"). Several little-known works call for pitches higher than G6. For example, the soprano Mado Robin, who was known for her exceptionally high voice, sang a number of compositions created especially to exploit her highest notes, reaching C7 according to the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera (edited by Harold Rosenthal)
Males
Greatest range: Six octaves, Tim Storms, USA Watch Clip
Highest vocal note: C?8 Adam Lopez, Australia Watch Clip
Lowest vocal note: B-2 (minus 2, two octaves below the grand staff)(8 Hz), Tim Storms, USA
Guinness lists the lowest demanded note in the classical repertoire as a "Low D" (two Ds below Middle C) in Osmin's aria in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail. Although Osmin's note is the lowest demanded and commonly performed in the operatic repertoire, Mahler's second symphony contains an optional B?1 in the choral section at the end of the piece: basses who cannot reach it are requested to remain silent rather than sing a B?2. Leonard Bernstein's Candide has an optional low B (a minor third below the low D) in a bass aria of its opera house version. Some choral works and songs also call for notes lower than the low D. For example, Pavel Chesnokov's "Do not deny me in my old age" features a basso profondo soloist, sometimes reaching as low as G1, depending on the arrangement
ahahaha...I know, seriously. Kristin Chenoweth has 4 octaves, I can't think of anybody who has six/seven though! that would be ridiculous. But yeah, it's possible that they just don't know what an octave is or are trying to brag. I can't imagine why else you'd make a claim like that.
No offense, but you're obviously ignorant when it comes to musical pitch and the possible vocal ranges of singers. It's a rare gift, but there are definitely singers in the world who have six or seven (or even more) octave ranges. Their sturdiest pitches span over only about two to three octaves, but they're able to reach beyond that because they learned to use their whistle register and/or falsetto in a way that not everyone can (as well as reach below the "meaty" part of their voice to sing low notes).
You're right about songs not being written to showcase a voice (or any instrument) that uses four or more octaves. Saying that one has a six+ octave range is mostly a bragging right.
It's possible to have such a wide range, even if compositions don't call for using it. I myself have about 4.5 and there is NO way that I ever need this versatility. I have never needed to sing E7 in a piece.
There is at least one person I know of who has a seven octave range - MARIAH CAREY- So it is not as impossible as you make it our to. I don't think calling people "ignorant" is necessary to put over a point.
So if Mariah can do it, I don't see that there couldn't be more people out there that could do the same thing. Haven't you heard the saying "Nothing is impossible".