Celine--Soprano? Mezzo-Soprano?

[Wonka0217]

Hello All,

I'm toiling away my computer trying to find evidence that Celine is either a
soprano or a mezzo-soprano. Perhaps she's both in addition to alto. Any of
you knowledgeable about singing classifications in connection Celine? Please
notify me. :-)

Wonka0217

[David Steinberg]

Wonka0217 (wonk...@aol.com) wrote:
: I'm toiling away my computer trying to find evidence that Celine is

: either a soprano or a mezzo-soprano. Perhaps she's both in addition to
: alto. Any of you knowledgeable about singing classifications in
: connection Celine? Please notify me. :-)

On her MuchMoreMusic SpeakEasy special, Celine said she was a
mezzo-soprano.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
David Steinberg "Did you think I'd want to tow the line
stei...@interchange.ubc.ca Well now the line is broken"
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= - Celine Dion, Refuse to Dance -=-=-=

[gail holcombe]

Celine has a five octive range, meaning she can sing 45 different notes.
That means (but not only from that) that she is a Soprano. Mezzo soprano is
the next step down from a soprano. She can sing extremely high, so she is
classified as a soprano. There are probably more elements to classifying
singers, but with her range, she is definetly a soprano!

[Liisa]

I hear this all the time, that Celine would have a five octave range.
Where have you guys heard this? Have you really heard her sing five
octaves, or is it just a hear-say?

I doubt it very very much. Do you even realize how much is five
octaves? It's a lot!

yes, she's a great singer with a relatively wide range. But five
octaves? I really want evidence on that.

I so do not belive the five octaves. At least not before somebody
proves it for me.

[David Steinberg]

gail holcombe (THEHOL...@prodigy.net) wrote:
: Celine has a five octive range, meaning she can sing 45 different notes.
: That means (but not only from that) that she is a Soprano. Mezzo soprano is
: the next step down from a soprano. She can sing extremely high, so she is
: classified as a soprano. There are probably more elements to classifying
: singers, but with her range, she is definetly a soprano!

Just to clarify a couple of points...

First, five octaves doesn't correspond to 45 different notes. There are
twelve unique half-tones in each octave (ie. C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F# G,
G#, A, A#, B), so exactly five octaves would correspond to 5 * 12 + 1 =
61 notes. The extra one is for the top note, five octaves above the
bottom note (eg. if you start on C, the 60 half-tones takes you up to a B,
plus one more to get to the top C).

Secondly, "five-octave range" has been reported many times by many
different respectable sources, but Celine has never said it herself. It
could be that she doesn't want to sound like she's bragging, or it might
not be true.

I have only seen someone ask her directly about her range once. On her
MuchMoreMusic SpeakEasy special, they were talking about opera, and
she was asked, "But you've got the range for it, five octaves, right?"

She replied, "I'm a mezzo soprano, so it doesn't go that high. But, when
I do my vocal exercises, it sounds operatic."

Notice, she didn't actually confirm or deny having a five octave range,
she sort of changed the subject. She did state, however, that she is a
mezzo soprano. That doesn't discount the possibility of a five-octave
range, it just specifies where the most comfortable, natural portion of
her range lies.

[PEACHEY303]

Celine Dion, in essence is a mezzo-soprano. Mezzo-Sopranos have the range of a
soprano and an alto combined. I am a Mezzo-soprano myself, and I have a range
like Celine..but not as high, or as low!
In many of her french TV shows, she said she was mezzo Soprano....and also if
you watch some old appearances like Lifetime Biography or Unison special, you
will find her saying she is a mezzo.
Generally speaking...Celine is a mezzo soprano!!!

Allie

[cristanvi...@gmail.com]

She's a Soprano with 3 octaves and 3 notes

[grigoryk...@gmail.com]

Celine Dion is a mezzo soprano. 100%!!! But she was famous like lyric soprano.

[TimB]

On Monday, September 13, 1999 at 2:00:00 PM UTC+7, gail holcombe wrote:
> Celine has a five octive range, meaning she can sing 45 different notes.
> That means (but not only from that) that she is a Soprano. Mezzo soprano is
> the next step down from a soprano. She can sing extremely high, so she is
> classified as a soprano. There are probably more elements to classifying
> singers, but with her range, she is definetly a soprano!

45 notes (semitones) amounts to a range of three octaves plus a perfect fifth.

[TimB]

On Monday, September 13, 1999 at 2:00:00 PM UTC+7, Liisa wrote:
> On Mon, 13 Sep 1999 01:31:27 -0400, "gail holcombe"

Most laypeople don't seem to realize that an octave is an interval, not a point. For example, if someone sings middle C and the next C above that, it is a range of one octave, not two. But the majority of the posting public, unschooled in the particulars of music theory and music terminology, commonly call two octaves. So, when John or Jane Q. Public says that so-and-so has a five-octave range, they likely mean four, and even that is outrageous, unless so-and-so happens to be Yma Sumac. For a typical soprano to have a four-octave range, their range would extend from middle C up to the highest note on an 88-key piano, which is absurd. An excellent opera singer might have a three-octave range. If you can imagine a soprano with a range of A below the staff to the second A above the staff, that's a three-octave range, and that soprano is a once-in-a-lifetime soprano, very rare indeed.

> <THEHOL...@prodigy.net> wrote:
>
> >Celine has a five octive range, meaning she can sing 45 different notes.
> >That means (but not only from that) that she is a Soprano. Mezzo soprano is
> >the next step down from a soprano. She can sing extremely high, so she is
> >classified as a soprano. There are probably more elements to classifying
> >singers, but with her range, she is definetly a soprano!
>

>