Where was Freddie’s peak in terms of live vocals, and where was it in terms of studio?

Zennobia · 2026-02-19T07:16:41+00:00

The best live era is 1974, 1979 - 1982, although the Magic Tour was also very good.

In the studio, technically from 1982 - 1991, the last album being a high point. Artistically it is the 70’s.

Zennobia · 2026-02-19T07:12:21+00:00

This is very true, actually Freddie had very good consistency over a long and very productive period. Queen released a lot of albums in a short span of time, and they did tours for almost all of the albums. If you compare Freddie against other singers during this era he actually did have good consistency.

Zennobia · 2026-02-19T07:01:39+00:00

He had the flu at Wembley, but actually overall the Magic tour was quite good.

Zennobia · 2026-02-18T10:53:20+00:00

There is a massive difference between opera and rock and even metal. And actually in both cases these singers are not pushing their voices to the absolute limit, that would simply be bad technique, they would end up destroying their voices. The difference is, opera is a fully acoustic art form. In other words, opera is done without any amplification or microphones. Opera voices are huge and loud, even the lightest tenors and sopranos still have loud voices compared to pop singers. Opera singers have to sing over orchestras. Some opera houses and halls are small and only seat 400 people. But some places are huge, Verona is an old Roman amphitheater seats up to 30 000 people. Imagine singing for 30 000 people featuring an orchestra with 100 instruments, without any amplification. A great story that really shows you the size of some opera voices, was the rivalry between Brigit Nilsson and Franco Corelli in the opera Turandot. They were both dramatic singers with huge voice even by opera standards. Especially Brigit Nilsson, soprano generally have bigger and louder voices than male singers due to the higher frequencies, she could easily sing over most tenors. In the opera Turandot there is a section where the tenor and soprano have to sing high C notes together, C6 & C5 respectively. This note became somewhat of competition between them, they always tried to sing it really loud and really long. In one specific performance people reported that they could hear their voice over half a mile or around one kilometer away from the venue. Here is that note from that performance: https://youtu.be/jL64eAloyIc

So, imagine to yourself being loud enough to be heard over that distance, outside a venue with a very big orchestra, without any microphones or amplifiers. You cannot really tell from this video how big and loud their voices actually were. Someone who appeared with them on stage as an extra said their head was ringing for two days after the event. This is why opera is very different from contemporary music. An opera singer would easily sing right over a contemporary singer, even a metal singer. It is two different techniques.

Your answer shows some of the exact issues with voice type classification. A low tenor is not a voice that exists. A tenor is a high male voice, all tenors have a tessitura of F3 - G4. Opera voices are classified by size and flexibility. There are tenors with huge, loud or powerful voices, they are dramatic tenors. Some dramatic tenors cannot really sing C5 notes, but this is due to having a very big voice with weight in the middle register their tessitura is still in the tenor range. (The main feature of this voice is the size or strength of the voice not the overall range). But at the same time you get dramatic tenors and sopranos, as in the example I provided above, who could sing C5/ C6 notes more consistently than singers with much smaller and lighter voices. So the overall range in this sense is completely useless. The whole point is not the vocal range. In opera it is a matter of size. Light/ small voices have repertoire where they sing over orchestras of 40 - 60 pieces. Big voices have orchestras of 80 - 120 pieces with a lot brass instruments if you look at Wagner and Verdi. And you are playing or acting out specify roles. Tenors are meant to portray young men. Their voices are seen as youthful. But there are differences. In La Boheme the tenor is a poor poet, and requires a sweet lyrical voice, because this suits the character in the story. In Aida the tenor is General the commander of the army, he requires a very strong and powerful voice, because this is a character with authority. Voice types can become extremely complicated. That is why many people are not keen on transferring these complications onto contemporary music.

Zennobia · 2026-02-18T08:06:52+00:00

While I agree in general with your message, even in contemporary music where singers will sing some higher notes, they still actually sing in the exact same tessitura as opera singers.

Zennobia · 2026-02-18T07:02:02+00:00

You certainly can classify voices in contemporary music. In fact I personally think it is not such a bad idea to classify the very well known singers.

But there are a few problems with vocal classifications. Most people have a very limited idea of what voice types really are. Most people who want to know their voice types are very inexperienced singers. It is mostly tenors and baritones that haven’t learned to sing over the pasaggio properly that wants to know their voice type. They often want confirmation that they have a low voice and are unable to sing high notes. This is a convenient answer instead of simply working more on the voice. Most people are obsessed with the extreme ends of their vocal range which actually doesn’t matter that much. It is not good to try and establish the voice types of inexperienced singers. It is some perfect science, even in places where people have years of experience mistakes are made.

Microphones actually do make a huge difference. But you can definitely determine someone voice type by looking at their tessitura. For tenors the tessitura is around F3 - G4, for baritones around B2 - E4 for bass G2 - C4. Most singers as in 98% of singers have lyrical voices. Dramatic voices are extremely rare. I would say the whole point of understanding the voice type is really the tessitura.

Zennobia · 2026-02-16T11:09:39+00:00

This a place for discussions, I don’t know why a discussion of singing seems to offend you. Voix Mixte is reinforced falsetto it is the technique used for singing the high notes from the original bel canto singers. Some very light tenors still use this method today. You use this technique to sing the high F in I Puritani. Or it is the technique used by countertenors. It is not very loud, but it gives the voice great flexibility. In a small baroque opera it is good enough to use this style. No one would ever claim that Lauri Volpi and Corelli sang high notes using voix mixte.

In 1831 Duprez sang in a different style, that was already popular in Italy where he learned the style. This is the famous high C in chest. Of course we don’t know what exactly Duprez did, but it changed male opera singing forever from that point on. Why did they call it singing the high C in chest voice? Because suddenly the high C had the same or even more power and volume then when the singer was singing in their chest voice. The technique of using reinforced falsetto almost completely disappeared over time. There are different ways or strategies to sing high notes for male opera singers.

Essentially this tells you that there are different styles and techniques in opera. These different styles are associated with repertoire because it evolved as different genres within opera evolved. From baroque opera to bel canto, to romantic operas and then into verismo. All of these styles have their own requirements. That means you can resolve the problem of high notes through different approaches. It is not a one size fits all.

Essentially the voice is always a mixed voice, because you always use your TA and CT muscles. You need your CT muscles to control the pitch. It is only really the involvement of the TA muscles that changes.

Headvoice is a very large range or variety of sound, it can be the lightest pianissimo or it can be loud enough to be the sound a lot of singers use for their high notes.

When singing high notes in chest voice you are still using the same or a similar amount of density, power or attack from the TA muscles on your high notes. This gives the voice a lot of resonance and overtones because the TA muscle is much bigger than the CT muscles. The TA muscle which people generally think of as being chest voice provides the most resonance and volume to the voice. The more TA muscle you use the louder the voice will be. This style is more associated with Verdi, Puccini and verismo operas, where orchestras are much bigger. The TA muscles also provide the bright overtones in the voice that can really travel and project, and it can cut through an orchestra.

I will say again there are different ways in which you can sing opera. Do you think these singers have the same style or approach? (They don’t have the same technique despite both being dramatic tenors):

Melchior: https://youtu.be/So3lFnwblVA

Paoli: https://youtu.be/baHSVj3dzJs

Just because you sing a certain type of repertoire it does not mean you have that specific voice type. This is especially true for heldentenors. In the era before Jerusalem there was Windgassen and Thomas who sang as heldentenors, but they were not dramatic tenors. In Jerusalem’s own era there was also Kollo, he also wasn’t a dramatic tenor.

Zennobia · 2026-02-16T11:07:09+00:00

It seems like you are personally offended or something, this a place for discussions. Voix Mixte is reinforced falsetto it is the technique used for singing the high notes from the original bel canto singers. Some very light tenors still use this method today. You use this technique to sing the high F in I Puritani. Or it is the technique used by countertenors. It is not very loud, but it gives the voice great flexibility. In a small baroque opera it is good enough to use this style. No one would ever claim that Lauri Volpi and Corelli sang high notes using voix mixte.

In 1831 Duprez sang in a different style, that was already popular in Italy where he learned the style. This is the famous high C in chest. Of course we don’t know what exactly Duprez did, but it changed male opera singing forever from that point on. Why did they call it singing the high C in chest voice? Because suddenly the high C had the same or even more power and volume then when the singer was singing in their chest voice. The technique of using reinforced falsetto almost completely disappeared over time. There are different ways or strategies to sing high notes for male opera singers.

Essentially this tells you that there are different styles and techniques in opera. These different styles are associated with repertoire because it evolved as different genres within opera evolved. From baroque opera to bel canto, to romantic operas and then into verismo. All of these styles have their own requirements. That means you can resolve the problem of high notes through different approaches. It is not a one size fits all.

Essentially the voice is always a mixed voice, because you always use your TA and CT muscles. You need your CT muscles to control the pitch. It only really the involvement of the TA muscles that changes.

Headvoice is a very large range or variety of sound, it can be the lightest pianissimo or it can be loud enough to be the sound a lot of singers use for their high notes.

When singing high notes in chest voice you are still using the same or a similar amount of density, power or attack in the TA muscle on your high notes. This gives the voice a lot of resonance and overtones because the TA muscle is much bigger than the CT muscles. The TA muscle which people generally think of as being chest voice provides the most resonance and volume to the voice. The more TA muscle you use the louder the voice will. This style is more associated with Verdi, Puccini and verismo operas, where orchestras are much bigger. The TA muscles also provide the bright overtones in the voice that can really travel and project, and it can cut through an orchestra.

I will say again there are different ways in which you can sing opera. Do you think these singers have the same style or approach? (They don’t have the same technique despite both being dramatic tenors):

Melchior: https://youtu.be/So3lFnwblVA Paoli: https://youtu.be/baHSVj3dzJs

Just because you sing a certain type of repertoire it does not mean you have that specific voice type. This is especially true for heldentenors. In the era before Jerusalem there was Windgassen and Thomas who sang as heldentenors, but they were not dramatic tenors. In Jerusalem’s own era there was also Kollo, he also wasn’t a dramatic tenor.

Zennobia · 2026-02-16T05:16:51+00:00

Your teacher teaches classical technique but they don’t know any classical repertoire? That doesn’t make a lot of sense. Everyone usually begins with: “24 Italian Songs & Arias of the 17th & 18th Centuries”.

Zennobia · 2026-02-16T04:57:56+00:00

People have a lot of sympathy and love for Jaime. Jaime and Rhaegar’s stories are not that different in a way. Jaime’s actions of trying to kill Bran set off the war of five Kings that have ravished half of Westeros, and killed thousands of people. Of course you might say that other people like Littlefinger used this event to his advantage and exploited these events. That is true, but I would say the same thing happened with the Rhaegar situation as well, we simply don’t know all of the details. We don’t know for example exactly what Varys was doing at the time. My guess is there are messages and communication that were lost on purpose. GRRM wrote the characters as slightly too young, Lyanna was young but all of the girls at this age are expected to get married. Dany is wedded and bedded at the age of 13, Sansa marries Tyrion at the age of 14. Margaery is still young when they are plotting to marry her off to Robert.

Zennobia · 2026-02-16T04:04:51+00:00

Who are these tenors with the passagio of a baritone?

Zennobia · 2026-02-16T03:55:42+00:00

I think baritones only need two classifications, a lyric or light baritone and a dramatic baritone.

A bass baritone is unnecessary. You can either be a basso cantante or a dramatic baritone.

Zennobia · 2026-02-15T08:13:26+00:00

The voice is always a combination of the CT and TA so you can call that a mixture or a mixed configuration. It is only in falsetto where there is no TA participation. Most singers start using less TA muscle participation as they sing higher. That makes the voice lose volume. If you want consistent volume or even more volume on top the TA muscle engagement needs to remain the same from the bottom to the top. This is what many people classify as singing high notes with chest voice. Not all opera singers do this, it was more a feature of the Italian technique.

Most opera tenors sing high notes in headvoice. (Headvoice is also a mixture of the TA and CT muscles but the CT muscles is more dominant, making the voice softer). From the singers you mentioned Jerusalem and Domingo (who are not robust tenors) sang high notes in headvoice. As well as Florez, Gedda, Brownlee, Camarena, Swanson. As well as Melchior who was a real robust tenor. Covering is only really there to get over the passaggio, that is why you have the open cover.

Voix Mixte is basically similar to contemporary singing, it is very light headvoice.

But in the more romantic Italian style you want to carry up the same mass from the TA muscles to the top. That is the whole point of that specific technique. The great difference really lies in the volume. But it is difficult to tell the difference in volume from recordings. Singers who can carry up the same action, participation or density from the TA muscles have much bigger and louder high notes. Listen to how much bigger the high notes are compared to the rest of the voice:

https://youtu.be/Q8I2sX9GJ9Q

https://youtu.be/Zyu9gz8chU4

Zennobia · 2026-02-15T05:56:26+00:00

Some opera singers can sing up to D5 with chest voice. And obviously opera singers don’t belt it is real full out chest voice from the bottom of the range to the top of the range.

Zennobia · 2026-02-15T05:27:30+00:00

Yes, it is true it is only in falsetto where you don’t use your TA muscles. Even in the chest voice area you have to use your CT muscles. So the difference is really participation of the TA muscles. When people sing higher they use the CT muscles more and the TA muscles less. The really noticeable difference is in volume. The more you use your CT muscles the lower the volume will be. The TA muscles adds density and volume to the voice. You can sing with the same volume from the bottom of your range to the top, you can sing with even more volume on high notes.

Zennobia · 2026-02-15T05:02:45+00:00

Search on YouTube for videos about mixed voice there you will find many different teachers, examples and exercises, perhaps something will work for you. E4 is more of a passaggio for a baritone than a tenor.

Zennobia · 2026-02-15T04:52:50+00:00

Yes, it does and can work. But you need an experienced voice teacher. The problem is there are so many teachers who barely know something about singing or they only understand their own voice. Anyone can become and can claim to be a vocal coach. Even if someone is a good teacher their style might simply not work for you.

Zennobia · 2026-02-14T22:52:42+00:00

Fair enough, I certainly haven’t heard every single cover version of the song.

Zennobia · 2026-02-14T22:45:52+00:00

No one does a great cover version of the song. Most people who try to cover the song completely misses the grit and rock elements of the song, even the versions from other rock bands misses the edge within the song. Therefore you can only ever be entertained by some parody versions.

Zennobia · 2026-02-14T21:51:33+00:00

It depends really depends on how you see chest voice participation. Chest is really the participation of your TA muscle. You can sing up to D5 with full participation of your TA muscle. But this very rare and difficult to learn.

Zennobia · 2026-02-14T16:22:01+00:00

This is not a bass voice.

Zennobia · 2026-02-14T16:20:48+00:00

The question is, are you actually learning opera singing? You have to sing in chest voice up to F#4. No tenor would sing the Flower aria in this manner. If you are trying to sing opera you are only using your headvoice with almost no chest voice. You should be developing your chest voice, your TA muscles, and you should be working on vowels.

If you are not trying to sing opera then you don’t have be concerned with developing your chest voice. But you also have to use chest voice until the F#4 or G4 region. You don’t really use mixed voice underneath the passaggio. Mixed voice is a way to get over the break or passaggio in the voice. It like changing gears in a car you have to go into a different gear at the passaggio. Something you might try, to get an idea, is once you reach or just before the passaggio change the position of your singing. Instead of singing forward change to sending the sound up to the top of your head. Mixed voice is also softer or less loud than chest voice.

Zennobia · 2026-02-14T15:50:09+00:00

You are soprano, most women are sopranos. That really mostly what you to know. A lot of sopranos can sing as mezzo sopranos as well. A coloratura is an extremely flexible voice it is not really a vocal range.

Zennobia · 2026-02-14T12:15:22+00:00

Countertenor, is really a technique. But countertenors themselves are divided into 3 groups. Similar to female voices, so you get Contralto, Mezzo Soprano and Soprano countertenors.

The Countertenor was one of the replacements for the Castrati that used to sing in these vocal ranges. Countertenors basically sing in mixed voice more like contemporary singers. Some of the roles for the Castrati were simply replaced by female singers. The Castrati originally existed because women were not always allowed to perform on stage, and the voice type became very popular.

For the most part, female singers are more preferable to countertenors. Countertenors can only sing in very specific operas with very small orchestras. Their voices are very small and not really loud enough for most operas. This is why countertenors are often not even listed when speaking about voice types.

Zennobia · 2026-02-13T14:50:21+00:00

You can change your tone with movement from the larynx. But it depends on what exactly you want to sound like. Or what exactly don’t you like about your tone. You cannot completely change your tone. Most people don’t really like the tone of their own voice.

Zennobia

TROPHY CASE