Aretha Franklin Vocal Range: B2–Bb5 and Songs You Can Sing
Aretha Franklin's lowest and highest notes on a keyboard, where they came from, and Aretha Franklin songs that work at karaoke.
- Lowest
- B2
- Highest
- Bb5
- Span
- 3 octaves
Aretha Franklin's vocal range
Aretha Franklin sings from B2 up to Bb5, a span of 35 semitones, or about 3 octaves. PBS / Oregon Public Broadcasting describes Aretha Franklin as a mezzo-soprano voice, a type that typically covers A3 to A5.
Where sources disagree: Classic FM puts her range at well over three octaves, G2 to E6, but takes those notes from a fan YouTube compilation. We use PBS's B2 to B-flat 5, which states the range directly.
What Aretha Franklin's voice is like
PBS's profile of Aretha Franklin lists her as a dramatic mezzo-soprano with a three-octave range. Classic FM says her range is usually put at over three octaves, with some arguing for four. Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun called her maybe the greatest singer of our time. He traced her power to her grounding in gospel and blues, which you can hear in how she bends and builds a phrase. By the time of the 2005 PBS profile she had won 12 Grammys for best vocal performance.
Aretha Franklin songs to sing at karaoke
These are the Aretha Franklin songs from our karaoke guides, with the range of the vocal line and how hard they are on our difficulty scale. Tap a song for why it works in a bar.
| Song | Year | Range | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Respect | 1967 | C4–G5 | Hard |
A song's range is the stretch of notes its melody covers, which is usually much smaller than Aretha Franklin's full range. If a song sits a little high or low for you, ask the KJ to change the key, or try it in the key changer first.
How does your voice compare?
Take the free vocal range test: sing low to high into your mic and it finds your lowest and highest notes in about a minute. Come back here and the keyboard above shows your range next to Aretha Franklin's, with how many semitones you share. The test also lists songs that fit your voice, so you're not guessing at the karaoke book.
Sources
Every range on this page comes from a source we opened. Fan range sites back up press and books here, never replace them.
- PBS / Oregon Public Broadcasting: Voice: dramatic mezzo-soprano. Range: three octaves (B2–Bb5). From The Sixties (2005).
- Classic FM: Well over three octaves, some argue four; cites a fan compilation going from G2 to E6 (Elizabeth Davis, 16 Aug 2018).