How Many Octaves Can Mariah Carey Sing?

Mariah Carey is known as one of the most versatile singers in pop music and has a lengthy career releasing hit after hit. Mariah Carey’s songs range in keys and style so much that many people wonder, how many octaves can Mariah Carey sing? Mariah Carey can sing in 5 octaves!

In this article, we will explore in more detail how many octaves Mariah Carey can sing and how you can extend your vocal range. 

Who Is Mariah Carey?

Mariah Carey is one of the most popular pops and RnB singers across the United States and globally. Mariah Carey is known for a large vocal range and hit songs that have lived on for years. Mariah Carey has also bagged herself the title of ‘Queen of Christmas’ due to her Christmas hit ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ which is played year after year globally. 

Mariah Carey was born in 1970 on Long Island. Since then, she has not only become a worldwide pop star but also an actress, songwriter, and producer.

Mariah Carey Octave Range

When it comes to a large octave range, the female vocalists do dominate the category as female voices tend to have a higher range. There are six types of voice types and female voices are commonly one of the top three highest voice types and have a vocal higher range when matched to the piano. 

Mariah Carey’s octave range is very impressive and she is known to be a vocalist who has one of the highest ranges compared to other female singers. Mariah Carey commonly sings within the whistle tone and has a similar vocal range to other well-known pop stars like Whitney Houston. Both these pop stars are able to sing in five-octave ranges.

Can Mariah Still Sing Within So Many Octaves?

Mariah Carey has been recorded as being able to comfortably hit notes within five different octaves. This ability has decreased since her days of releasing music due to age and a change to the vocal nodes. Although age has decreased how many octaves Mariah can sing, it has not affected her voice badly and she still has a wide vocal range and can still hit impressive whistle notes.

Various Voice Types

As discussed above, there are a total of six main voice types. Here is a full list of the six main types of voice types and who they are best suited to:

• Bass
• Baritone
• Tenor
• Alto
• Mezzo-soprano
• Soprano

Bass

This voice type is best suited for a lower male voice. You will be a bass voice type if your lowest note sit between E2 to E4 and your highest note sits between C2 to G4.

Baritone

This voice type is best suited for a male voice. You will be a baritone voice type if your lowest note sits between A2 to A4 and your highest note sits between F2 to C5.

Tenor

This voice type is best suited for a higher male voice. You will be a tenor voice type if your lowest note sits between C3 to E3 and your highest note sits between C5 to E5.

Alto

This voice type is best suited for a lower female voice. You will be an alto voice type if your lowest note sit between F3 to A3 and your highest notes sit between F5 to A5.

Mezzo-Soprano

This voice type is best suited for a female voice. You will be a mezzo-soprano voice type if your lowest note sits between A3 to D3 and your highest note sits between A5 to C5.

Soprano

This voice type is best suited for a higher female voice. You will be a soprano voice type if your lowest note sit between C4 to F4 and your highest note sits between C6 to F6.

Which Voice Type Is Mariah Carey?

Is Mariah Carey a Soprano? Yes, she is best known for having a soprano voice type. Although, because Mariah’s voice is so versatile and she is able to reach very high notes, her voice type may be referred to as coloratura light lyric soprano.

The vocal range for a coloratura light lyric soprano can reach up to a B7/C8 which is within Mariah Carey’s reach.

Mariah Carey’s Highest Pitch

You may be thinking, what is Mariah Carey’s highest note ever? Seeing as Mariah is classed as a coloratura light lyric soprano voice type, the highest note Mariah can hit is pretty impressive. 

The highest note recorded that Mariah Carey has hit during a recording or performance is a G sharp 7. A G Sharp 7 is the second G above the soprano C on the piano. The soprano C is often referred to as C6. A G Sharp 7 is also four octaves above middle C.

Critics have actually compared Mariah Carey’s performance of her G sharp 7 note to a dolphin. A dolphin is the only mammal that is capable of reaching a G sharp 7 note. This review is not necessarily bad and just shows how impressive Mariah Carey’s vocal range really is.

How Many Octaves Can Mariah Carey Sing

How many octaves does Mariah Carey have? Mariah Carey can officially sing up to five octaves out of 8 octaves. This is very impressive, especially seeing how Mariah’s vocal range is more comfortable higher up the keyboard making her highest note a whistle tone.

Mariah’s official record range is roughly from a low F2 note to a very high G sharp 7 note.

Mariah Carey Range Within Her Songs 

Here are some examples of Mariah Carey’s impressive vocal range through her record performances and releases:

Lead The Way

The hit song Lead the Way features Mariah Carey’s longest recorded notes which are held for 20 seconds.

Album Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel

During Mariah Carey’s album ‘Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel’, Mariah performs notes that are in a very high octave and drops to a couple of octaves down without any transitional notes. Mariah’s lowest vocal range is by far the weakest notes within her range but she is still able to perform them well as she is able to confidently belt in the lower half of her vocal range.

See Angels Cry

Within Mariah’s song ‘See Angels Cry’ her voice is able to keep steady without any fatigue even when performing the highest notes within her vocal range. While Mariah Carey is performing these high notes within her range, she is still able to produce good diction and articulate the world clearly and correctly.

How to Sing Like Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey is an impressive singer who has mastered a range of necessary skills to be able to perform daily and perform material that covers a wide range. If you would like to know how to sing like Mariah Carey, then understanding what makes Mariah sound the way Mariah does will be the first step.

What Makes Mariah Sound So Good?

What makes Mariah Carey’s voice so recognizable? Here is a list of skills that Mariah Carey has mastered when performing and singing:

• Five octaves: Mariah is able to use an airy half voice when singing in her higher range and is also able to transition from her head voice and make sure that her sound is still clean and bright.
  
• Whistle register: Controlling the notes when performing in your whistle register is key to making sure that the whistle register sounds good. Mariah is able to be comfortable enough not only to reach her whistle register but able to control it too.
  
• Transitioning between voices: Mariah can seamlessly transition from her chest voice to her head voice without any vocal cracks.
  
• Controlling the dynamics of the performance: Controlling the dynamics of the performance is very important when relaying the emotion of a song and also creates interest in the vocal melody.

Here is a list of ways you can sing like Mariah Carey:

• Practice breathy vocals
• Expand your vocal range with vocal exercises
• Practice dynamic control
• Practice transitioning seamlessly from chest voice to head voice

Practice Breathy Vocals

Practicing your vocal tone can massively help when creating the same mood as Mariah Carey. Every pop singer that has a long line of hits is able to have strong breathy tones, belting voices and head voices. Practicing your breathy tones can be pretty simple and it is best to practice with a song that is comfortably within your range. Once you have found the best song to practice with, you can start by singing gently and quietly and aiming to bring more breath into each word.

Expand Your Vocal Range with Vocal Exercises

Luckily there are hundreds of accessible videos showing you how to correctly warm up your voice and practice reaching your vocal goals. If you are still struggling in certain areas with your voice, it may be a good idea to hire a vocal coach.

Practise Dynamic Control

Pick a song that has varying dynamics through and practice going from each section and quickly changing how loudly you perform and sing. This technique will take some time to master.

Practice Transitioning Seamlessly From Chest Voice to Head Voice

Making sure that your voice does not crack between your chest voice and your head voice is key to making sure your voice will be versatile. Vocal exercises such as sirens and scale slides will really help strengthen your voice.

Here is a video by The Charismatic Voice explaining which vocal exercise to do to be able to extend your vocal range to reach the notes Mariah Carey can sing:

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

Mariah Carey Has One of the Most Impressive Vocal Ranges of Any Pop Star

Mariah Carey really does have one of the most impressive vocal ranges of any pop star. Mariah is able to sing within 5 different octaves and can hit whistle notes comfortably and confidently. Mariah has also mastered how to sing her whistle tones clearly and keep her diction accurate throughout.

There are plenty of ways you can train your voice to sound like Mariah Carey and extend your vocal range. It is best to start with daily exercises to start you on that journey.

Here are more posts on the blog to check out:

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