Aretha Franklin
Mezzo-soprano · Soul · Gospel · R&B · USA · prominent since 1961
What is Aretha Franklin’s vocal range?
Aretha Franklin's vocal range is commonly cited as G2 to E6 — about 3.8 octaves, or 45 semitones, and is usually classified as mezzo-soprano. Full voice is cited up to around G5; everything above that comes from head voice.
Gospel-schooled mezzo: hard chest register, melismatic runs, sudden shifts from growl to soft head voice. That cited span is wider than 93% of the 357 voices in this library.
- Signature song
- Respect
Reading the numbers
- It is the 3rd widest cited span of the 83 mezzo-sopranos here.
- G2 is a deep floor for a mezzo-soprano — lower than all but 1 of the 83 mezzo-sopranos here.
- The top note beats 92% of the 83 mezzo-sopranos in this library.
- That floor is a full 14 semitones beneath where a mezzo-soprano's range conventionally starts (A3).
- The span runs 13 semitones past the median voice in this library (32 semitones).
Commonly cited figures, not lab measurements — extreme notes are one-off recorded moments, not the singer’s everyday range.
Take the free 2-minute range test — your mic finds your lowest and highest notes, then this page shows exactly how your voice lines up with Aretha Franklin’s.
Also bottoming out on G2
46 other voices here are cited to the same floor.
Also topping out on E6
12 other voices here reach the same ceiling.