Billie Holiday Vocal Range: Reported F3–C5
Billie Holiday’s reported vocal range is F3 to C5, about 1.6 octaves (19 semitones). That is a reported reference span, not an independently verified physiological limit. The catalog lists Billie Holiday as a contralto; this is a reported reference classification.
Review confirmed · Read sources and limitations
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Take the free 2-minute range test. Your mic finds your lowest and highest notes; then compare them with Billie Holiday’s reported reference span. Matching endpoints does not establish the same voice type or technique.
Where Billie Holiday’s reported span sits in the catalog
- Span, whole catalog
- 19 semitones wide: number 624 of 636 by reported span. The catalog median is 32.5 semitones.
- Span, contralto group
- Number 36 of 38 catalog contraltos; that group's median span is 24.5 semitones, and this span is 5.5 semitones narrower than that median.
- Span, Jazz
- Number 47 of 48 catalog singers tagged Jazz (median 28.5 semitones).
- Against the textbook band
- The conventional contralto band runs F3 to F5. The reported floor matches the band's bottom note, and the reported ceiling sits 5 semitones below the band's top note.
- Catalog entry
- Filed under USA, prominent from 1933, signature song listed as Strange Fruit.
Counted from the catalog’s reported figures, which are not verified measurements.
Evidence and review
Catalog review confirmed 2026-10-24 · Dataset editor: Jason Colapietro
Reported reference span: the displayed catalog range is not an independently verified physiological limit. The catalog lists Billie Holiday as a contralto; this is a reported reference classification.
The catalog has not verified recordings or scores for both endpoints. These figures cannot establish a repeatable singing range or an absolute highest or lowest note.
These are approximate catalog reference spans. Most profiles have not had both endpoints individually verified against named recordings or scores. They are not lab measurements or comfortable everyday ranges; use them for comparison, not as training targets.
What is Billie Holiday’s vocal range?
Billie Holiday’s reported vocal range is F3 to C5, about 1.6 octaves (19 semitones). That is a reported reference span, not an independently verified physiological limit. The catalog lists Billie Holiday as a contralto; this is a reported reference classification.
- Signature song
- Strange Fruit
Reported catalog figures, not lab measurements. An endpoint may be an isolated performance and does not describe an everyday singing range.
More about Billie Holiday’s voice
How high can Billie Holiday sing?
The catalog lists F3 to C5 as a reported reference span, not an independently verified physiological limit. Its upper endpoint should not be read as a verified individual maximum.
What is Billie Holiday’s highest note?
The catalog lists F3 to C5 as a reported reference span, not an independently verified physiological limit. The catalog record does not independently establish the upper endpoint as an individual highest note.
What is Billie Holiday’s lowest note?
The catalog lists F3 to C5 as a reported reference span, not an independently verified physiological limit. The catalog record does not independently establish the lower endpoint as an individual physiological limit.
How many octaves can Billie Holiday sing?
The catalog lists F3 to C5 as a reported reference span, not an independently verified physiological limit. It covers about 1.6 octaves (19 semitones) in the catalog, not a reviewed measurement of the singer's full working range.
What voice type is Billie Holiday?
The catalog lists Billie Holiday as a contralto; this is a reported reference classification.
Billie Holiday’s full entry (range, tone and technique) is in The Voice Atlas, chapter 20: Jazz and the standards, included with Pro.
Also listed from F3
48 other voices here have the same reported floor in this catalog.
Also listed up to C5
40 other voices here have the same reported ceiling in this catalog.