Janis Joplin
Mezzo-soprano · Rock · Blues · Soul · USA · prominent since 1967
What is Janis Joplin’s vocal range?
Janis Joplin's vocal range is commonly cited as A2 to A#5 (Bb5) — about 3.1 octaves, or 37 semitones, and is usually classified as mezzo-soprano. Full voice is cited up to around F5; everything above that comes from head voice.
Rasp-forward blues phrasing, heavy distortion and grit, pushed high in raw chest voice. That cited span is wider than 70% of the 357 voices in this library.
- Signature song
- Piece of My Heart
Reading the numbers
- That floor is a full 12 semitones beneath where a mezzo-soprano's range conventionally starts (A3).
- 5 other voices here carry the identical cited range — at the resolution these figures are quoted in, those voices are indistinguishable on the chart.
- Roughly 14% of the span sits above the cited full-voice ceiling of F5.
- Ranked by bottom note, it is the 159th lowest of the 357 voices here; by top note, the 116th highest.
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 Janis Joplin’s.
Also bottoming out on A2
46 other voices here are cited to the same floor.
Also topping out on A#5
43 other voices here reach the same ceiling.