Sarah Vaughan Vocal Range and Voice Type
Sarah Vaughan's cited vocal range is D#3 to C6 (2.8 octaves). Sarah Vaughan is commonly classified as a contralto. See the notes and compare your range free.
Evidence and review
Individual evidence review is pending. The displayed range is a reported reference span, not an independently verified physiological limit.
These are the approximate figures fans and music journalists commonly cite — the widest notes a singer has recorded, not the comfortable range they sing in every night, and not lab measurements. Treat them as a fun reference, not a target.
How Sarah Vaughan uses that range
Weight is the first thing to notice — the bottom of the range is genuinely dark and covered, closer to a trained contralto than a band singer. Vibrato is wide but metered, switched on and off deliberately. Rather than pushing toward C6 she lightens and floats, then drops back into chest inside a single phrase for contrast. The common mistake is manufacturing that darkness by pressing the larynx down; it comes from space, not force.
What is Sarah Vaughan’s vocal range?
Sarah Vaughan's vocal range is commonly cited as D#3 (Eb3) to C6 — about 2.8 octaves, or 33 semitones, and is usually classified as contralto.
Operatic weight low down, controlled vibrato, a top she floats onto instead of pushing.
- Signature song
- Misty
Reading the numbers
- The top note beats 92% of the 38 contraltos in this library.
- 1 other voice here carries the identical cited range — at the resolution these figures are quoted in, those voices are indistinguishable on the chart.
- Prominent from 1943, earlier than all but 11 voices in this library.
- No separate full-voice ceiling is cited, so the figures describe a range worked largely in full voice across its 33 semitones.
- The weight of the range is above middle C: 24 semitones up there against 9 below.
Commonly cited figures, not lab measurements — extreme notes are one-off recorded moments, not the singer’s everyday range.
More about Sarah Vaughan’s voice
How high can Sarah Vaughan sing?
Sarah Vaughan is commonly cited singing as high as C6, the top of a cited range that starts down at D#3.
What is Sarah Vaughan’s highest note?
Sarah Vaughan’s highest note is commonly cited as C6.
What is Sarah Vaughan’s lowest note?
Sarah Vaughan’s lowest note is commonly cited as D#3 (Eb3).
How many octaves can Sarah Vaughan sing?
Sarah Vaughan’s commonly cited range spans about 2.8 octaves (33 semitones), from D#3 up to C6. That span is wider than 50% of the 636 voices in this library.
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 Sarah Vaughan’s.
Also bottoming out on D#3
8 other voices here are cited to the same floor.
Also topping out on C6
69 other voices here reach the same ceiling.