LightOfArt said:

You know what? You're right, I'ma gonna stone you for that one!

Prince can sing HIGHER than my sister, who is a trained soprano!

And lower than me and I'm a baritone who can sing some bass.

Prince simply has an AMAZINGLY broad singing range and if you can't hear that, then you're

mrdespues said:

ur right in in that he can sing with that range on record. but without a mic to amplify the weak sounds he makes when he goes to low, i think he bottoms out a g3 on the keyboard and then goes to a 5 if he's just supporting and not yelling.

I'm a 2nd tenor, and for the most part, whenever I sing along with his songs, when it sounds like the bottom of his range, it feels like it for me. for the high parts too, give or take a half step, i think me and prince have the same vocal range (not quality). he's not as low as thoz low voice interviews would lead u to believe... he seems to talk on his vocal fry a lot (aka bottom of range, whereas a bass would sound low even when using a mid range speaking voice).

for example, on damn u, he goes really low and it's actually resonant. i credit that to a mic and production. he wouldn't be able to sing like that in ur living room and have u hear it. even on when doves cry, he is at the bottom of his range and its not resonant at all and its hard to hear the low vocals. nothing against it tho, i personally think its cool how he uses his whole voice and produces it to sound good. but he will never be as resonant as larry graham or anything in the low range.

his falsetto is crazy tho, how he can screech out thoz hiiiigh notes, like b 6 's?

another note: madonna could have "range" too, if she decided to yell and scream, or get really close to the mic and sing low. so u have to define range if ur going to discuss it.. but for the most part, it works for prince.

Prince began his career singing in falsetto because apparently it hurt his throat more to sing normally, that said, i think his falsetto is a lot nicer to listen to. I reckon if he got proper training his regular voice could sound a lot better, ie., you can tell he doesnt breathe properly when singing live, but that would detract from the raw edge his live performances have.

I've said this before on this board and got shot down for it, but Prince's voice has deteriorated in the last few years, horrible thought I know, but his falsetto lacks the clarity or power it used to have. Listening to his last tour, you can hear him struggle, and he is a lot less inclined to use falsetto than he used to. Even on record I dont think he sounds as good as he used to.

That said I still believe he has one of the best voices for versatility out there. That's why youll have people on both sides of the rock / soul / pop divides not liking his voice, yet youll have people like ourselves who appreciate it in all its different guises.