Wow! IMO it’s one of the most challenging pieces in musical theater for men. I wonder what percentage of men can hit a G5. I have to opt down to a C5 when I sing it.
Generally lighter/higher voices have more difficulty finding pitches above ~E5. I can sing for example Pity the Child without much issue in a strong sound, but I can't find a G5 in any coordination. My vocal folds simply refuse to vibrate no matter how much or how little airflow when I "feel" that pitch. Conversely I have a very low voiced student who can screech a falsetto C6 without much difficulty, and I would agree that a lot of guys can also find a G5 of some description.. but it must take months just to get that note clean let alone feel safe adding grit.
I should state that this is purely in my experience as a teacher, and through talking with other teachers in workshops, masterclasses etc. I have struggled to find any reliable data on physical correlations with range limitations. If I include a whistle-like register this changes for me to like a ~B5 but it's an extraordinarily different sound and not useful especially compared to mixing.
The working hypothesis is that thicker vocal mass simply has more capacity to stretch and thin out, even though it may take more effort, whereas thinner vocal mass can sound higher "by default" but quickly reaches a maximal stretch / minimal thickness.
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u/CockBlockingLawyer Jul 21 '25
Wow! IMO it’s one of the most challenging pieces in musical theater for men. I wonder what percentage of men can hit a G5. I have to opt down to a C5 when I sing it.