Christina Aguilera and her High E above middle C..

[ljay889]

Posted: 5/12/05 at 4:32pm

I always wondered about this.. and I wanted too ask.

Why did so many people make such a big deal that Christina sang a High E above Middle C in "Reflection" - you can't see a TV special on her, without hearing about her being able to hit that note.

I'm just curious why it was talked about so much. I'm in High School and I have friends that can hit high B Flats with ease.

I just wonder why this was such a big deal? Sorry - this is a really random topic - but it was on my mind lol.


Updated On: 5/12/05 at 04:32 PM

[Plum]

Posted: 5/12/05 at 4:57pm

Wait...you mean the E above the C above middle C? The E that's a bit above the staff in treble clef?

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 5/12/05 at 4:59pm

different people call different notes by confusing names. i always assumed someone would only brag about being able to hit the E which is two octaves and a third above middle C, not a single octave and a third.

[Plum]

Posted: 5/12/05 at 5:01pm

Right- two octaves and a third is a big deal. But one octave and a third? I had to sing that repeatedly in chorus, and I was singing the alto part. I'm a mediocre singer with a just-over-two-octaves range; any note I can hit is by definition not very impressive.

[camerangel]

Posted: 5/12/05 at 5:16pm

I'm relatively certain it's the E above High C that is always discussed.. A high E is nothing.. But an E above high C is..

[Joshua488]

Posted: 5/12/05 at 5:58pm

No, it's an E above middle C. She had to belt it, and even though it was only for a second, she was having trouble and they brought in a coach to help her out. I always wondered what the fuss was about, too, but I suppose that it might be difficult for an untrained pop singer. But she can pull it off (and much higher) now!

[My Fair Lady]

Posted: 5/12/05 at 6:02pm

That's weird. Plenty of Broadway stars can belt higher than that.

[Sporti2005]

Posted: 5/12/05 at 6:18pm

no no no, i know what you're talking about...they always make a big big deal about her belting the E an octave and a third above middle C (the repeated E in "defying gravity").

she had to sing it in that dumb song she sang for "mulan"...and apparently it was this huge deal. not very many pop singers belt that high so it was pretty high in terms of that - i just hope she doesn't think she has some insanely high belting range....because a million broadway belters have that E. hell, i even have that E, haha!

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 5/12/05 at 7:27pm

I'm confused and I DO know my music, but I have heard "Middle C" being called 2 things A) one line below the Treble Clef, which is one line above the Bass Clef, thus it's in the middle and B)The Third Space on the Treble Clef......So if she hit the E that is on that last space of the treble clef, that is no big deal at all......You mean the high E that is 3 spaces about the treble clef......also, surely the high C that is 2 spaces above the treble clef isn't being refered to as "middle C"......so one please clarify......

[Plum]

Posted: 5/12/05 at 7:43pm

Okay, there's only one middle C as far as I know, and it falls one line below the staff in treble clef.

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 5/12/05 at 7:55pm

That's right, but a lot of singers(who probably don't know the piano or have never really played an instrument)call that "low C", the one on the staff "middle C", and the one 2 lines above the staff "high C"

[Plum]

Posted: 5/12/05 at 7:57pm

Well...they're wrong. :) I've never heard of any note other than the one right below the staff being described as "middle C." Admittedly, I'm a pianist first, but I've worked with vocalists and it's never been an issue.

[ljay889]

Posted: 5/12/05 at 8:30pm

I'm glad I'm not the only one who does not think its a big deal.

Like I said I have High School friends (girls - obviously) that can hit a High B Flat - now thats tough stuff!

[My Fair Lady]

Posted: 5/12/05 at 8:35pm

I'm 13 and I can hit a top C (not belt) (above the staff)

[broadway86]

Posted: 5/12/05 at 11:49pm

Christina Aguilera can definitely go higher than an E.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 5/13/05 at 1:24am

I've seen the special ljay889 was talking about, and also love the song "Reflection." I think their issue was the overall combination of the notes around the high E. I haven't sung in years, so my musical knowledge isn't as detailed as others here, but if you listen to the song, you can tell that most of the song is a bit low, with the exception of those notes during the first "reflection show." So to jump from a low belt to a high belt mid-word was probably what she had to work on.

And Christina was only about 16 at the time she was first singing this song, so it's not like she was deficient or something compared to your high school friends.

[apdarcey]

Posted: 5/13/05 at 12:35pm

usually sopranos call middle c something different than it is so that they can have easy reference (low, middle, high)... it's in relation to their voice, not the piano... a sopranos low c is the middle c on the piano... that's where the confusion comes in

[shameless]

Posted: 5/13/05 at 1:33pm

I don't know anything about notes, but what I got from watching a VH1 special is the people from Mulan called her and asked her if she could hit a specific note and because she did, she got to do the song for the soundtrack. And I think that lead to her getting her record deal, so hitting that note (whatever it was) lead to her big break.