Highest note belted on a cast recording?- Page 3

[soapguy17]

Posted: 7/20/06 at 8:16pm

Eve, I think most realize that. But, seeing how the higest of tenors are only expected to go up to an A or B it's kind of impressive.

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/20/06 at 8:42pm

hahaha okay Idina and Sherie are tied best belters of all time


WTF?? Have you not heard of a singer named Patti LuPone? All these little wann-a-be belters of today can't even come close to Patti.

Patti's belt is unmatched by the new performers of today.

This includes, Idina, Eden, Shoshana, Sherie (who is wonderful), and others.

Carmello has far more of a belt like Patti, than those other girls.

[kenmarksnj]

Posted: 7/20/06 at 8:54pm

just for reference...

idina doesn't sing.

she screams.

so if you'd consider belting to be "screaming" as well as singing, yeah, she could be considered a good belter.

[Joshua488]

Posted: 7/20/06 at 9:04pm

"My vote goes to Sarah Uriarte Berry for that insanely high note she hit and held in The Joy You Feel on the OBC for The Light in the Piazza (which someone said was a high F)."

That note is actually in the song "Aiutami," not "The Joy You Feel." I do believe it is an F. The only time I heard her miss it would be on the PBS special; she was shrieking those notes and she got a little flat, but I still love her.

And she doesn't really hold it out. She hits an F only for a quick moment. The rest of the time, she's singing other high notes.
Updated On: 7/20/06 at 09:04 PM

Posted: 7/20/06 at 9:16pm

when you guys are bringing up men singing As and Bs....you DO know that those are not actually higher notes than the women's notes, right?

Good point -- I'd suggest that we start a thread for male voices.

so if you'd consider belting to be "screaming" as well as singing, yeah, she could be considered a good belter.

I'm not a fan of Idina's voice, but I highly doubt she'd be a working actress on Broadway if she literally screamed. I'm not her biggest fan by any means and I'm still tired of seeing that argument. However, if someone with actual vocal training wants to contend that she indeed screams rather than sings... disregard this post.

[BreeDaniel]

Posted: 7/20/06 at 9:47pm

Another "astute" opinion by Renthead2. Benanti and JLT are not belters at all. They sing high in traditional legit(theater) style, but they're not belters.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 7/20/06 at 9:47pm

I'm gonna say that the highest notes I've ever heard are obviously in Brooklyn (sung to perfection by Eden Espinosa) and in The Phantom of the Opera (by Sarah Brightman and Emmy Rossum).

Posted: 7/20/06 at 9:58pm

Pretty sure the high notes in Phantom aren't belted.

[show2n2]

Posted: 7/20/06 at 10:17pm

Hey what about

Kay Cole as Maggie in Chorus Line - At the Ballet

Laurie Beechamn in Annie NYC - Star to Be - She had a crazy high belt.

Melba Moore in Purlie & Hair

[Joshua488]

Posted: 7/20/06 at 11:18pm

Mattbrain, Sarah Brightman sang higher in Phantom than Emmy Rossum did. In the film version, a verse was eliminated from the title song which, in turn, eliminated a key change which resulted in Emmy singing a note lower than the high E that was originally written. (I'm not sure of what the note actually is, but it is lower.)

[COOOOLkid]

Posted: 7/21/06 at 12:21am

Oh, how can I forget Laurie Beechman? I love her to death!

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 7/21/06 at 12:45am

This award goes to Melba Moore - she belts a high B in "The Harder They Fall", then sustains an A. and I mean BELT. no mix. she also hits a high A in "I Got Love" and an F in "He Can Do It" with her mad belt.

Although Melba'sthe highest, I think the BEST belting done on a cast recording goes to Patti LuPone on the OBC of "Evita" for her legendary "A New Argentina".

[HamletWasBipolar]

Posted: 7/21/06 at 2:28am

TO my best recollection, Philip Casnoff in Chess belts a few high C's in Pity the Child as the highest male belt I can remember. Carolee Carmello on Willian Finn's Infinite Joy cd that was recorded at Joe's Pub has her belting a nice end note to , "I Have Found." I am not sure what note that is, but it is it is definitely a full throat belt with no "mix" or "head".

[LostLeander]

Posted: 7/21/06 at 3:25am

That's an F in "I Have Found".

Carollee has one the purest, highest, hugest belts I have EVER heard. Where Nancy Opel mixed her G's in "Priveledge to Pee", when I saw Carollee, she BELTED them. And I do know the difference. Melba's has a crazy mix that sounds like belt, but it's definately a strong mix.

Idina mixes her higher notes, and she does resort to screaming when she gets tired.

Patti, Carollee, Mary (Testa), Lillias.
That have great strong BELTS.

Put people like Lilias and Carollee just sing, so if you asked them if that note they sang in that song was a mix or a belt, they probably wouldn't know. They might. I know Carollee isn't trained, and I feel like Lilias isn't either, but I could be wrong.

Eder is great belter too. Even if I don't like her.

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 7/21/06 at 3:35am

"Idina mixes her higher notes"

No. She belts them. It's definitely her chest voice 90% of the time when you talk of things like her higher notes in Wicked, Rent, The Wild Party. You can hear her mix mostly in "Kesa" from SWIWS, though she's definitely belting parts of that as well...

Frankly, though, with this thread...half the time, even a trained ear can't tell whether or not somebody is eblting or has a strong mix, unless you're very familiar with the specific technique that person is using. Who knows whether people like Eden Espinosa are belting or mixing? And since Patti's training is more classical oriented, I'd guess she's actually mixing, not belting (it sounds that way as well). It's not easy to tell...
Updated On: 7/22/06 at 03:35 AM

[RentHead2]

Posted: 7/21/06 at 6:46am

Idina does not scream at all in SWIWS except for the one sentence in NO MORE (because it is called for in the song), have you guys seen this performance live or heard the cd? Thats an insane notion. I saw the show, and she is not screaming in "Kesa." And I will admit I don't know the technical stuff regarding mixing and A flats and whatnot -

And I didn't know that Carollee was in Urinetown, I saw it with Jennifer Laura Thompson (I mentioned she was amazing again didn't I?). I have again only seen Carollee in Lestat and we all know what I am going to say next! However, how can it be said that Idina or Sherie are screaming their way through the songs?

[RentHead2]

Posted: 7/21/06 at 6:49am

"Another "astute" opinion by Renthead2. Benanti and JLT are not belters at all. They sing high in traditional legit(theater) style, but they're not belters."

Colleen are you going to harass me everytime I post?

[LuPonatic]

Posted: 7/21/06 at 7:12am

"I am not sure what note that is, but it is it is definitely a full throat belt with no "mix" or "head"."
This is a bad statement to make. No one should EVER use their throat to belt, because by definition that is screaming. The throat is always doing A LITTLE work, but only in regards to the vocal chords and surrounding muscles. good belts come from way down deep. Not necessarily from the "diaphragm," because it technically doesn't help much, it just has everything to do with good deep breathing and lots of "openness" for the breath all the way up.

I do think many times actors are mixing and it is just hard to tell. and rightly they should, lest they die (j/k). Full on "throat" belting, as it has been called, will cause you to lose your voice everytime. Patti LuPone WAS belting in Evita, and she said herself, she did not have the training to sing that part yet, and every morning she woke up with no voice and had to kick start her voice. That being said, my vote has to go to her.

I would say there are four levels for women in Musical Theatre: Belt, Mixed, Head, and Falsetto (which is actually usually not used except by really high HIGH soprano parts, because that's where it exists, really HIGH up for girls). I would bet that most are using mixed when they get high, it changes technique, but can still sound like a belt. Penny in Urinetown I believe mixes at the top, which is still spectacular, if you ask me. Bananti has a wonderfully smooth switch from belt or chest to mixed to head, and she uses a lot of head voice (which gives her a more pure sound higher up).

I do believe that there are many actors and actresses who "scream" at least a little. it's the nature of the beast. it's hard to constantly think about good technique when you're emotionally involved in a role. It's okay to an extent, it still sounds fine, or these people would not be successful. just if they do it too much, they will LOSE their voice. Muscles get tired, and those vocal chord muscles are VERY important, and when strained to scream, they will get tired.

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 7/21/06 at 7:38am

The highest note I can think of for a male on a cast recording is probably in "Pity the Child" from Chess. That's a riff from a C to a Db and back down to a Bb.
If anything's higher than that, it's on another pop/rock musical.

[tophertilson]

Posted: 7/21/06 at 7:50am

Maria Friedman belts out a high-God-only-knows-what in the song "How Many Tears" on the HEY, MR. PRODUCER CD. (The actual song is from MARTIN GUERRE, I guess, but isn't on the OLCR.)

[RuprechtJr.]

Posted: 7/21/06 at 9:48am

Sherri's note in "Legs": B (correct me if I'm wrong)
Sarah's note in "Joy": G# (I know this for a fact)

Too bad this isn't on recording: Aaron Lazar's high B in "Aiutami" was belteld, unlike Matt's falsetto.

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/21/06 at 10:06am

I would guess it would be someone from "Hair."

They were ALL high when they belted their songs.

[mrkringas]

Posted: 7/21/06 at 3:08pm

http://www.vocalprocess.net/resources/belting-range-and-register.pdf

http://www.vocalprocess.net/resources/belting-repertoire.pdf

Can i direct everyone to these two short articles that really explain how this thing we call belt works. I did a course with these people at RADA the other month and discovered my true belt voice. I had been mixing speech, twang and some tilt to get Gs and the odd A. After getting to grips with the physiology of the voice and some bloody good teachers to show me, we discovered that my belt was not starting really to get going til A natural and easily nailed a B natural.

Now I say that as someone who considers myself a high baritone. Still do after going through the course. My point is thathave a read of those articles and when discussing the voice its useful to have some common understanding of what we are discussing.

As for some of the earlier comments.........

The copy of I Have Found that I have ends on an Eb or E
Freddie belts up to C# in Chess. Some sing it better than Casnoff did and go even more crazy.
Judas in JCS has numerous C#s/Dbs and even a high F above that. The most recent UK tour featured a remarkable rock tenor who sang the whole score in an impressive belt with only that F going into a tortured falsetto. Chap called John Boyden. Seen it multiple times and amazed at his technique and seamles vocal gear changes.
Lillias White has amazing sustained belted Fs in "Coming Together" by Jason Robert Brown and riffs up to a B flat at one point
Listen to the Taboo OLC for Paul Baker's full voiced belted B natural into a riff up to a high C on Petrified
That note in How Many Tears is an F. If you really wanna hear it blown away listen to Joanna Riding on the 1999 Cast Recording. Wow. Incredible actress who is the undersung diva in the UK. She leaves Ruthie, Elaine and Maria (love them all) stationery for sheer versatility and depth of acting.
Updated On: 7/21/06 at 03:08 PM

[movieinmymind]

Posted: 7/21/06 at 3:45pm

are you all forgetting about chester gregory in tarzan!?

i know a lot of people dont like the show/the recording, BUT, his last note in "trashin' the camp" is...HIGH. and since the question was about the highest note BELTED, i dont know if it counts as belting, but it was crazy.

and the recording doesn't give it justice. i saw him perform last night, and i couldn't believe my ears. plus, he has a five octave vocal range!!

[Ashdy]

Posted: 4/26/14 at 8:15am

So many replies here have people singing in their head voice (most of which aren't terribly high either)
The highest belt I've found is Delta Goodrem performing Born to try which she recorded when she was about 17 and can still hit today (age 29). Its a G# or Ab at 2.58mins http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKScTGpQ33s She is one of the most consistent and amazing singers Ive ever seen.

On a side note, one of the highest head voice held notes is Natalie Dessay at 6mins, its also a G# or Ab but an octave higher http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1k5l4oiCEc