How we measure a song's vocal range

• Key: the key of the original recording, from published sheet music or chord transcriptions, then confirmed by ear.
• Range: the lowest and highest notes of the lead vocal, ignoring backing vocals, ad-libs and spoken parts.
• Most of the song (tessitura): where the lead vocal spends most of its time. This decides how tiring a song feels more than the top note does.
• Hardest note: the note most singers struggle with, and when it happens.
• Best key per voice type: we try every key change up to 6 semitones up or down, in the recorded octave or one octave away, and keep the one with the fewest notes outside a typical comfortable range for that voice.

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