by Alexandra Pollard Contributor | Photos by WENN

Tags: Queen 

Here's scientific proof that Freddie Mercury was one of the greatest singers

The Queen frontman has been the subject of a brand new study

 

Queen Freddie Mercury scientific study on his voice vocals Photo: WENN

A new, incredibly detailed scientific study has proven what we all already knew - Freddie Mercury had a pretty much unparalelled speaking voice.

The study, which was conducted by a group of Austrian, Czech and Swedish researchers, presents “an acoustical analysis of his voice production and singing style.”

They made a number of interesting discoveries about the late Queen frontman, though things were, of course, made a little more challenging given that he’s not still around to provide new vocal samples.

Instead, alongside six interviews and isolated vocal tracks, they used a contemporary rock singer mimicking typical sounds produced by Mercury. They discovered that, despite the fact he’s generally considered a tenor, he was probably a baritone with a huge range.

The study also concluded that Mercury likely used subharmonics to create his distinctive growls and vibratos - which is where the ventricular folds vibrate along with the vocal folds. It’s a method usually only used by Tuvan throat singers.

They also measured Mercury’s vibrato at 7.04Hz, and discovered that he had a better sine wave for vibrato than Luciano Pavarotti.

It’s pretty dense stuff, but you can read the full study here.

Below: Everything we hope they include in the Freddie Mercury biopic


Alexandra Pollard

Contributor

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