Emilee Petersmark (2,906 views)

[BassSquared]

Emilee Petersmark (20 July 1987 - Present)
Associated Acts: The Crane Wives (2010-Present)
Vocal Range: E3 - D6

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{Vocal Summary}Over the course of the 2010s, Michigan-based indie-folk group The Crane Wives have steadily established themselves as one of the most promising bands in the scene, due largely to the tight songwriting and tighter harmonies of bandleaders Emilee Petersmark and Kate Pillsbury. Emilee, for her part, tends to favor high belting a bit more than Kate does, and her highs have a sort of rock-and-roll roughness that goes against the softer style generally favored by others in their genre. Of course, she is fully capable of singing softly as well, but even her quieter, sweeter vocals have a sort of "bite" to them that makes her voice immediately distinctive. Though she doesn't always sing a higher harmony than Kate, Emilee's voice does feel somewhat higher placed, with a fair number of strong, comfortable belts into the lower fifth octave and a more flexible falsetto register that sees a fair bit of use in her lead vocals as well as her harmonies, while her lows tend to be less used outside of the occasional solo acoustic track. Having written and sung many of the band's best-known songs, as well as created much of their visual art, Emilee is a clear driving force in their style, and it will be exciting to see where she, and they, go next.
Written by BassSquared .

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{Album Ranges}
Safe Ship, Harbored (2011): G3 - C5 - F5
The Fool in Her Wedding Gown (2012): G3 - D5 - E5
Coyote Stories (2015): G♯3 - D5 - E5
Foxlore (2016): E3 - D5 - E5
Here I Am (2020): G3 - E5 - G5
Beyond Beyond Beyond (2024): G3 - E5

Significant High Notes:

D6 ("Whole Lotta Love" live Earthwork Harvest 2019)
G5 ("Nobody" live Listening Room 2020, "Take Me to War" live Virtual Harvest 2020, "Whole Lotta Love" live Earthwork Harvest 2019)
F♯5 ("It's a Goddamn Shame to Be a Singer at the End of the World" live Black Oak Coronathon 2020)
F5 ("Counting Sheep")
E5 ("Ancient History", "The Diving Bell", "Hollow Moon", "Icarus", "New Colors", "New Discovery", "Nobody" live Listening Room 2020, "Nothing at All", "October" live Listening Room 2020, "River Rushing", "Rockslide", "Scarecrow Bones" live Colorado 2016, "Scars", "Spinning Plates" live Virtual Harvest 2020, "Spit It Out" live Virtual Harvest 2020, "Take Me to War", "Taking Turns" live Listening Room 2020, "VOLTA", "The Well" "White Winter Hymnal", "Whole Lotta Love" live Earthwork Harvest 2019)
E♭5 ("Black Hole Fantasy", "Daydreamer", "Drown You Out" live Listening Room 2020, "How to Rest", "I Ain't Done", "I Warned You" live Virtual Harvest 2020, "Let it Snow", "Queen of Nothing" live Listening Room 2020, "Say It", "Strangler Fig", "Volcano" live 2013, "The Wolf" live Listening Room 2020)
D5 ("Arcturus Beaming", "Bitter Medicine", "Caleb Trask", "Curses", "Can't Go Back", "Easier", "Empty Page", "The Garden", "Higher Ground", "Icarus", "Keep You Safe", "Little Soldiers", "Mad Dog", "Naked, the Night Falls", "New Discovery", "Predator", "Safe Ship, Harbored", "Show Your Fangs", "Silver Bells", "Sleeping Giants", "Sowing Seeds", "Steady, Steady", "White Christmas", "Winter Song")
C♯5 ("Before the Lights Went Out" live Black Oak Coronathon 2020, "Canary in a Coal Mine", "Curses", "The Glacier House", "Hard Sell", "How to Rest", "If the Sun Rises in the Morning" live Grand Rapids 2019, "Know How", "The Moon Will Sing", "October", "Pretty Little Things", "The Temptation of Adam" live Black Oak Coronathon 2020, "Time Will Change You", "Unraveling", "The Well", "The Wolf" live Listening Room 2020, "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch")
C5 ("Allies or Enemies", "Ancient History", "Back to the Ground", "Can't Have It All", "Caleb Trask", "Drown You Out" live Listening Room 2020, "The Hand That Feeds", "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", "Here I Am", "High Horse", "I Ain't Done", "I'll Be Home for Christmas", "I Warned You" live Virtual Harvest 2020, "Metaphor", "Never Love an Anchor", "New Colors", "Nobody" live Listening Room 2020, "Not the Ghost", "Once and for All", "Once Upon a December", "Red Clay", "River Rushing", "Safe Ship, Harbored", "Scars", "Sleeping Giants", "Spinning Plates", live Virtual Harvest 2020, "Spit It Out" live Virtual Harvest 2020, "Steady, Steady", "Strangler Fig", "Take Me to War", "Tongues & Teeth", "Turn Out the Lights", "Unraveling", "VOLTA")
B4 ("Bitter Medicine", "Canary in a Coal Mine", "Clean Slate" live Grand Rapids 2019, "Curses", "Down the River", "Easier", "Empty Spaces", "The Garden", "Hard Sell", "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", "Hole in the Silver Lining", "Hollow Moon", "I Ain't Done", "It's a Goddamn Shame to Be a Singer at the End of the World" live Black Oak Coronathon 2020, "Know How", "Little Soldiers", "Mad Dog", "The Moon Will Sing", "October", "Of Everlong", "Rockslide", "Ribs", "Scarecrow Bones" live Colorado 2016, "Shallow River", "Show Your Fangs", "Smoke in Empty Rooms" live Virtual Harvest 2020, "Sowing Seeds", "Whole Lotta Love" live Earthwork Harvest 2019, "The Wolf" live Listening Room 2020)


Significant Low Notes:

B♭3 ("Counting Sheep", "Drown You Out" live Listening Room 2020, "The Glacier House", "I Warned You" live Virtual Harvest 2020, "Metaphor")
A3 ("Ancient History", "Back to the Ground", "Bitter Medicine", "Can't Have It All", "Curses", "The Garden", "High Horse", "Hole in the Silver Lining", "I Talk in My Sleep", "It's a Goddamn Shame to Be a Singer at the End of the World" live Black Oak Coronathon 2020, "Never Love an Anchor", "Not the Ghost", "Predator", "Scars", "Spinning Plates", live Virtual Harvest 2020, "Silent Night", "Spit It Out" live Virtual Harvest 2020, "Steady, Steady", "Time Will Change You", "Tongues and Teeth", "Unraveling", "VOLTA", "The Wolf" live Listening Room 2020)
G♯3 ("Before the Lights Went Out" live Black Oak Coronathon 2020, "If the Sun Rises in the Morning" live Grand Rapids 2019, "In a Dream" live Virtual Harvest 2020, "The Moon Will Sing", "Ribs", "Shallow River", "Smoke in Empty Rooms" live Virtual Harvest 2020, "The Temptation of Adam" live Black Oak Coronathon 2020)
G3 ("The Crooked, The Cradle", "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", "High Horse", "Hole in the Silver Lining", "I Ain't Done", "I Warned You" live Virtual Harvest 2020, "Mad Dog", "Nobody" live Listening Room 2020, "Not the Ghost", "Scars", "Spinning Plates" live Virtual Harvest 2020, "Take Me to War", "Tongues & Teeth")
F♯3 ("Before the Lights Went Out" live Black Oak Coronathon 2020, "Empty Spaces", "Ribs", "It's a Goddamn Shame to Be a Singer at the End of the World" live Black Oak Coronathon 2020, "Smoke in Empty Rooms" live Virtual Harvest 2020, "The Well")
F3 ("If the Sun Rises in the Morning" live Grand Rapids 2019)
E3 ("The Garden", "In a Dream" live Virtual Harvest 2020, "The Well")

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{Questionable Notes}
G5 "Tongues & Teeth" [3]
F♯5 "The Well" [4]
F5 "Pretty Little Things" [4]
E♭5 "Little Soldiers" [3]

F♯2 "The Wolf" live Listening Room 2020 [1]
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[1] marks yelps and short trills in high range or anacrusis and short dips in low range.
[2] marks notes of questionable identity that cannot be confirmed to be the singer in question.
[3] marks non-melodic notes that don't have a significant enough pitch to warrant inclusion.
[4] marks notes that possess uncertain pitch or have been pitch-shifted.
[5] marks notes that do not fit the previous criteria but are not of a substantial enough quality to warrant counting towards the singer's range.

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Blue marks falsetto or whistle notes.
Underlines mark notes that are obscured in the song mix.
Italics mark non-melodic notes.
Boldface marks notes that are considered to be particularly notable examples of this person's vocal capabilities.