Post by clem on Dec 15, 2021 14:28:06 GMT
Mark Freuder Knopfler (OBE)
Vocal Range: B1-B4 (3 Octaves)
Associated Acts: Dire Straits
{Google Answer Box Bait}What is Mark Knopfler's vocal range? Mark Knopfler has a vocal range of 3 octaves; It spans from B1-B4.
What voice type is Mark Knopfler? Is Mark Knopfler a baritone, tenor or bass? Mark Knopfler is a classic example of a baritone.
Is Mark Knopfler a good singer? Can Mark Knopfler actually sing? Mark Knopfler has always been quite limited as a singer, although his sung-spoken style has proven to be entirely suitable for his songwriting.
What voice type is Mark Knopfler? Is Mark Knopfler a baritone, tenor or bass? Mark Knopfler is a classic example of a baritone.
Is Mark Knopfler a good singer? Can Mark Knopfler actually sing? Mark Knopfler has always been quite limited as a singer, although his sung-spoken style has proven to be entirely suitable for his songwriting.
{Questionable Notes}C♯5: ("Money for Nothing" [2])
C5: ("Expresso Love" [1][3])
A4: ("Punish the Monkey" [3], "Wild West End" [1])
D4: ("Romeo and Juliet" [1][3])
B2: ("Water of Love" [1][3])
E2: ("Behind With the Rent" [1], "Daddy's Gone To Knoxville" [1])
D2: ("Angel of Mercy" [1], "Go, Love" [1], "Miss You Blues" [1], "Raglan Road" 'Sult - Spirit of the Music' with Donal Lunny [1], "Six Blade Knife" [1])
C2: ("Seattle" [1], "You Can't Beat the House" [5])
B1: ("Got to Have Something" [1][3], "Golden Heart" [1], "Heart Full of Holes" [1], "Stand Up Guy" [1])
B♭1: ("Gator Blood" [1])
..................................................
[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.
See this thread for more information.
C5: ("Expresso Love" [1][3])
A4: ("Punish the Monkey" [3], "Wild West End" [1])
D4: ("Romeo and Juliet" [1][3])
B2: ("Water of Love" [1][3])
E2: ("Behind With the Rent" [1], "Daddy's Gone To Knoxville" [1])
D2: ("Angel of Mercy" [1], "Go, Love" [1], "Miss You Blues" [1], "Raglan Road" 'Sult - Spirit of the Music' with Donal Lunny [1], "Six Blade Knife" [1])
C2: ("Seattle" [1], "You Can't Beat the House" [5])
B1: ("Got to Have Something" [1][3], "Golden Heart" [1], "Heart Full of Holes" [1], "Stand Up Guy" [1])
B♭1: ("Gator Blood" [1])
..................................................
[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.
See this thread for more information.
Significant High Notes:
B4: ("Walk of Life")
G♯4: ("Walk of Life")
F4: ("Angel of Mercy", "Postcards from Paraguay")
E4: ("Angel of Mercy", "Eastbound Train" Live, "Once Upon a Time in the West", "Solid Rock", "Twisting by the Pool")
E♭4: ("Don't Forget Your Hat", "If I Had You", "Lady Writer", "Privateering")
D4: ("Donegan's Gone", "Eastbound Train" Live, "Expresso Love", "Hand in Hand", "Industrial Disease", "It Never Rains", "Je Suis Desole", "Let it All Go", "Lions", "Money for Nothing", "News", "Oklahoma Ponies", "Ride Across the River", "Single-Handed Sailor", "Solid Rock", "Two Young Lovers", "Wild West End")
C♯4: ("Back to Tupelo", "Bluebird", "Cleaning My Gun", "Down to the Waterline", "Everybody Pays", "In the Gallery", "Lady Writer", "Millionaire Blues", "Our Shangri-La", "Stand Up Guy", "Terminal of Tribute To", "Twisting by the Pool", "Walk of Life", "Why Worry?", "Whoop-De-Doo")
C4: ("Badges, Posters, Stickers, T-Shirts", "Basil", "Before Gas and TV", "Behind With the Rent", "Boom, Like That", "Border Reiver", "Don't Forget Your Hat", "Early Bird", "Expresso Love", "The Fish and the Bird", "The Fizzy and the Still", "Hand in Hand", "Hard Shoulder". "Haul Away", "Imelda", "Lights of Taormina", "Love Over Gold", "The Man's Too Strong", "Marbletown", "News", "Once Upon a Time in the West", "A Place Where We Used to Live", "Piper to the End", "Privateering", "Punish the Monkey", "Romeo and Juliet", "The Scaffolder's Wife", "Seattle", "Secondary Waltz", "Setting Me Up", "Single-Handed Sailor", "Skateaway", "Skydiving", "Solid Rock", "Southbound Again", "Sultans of Swing", "Telegraph Road", "The Trawlerman's Song", "True Love Will Never Fade", "Tunnel of Love - Intro/The Carousel Waltz", "Two Young Lovers", "Water of Love", "What's the Matter Baby?" Live at the BBC, "Where Do You Think You're Going?", "You Can't Beat the House")
B3: ("38 Special", "Back to Tupelo", "Before Gas and TV", "Behind With the Rent", "Bluebird", "Brothers in Arms", "Cleaning My Gun", "Communiqué", "Donegan's Gone", "Down to the Waterline", "Eastbound Train" Live, "Everybody Pays", "Got to Have Something", "Heart Full of Holes", "Heavy Fuel", "How Long", "I'm the Fool", "If I Had You", "Industrial Disease", "Iron Hand", "It Never Rains", "Je Suis Desole", "Kingdom Come", "Lady Writer", "The Last Laugh", "Laughs and Jokes and Drinks and Smokes", "Lions", "Madame Geneva's", "The Man's Too Strong", "Millionaire Blues", "Oklahoma Ponies", "On Every Street", "One World", "Our Shangri-La", "Out of Step", "Piper to the End", "Radio City Serenade", "Remembrance Day", "Ride Across the River", "Sailing to Philadelphia", "Setting Me Up", "Skateaway", "Speedway at Nazareth", "Stand Up Guy", "Terminal of Tribute To", "Today is Okay", "We Can Get Wild", "Where Do You Think You're Going?", "Whoop-De-Doo", "Why Worry?", "Wild West End")
B♭3: ("5:15 AM", "After the Beanstalk", "Beryl", "Blood and Water", "Bluebird", "Boom, Like That", "Border Reiver", "Corned Beef City", "Done With Bonaparte", "Don't Forget Your Hat", "Early Bird", "Fade to Black", "The Fish and the Bird", "The Fizzy and the Still", "Go, Love", "Hard Shoulder", "Haul Away", "Heart of Oak", "Hot or What", "I Used to Could", "In the Gallery", "In the Sky","Junkie Doll", "Lights of Taormina", "Love Over Gold", "Money for Nothing", "Portobello Belle", "Postcards from Paraguay", "Privateering", "Redbud Tree", "Romeo and Juliet", "The Scaffolder's Wife", "Seattle", "Secondary Waltz", "Silvertown Blues", "Single-Handed Sailor", "Skydiving", "So Far from the Clyde", "Southbound Again", "Sucker Row", "Sultans of Swing", "Telegraph Road", "Time Will End All Sorrow", "The Trawlerman's Song", "True Love Will Never Fade", "Tunnel of Love - Intro/The Carousel Waltz", "Water of Love", "Who's Your Baby Now?", "You Can't Beat the House")
Significant Low Notes:
B♭2: ("After the Beanstalk", "All That Matters", "Badges, Posters, Stickers, T-Shirts", "Beryl", "Bluebird", "Boom, Like That", "Border Reiver", "Broken Bones", "Done With Bonaparte", "Dream of the Drowned Submariner", "Early Bird", "The Fish and the Bird", "Gator Blood", "Heart of Oak", "Hot Dog", "In the Gallery", "Junkie Doll", "Laughs and Jokes and Drinks and Smokes", "Lights of Taormina", "Long Cool Girl", "Marbletown", "Mighty Man", "Money for Nothing", "One More Matinee", "Piper to the End", "Portobello Belle", "Postcards from Paraguay", "River Towns", "Romeo and Juliet", "Sands of Nevada", "Single-Handed Sailor", "So Far from the Clyde", "Sucker Row", "Telegraph Road", "The Scaffolder's Wife", "Silver Eagle", "Silvertown Blues", "Skydiving", "Time Will End All Sorrow", "The Trawlerman's Song", "When It Comes to You", "Who's Your Baby Now?", "You and Your Friend", "You Can't Beat the House")
A2: ("Are We in Trouble Now", "Basil", "Before Gas and TV", "Behind With the Rent", "The Bug", "Calling Elvis", "The Car Was the One", "Communiqué", "Coyote", "Darling Pretty", "Devil Baby", "Donegan's Gone", "El Macho", "Expresso Love", "Fade to Black", "Follow Me Home", "Go, Love", "Hand in Hand", "Hard Shoulder". "Haul Away", "Heavy Fuel", "Hill Farmer's Blues", "How Long", "In the Sky", "Iron Hand", "It Never Rains", "Industrial Disease", "Je Suis Desole", "Les Boys", "Let it All Go", "Lions", "Miss You Blues", "News", "A Night in Summer Long Ago", "Once Upon a Time in the West", "A Place Where We Used to Live", "Planet of New Orleans", "Punish the Monkey", "Romeo and Juliet", "Rudiger", "Sailing to Philadelphia", "Setting Me Up", "Six Blade Knife", "Southbound Again", "Speedway at Nazareth", "Sultans of Swing", "Terminal of Tribute To", "Ticket to Heaven", "Tunnel of Love - Intro/The Carousel Waltz", "Twisting by the Pool", "Wanderlust", "We Can Get Wild", "Where Do You Think You're Going?", "Why Aye Man", "Wild West End", "You Don't Know You're Born")
G♯2: ("38 Special", "5:15 AM", "After the Beanstalk", "All That Matters", "Badges, Posters, Stickers, T-Shirts", "Border Reiver", "Brothers in Arms", "Cleaning My Gun", "Don't Crash the Ambulance", "Early Bird", "Everybody Pays", "Get Lucky", "Heart Full of Holes", "Heart of Oak", "If I Had You", "In the Gallery", "Iron Hand", "Kingdom of Gold", "Lady Writer", "The Last Laugh", "Lights of Taormina", "Monteleone", "Old Pigweed", "Our Shangri-La", "Postcards from Paraguay", "Radio City Serenade", "Remembrance Day", "River Towns", "The Scaffolder's Wife", "Silver Eagle", "So Far Away (Full Version)", "So Far from the Clyde", "Song for Sonny Liston", "What It Is", "Wherever I Go", "Whoop-De-Doo")
G2: ("Angel of Mercy", "Basil", "Before Gas and TV", "Behind With the Rent", "Beryl", "Blood and Water", "Broken Bones", "The Car Was the One", "Daddy's Gone to Knoxville", "Devil Baby", "Done With Bonaparte", "Don't Forget Your Hat", "Don't You Get It", "Expresso Love", "Fare Thee Well Northumberland", "The Fish and the Bird", "The Fizzy and the Still", "Golden Heart", "Follow Me Home", "Hard Shoulder". "Haul Away", "Hill Farmer's Blues", "Hot Dog", "I'm the Fool", "I Used to Could", "Kingdom Come", "Laughs and Jokes and Drinks and Smokes", "Lions", "Love Over Gold", "Marbletown", "Mighty Man", "Millionaire Blues", "Money for Nothing", "My Heart Has Never Changed", "News", "Nobody's Got the Gun", "No Can Do", "Oklahoma Ponies", "On Every Street", "Once Upon a Time in the West", "One More Matinee", "Piper to the End", "A Place Where We Used to Live", "Prairie Wedding", "Privateering", "Raglan Road" 'Sult - Spirit of the Music' with Donal Lunny, "Romeo and Juliet", "The Scaffolder's Wife", "Seattle", "Secondary Waltz", "Silvertown Blues", "Six Blade Knife", "Skydiving", "Sucker Row", "Sultans of Swing", "The Trawlerman's Song", "Time Will End All Sorrow", "Today is Okay", "True Love Will Never Fade", "Tunnel of Love - Intro/The Carousel Waltz", "When It Comes to You", "Where Do You Think You're Going?", "Who's Your Baby Now?", "Yon Two Crows", "You and Your Friend")
F♯2: ("38 Special", "Angel of Mercy", "Back to Tupelo", "Baloney Again", "Bluebird", "Brothers in Arms", "The Bug", "Calling Elvis", "Communiqué", "Donegan's Gone", "Don't Crash the Ambulance", "Down to the Waterline", "Get Lucky", "Golden Heart", "Heart Full of Holes", "Les Boys", "Lions", "Madame Geneva's", "Millionaire Blues", "Planet of New Orleans", "Private Investigations", "Radio City Serenade", "Remembrance Day", "River Towns", "Sailing to Philadelphia", "Skateaway", "Speedway at Nazareth", "Stand Up Guy", "Ticket to Heaven", "Wanderlust", "What It Is", "Wherever I Go", "Wild West End", "Vic and Ray", "Your Latest Trick")
F2: ("5:15 AM", "Blood and Water", "Boom, Like That", "Done With Bonaparte", "Gator Blood", "Haul Away", "Hot or What", "Imelda", "In the Sky", "Junkie Doll", "Love Over Gold", "My Heart Has Never Changed", "Quality Shoe", "Sands of Nevada", "Secondary Waltz", "Silver Eagle", "Silvertown Blues", "Skydiving", "So Far from the Clyde", "Sucker Row", "When It Comes to You", "Portobello Belle", "Yon Two Crows", "You and Your Friend", "You Can't Beat the House")
E2: ("A Place Where We Used to Live", "Baloney Again", "Blood and Water", "The Bug", "Calling Elvis", "Cannibals", "Don't Crash the Ambulance", "El Macho", "Heart Full of Holes", "Heavy Fuel", "Je Suis Desole", "Les Boys", "Monteleone", "My Parties", "Nobody's Got the Gun", "No Can Do", "On Every Street", "One More Matinee", "Planet of New Orleans", "Private Investigations", "Secondary Waltz", "Skateaway", "So Far Away (Full Version)", "Speedway at Nazareth", "Stand Up Guy", "Today is Okay", "Vic and Ray")
E♭2: ("5:15 AM", "Bluebird ", "Boom, Like That", "Early Bird", "Hot or What", "Old Pigweed", "Prairie Wedding", "Radio City Serenade")
D2: ("Are We in Trouble Now", "Basil", "Devil Baby", "Golden Heart", "I'm the Fool", "Let it All Go", "My Heart Has Never Changed", "My Parties", "Punish the Monkey", "Quality Shoe", "Ticket to Heaven", "Vic and Ray", "Yon Two Crows")
C♯2: ("Cleaning My Gun", "Gator Blood", "Old Pigweed", "Song for Sonny Liston")
C2: ("Don't You Get It", "Hot or What", "No Can Do", "One More Matinee", "Prairie Wedding", "Quality Shoe", "Rudiger")
B1: ("El Macho", "Kingdom of Gold", "Madame Geneva's", "Song for Sonny Liston" Live on the Book Show 2012)
..................................................
Blue marks falsetto notes.
Bold marks outstanding passages.
Italics mark non-melodic notes.
Underlines mark obscured notes.
{Bio/Vocal Analysis}Born in Glasgow on the 12th of August 1949, Mark Knopfler is a British singer-songwriter, best known for fronting the 120 million record-selling rock band "Dire Straits", as well as attaining success and recognition as a solo recording artist and film score composer.
Mark Knopfler's vocal approach is perhaps one of the most blatant examples of what many would call 'talk-singing'. Inspired by American folk and country music, Knopfler tends to neutralise his native north-east English when singing, tinging it with tones of the American Deep South (although he does occasionally let his Geordie accent shine through, most notably on more lyrically colloquial tracks like "Why Aye Man?").
Whilst his vocals have often been maligned for the lack of a melody they're sometimes portraying, Mark's very specific style of phrasing is an instantly recognisable one and his adenoidal baritone only enhances his Dylan-inspired stream-of-consciousness lyricism throughout his material. Mark's vocals are of the everyman - his tone, his phrasing, his minimal intonation all exuding the charisma of a working class man who hasn't had time to become a virtuoso, yet feels the need to sing to convey his condition - the complementary guitar work doing the more elaborate part of painting a picture of the rugged beauty of a steak-and-potatoes life in sprawling meadowy landscapes. In truth, it is not a shortcoming of Mark's that is the end product of his vocals, the breathy crooning is the whole intent of his style; every rhythmic phrasing choice, a desperate high note here, a more serious-sounding low note there, they are what make Mark so unquestionably relatable with the poorer, pub-going folk, yet so unmistakably unique in the grand spectrum of vocalists.
Knopfler's voice underwent an audible change during the time between the final two Dire Straits albums, and by 1991 his voice had become noticeably darkened by years of smoking, losing some of the breathiness that was synonymous with the early Straits records and gaining a somewhat firmer timbre in exchange. From the early '90s onwards, MK began utilising low notes below E2 (something that had been absent on earlier studio recordings), reaching down as low as B1 on a number of occasions.
Overall, Mark Knopfler is a bit of an anomaly of rock vocals, with frontmen of the genre typically being associated with high belting in abundance, which Knopfler almost completely avoids. His sung-spoken, narrative style of vocals instead sit primarily in his mid-range and lower register, with highs used sparingly and not pushed very far. He does however demonstrate very occasional moments of high singing that go above his usual cut-off point of D4. Such examples would be the fleeting lilty falsettos in songs like "Walk of Life" and "Postcards from Paraguay".
Where most of the rock bands who attained commercial success in the '70s and '80s were known for their catchy choruses and memorable vocal hooks, Knopfler bucked the trend, becoming an international superstar with semi-improvised vocal melodies that would be nearly impossible to reproduce. Not a virtuosic vocalist by any means, but a genuinely unique one, boasting as recognizable a voice as you will find anywhere.
Mark Knopfler's vocal approach is perhaps one of the most blatant examples of what many would call 'talk-singing'. Inspired by American folk and country music, Knopfler tends to neutralise his native north-east English when singing, tinging it with tones of the American Deep South (although he does occasionally let his Geordie accent shine through, most notably on more lyrically colloquial tracks like "Why Aye Man?").
Whilst his vocals have often been maligned for the lack of a melody they're sometimes portraying, Mark's very specific style of phrasing is an instantly recognisable one and his adenoidal baritone only enhances his Dylan-inspired stream-of-consciousness lyricism throughout his material. Mark's vocals are of the everyman - his tone, his phrasing, his minimal intonation all exuding the charisma of a working class man who hasn't had time to become a virtuoso, yet feels the need to sing to convey his condition - the complementary guitar work doing the more elaborate part of painting a picture of the rugged beauty of a steak-and-potatoes life in sprawling meadowy landscapes. In truth, it is not a shortcoming of Mark's that is the end product of his vocals, the breathy crooning is the whole intent of his style; every rhythmic phrasing choice, a desperate high note here, a more serious-sounding low note there, they are what make Mark so unquestionably relatable with the poorer, pub-going folk, yet so unmistakably unique in the grand spectrum of vocalists.
Knopfler's voice underwent an audible change during the time between the final two Dire Straits albums, and by 1991 his voice had become noticeably darkened by years of smoking, losing some of the breathiness that was synonymous with the early Straits records and gaining a somewhat firmer timbre in exchange. From the early '90s onwards, MK began utilising low notes below E2 (something that had been absent on earlier studio recordings), reaching down as low as B1 on a number of occasions.
Overall, Mark Knopfler is a bit of an anomaly of rock vocals, with frontmen of the genre typically being associated with high belting in abundance, which Knopfler almost completely avoids. His sung-spoken, narrative style of vocals instead sit primarily in his mid-range and lower register, with highs used sparingly and not pushed very far. He does however demonstrate very occasional moments of high singing that go above his usual cut-off point of D4. Such examples would be the fleeting lilty falsettos in songs like "Walk of Life" and "Postcards from Paraguay".
Where most of the rock bands who attained commercial success in the '70s and '80s were known for their catchy choruses and memorable vocal hooks, Knopfler bucked the trend, becoming an international superstar with semi-improvised vocal melodies that would be nearly impossible to reproduce. Not a virtuosic vocalist by any means, but a genuinely unique one, boasting as recognizable a voice as you will find anywhere.
{Notewatched Material/Credits}Baronessa
Communiqué (1979): F2-F4
Love Over Gold (1982): E2-D4
ExtendeDancEPlay (1983): G♯2-E4
On Every Street (1991): D2-B3
Sailing to Philadelphia (2000): B1-B3
Shangri-La (2004): C♯2-F4
Get Lucky (2009): C♯2-C♯4
Tracker (2015): D2-D4
clem
Dire Straits (1978): F♯2-D4
Making Movies (1980): E2-E4
Brothers in Arms (1985): E2-B4
Golden Heart (1996): C2-D4
The Ragpicker's Dream (2002): C2-C4
Kill to Get Crimson (2007): B1-D4
Privateering (2012): B1-E♭4
Communiqué (1979): F2-F4
Love Over Gold (1982): E2-D4
ExtendeDancEPlay (1983): G♯2-E4
On Every Street (1991): D2-B3
Sailing to Philadelphia (2000): B1-B3
Shangri-La (2004): C♯2-F4
Get Lucky (2009): C♯2-C♯4
Tracker (2015): D2-D4
clem
Dire Straits (1978): F♯2-D4
Making Movies (1980): E2-E4
Brothers in Arms (1985): E2-B4
Golden Heart (1996): C2-D4
The Ragpicker's Dream (2002): C2-C4
Kill to Get Crimson (2007): B1-D4
Privateering (2012): B1-E♭4
