What is the lowest musical note?

Turns out, ludicrously, earth-shatteringly low… Since 2012, Tim Storms has held the world record for the lowest ever vocal note – that's a deliciously gravelly G -7 (0.189 Hz), which is eight octaves below the lowest G on the piano.

classicfm.com - Listen to the man who holds the record for lowest vocal note sung by ...

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Listen to the man who holds the record for lowest vocal note sung by a human

By Maddy Shaw Roberts

How low can he go? Turns out, ludicrously, earth-shatteringly low…

Since 2012, Tim Storms has held the world record for the lowest ever vocal note – that’s a deliciously gravelly G -7 (0.189 Hz), which is eight octaves below the lowest G on the piano. The American bass, who stretches the lowest male voice type to its extreme, holds the Guinness World Records for both the “lowest note produced by a human” and the “widest local range”. Speaking to Classic FM in his winning year, Storms said his voice “was always low”. “The older I get, the lower I get,” he said. “I never went through that adolescent voice changing phase.” Pour some liquid thunder down a microphone, and Storms’ voice is sort of what you get (listen below). Storms found musical fame after winning Decca Records’ ‘Bass Hunter’, an international competition set up by the record company and Military Wives composer Paul Mealor, who were in search for a bass who could sing a low ‘E’. Mealor’s newest composition at the time, ‘De Profundis’, featured the record-breaking note, which was the lowest tone ever written in a piece of classical music – six semitones below the lowest note found in a mainstream choral work, which is a B flat in Rachmaninov’s Vespers. Storms submitted his tape and won the competition by a landslide. The singer and composer could not only get down to a low E but, so he says, two octaves lower than that. And the clarity of his voice at that frequency is just astonishing. Mealor’s piece features on the 2012 Decca album Tranquillity, which was recorded with the St Petersburg Chamber Choir. “I’ve always had an appreciation for classical music, but I’ve never been an active listener,” Storms tells Classic FM. “And then I heard the St Petersburg Chamber Choir and got to sing with them, and it completely changed the way I feel about it.” Hear that low ‘E’ in the recording just here, and feel your bones tremble...

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Who is the fastest pianist ever?

Lubomyr Melnyk has made a name for himself by claiming to be the world's fastest pianist. Apparently it's physically impossible to hear all the notes Melnyk is playing. The Ukrainian-born pianist claims his fingers are hammering out a staggering 19.5 notes per second.

classicfm.com - 20 notes a second?! This guy reckons he's the world's fastest pianist

20 notes a second?! This guy reckons he's the world's fastest pianist

Innovative, revolutionary, inspiring or just plain crackers? Fast playing, epic beard - with Lubomyr Melnyk there’s a lot going on… Lubomyr Melnyk has made a name for himself by claiming to be the world’s fastest pianist. Apparently it’s physically impossible to hear all the notes Melnyk is playing. The Ukrainian-born pianist claims his fingers are hammering out a staggering 19.5 notes per second. We'll have to take your word for it, Lubomyr.

He’s given his style a name – he calls it 'continuous music'

He says "the sound is another dimension" as if you’re "floating on a river".

And the philosophy behind continuous music actually sounds pretty cool

Apparently in continuous music you can’t make a mistake because you are living the music with the piano. The super-beardy maestro claims to have even fallen asleep while playing. He says it’s the first innovation in piano performance for more than three centuries Hammerklavier Sonata? Pah! Gloss over Liszt, who revolutionised the world of piano performance. Oh and John Cage who literally took the piano apart and put it back together again for his works for prepared piano.

What a character, eh?

But enough from us. Listen for yourself - here the maestro is in action:

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