Sixteen Tons (Geoff Castellucci) | Vocal Coach Reacts 

In at least two VoicePlay songs, Geoff hits a B0 (one sustained for several beats). One of the keys to both his and VoicePlay's success is their attention to detail, in acting, costuming, sets, makeup, etc. They don't miss a trick!

What’s more impressive is that this whole song was in chest. Not one subharmonic and he is known for his subs.

Geoff has a five-octave range. If you'd like to hear him put it all on display even more impressively, check out his recent cover of I See Fire, from The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Some other great examples (among many--he just doesn't make bad music) are his covers with his a capella group, VoicePlay: Oogie Boogie's song from The Nightmare Before Christmas, and The Little Mermaid medley. One of his more amazing low bass performances that comes to mind is also with them: Valhalla Calling.

You said it perfectly, he doesn't only sing low, he sounds great singing low (and high). Thanks for the reaction, hoping to see more Geoff and VoicePlay on your channel🤞

Geoffs' newest is a cover of Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison Blues showing off his higher range. He has also done a cover of Jimmy Dean's Big Bad John. He just has a way of breathing new life into these old songs.

Glad to see you found Geoff. As people have mentioned, he is in an acapella group, VoicePlay, that is packed with so much talent. I find them to be by far the most entertaining acapella group out there right now. They cover a wide of array of genres and they just keep getting better and better. They did a cover of In The Hall of The Mountain King that is just brilliant. Their cover of Metallica's Nothing Else Matters and Hoist The Colours are both beautiful. Their cover of Creep is moving. There really isn't a bad cover in the hole bunch, something to fit every mood. With Halloween coming up Geoff has wonderful covers of The Headless Horseman and Monster Mash. VoicePlay has Oogie Boogie's song and This Is Halloween from The Nightmare Before Christmas and Hide and Seek that are all great Halloween fun.

I don't think I see any other geoff songs on your channel, so if I'm correct about that, welcome to the wonderful world of geoff castellucci! You should also check out voiceplay if you haven't before. It's the a capella group hes in and they are also fantastic 😊💜

Very happy to see you react to Geoff's music. Like you said the most important thing is to sing well instead of pushing for the extreme highs or lows. He didn't use any subharmonic technique in this video, but there are a bunch of other videos have it. He also sings bass in the acapella group VoicePlay and they did tons of exceptional works. Check them out if you have a chance. Great reaction Nick!

Welcome to the Geoff Castellucci rabbit hole. He does use subharmonics to achieve even lower notes (he reached down to B0 and A0) than what he sings here, but this is all chest voice, no subharmonics. When he first started doing that, it seemed he would use it to reach a low note at the end of a line. What amazes me about his singing now is that he seems to be able to switch back and forth between chest and subharmonics in a musical phrase, which is a whole other level of vocal training and dexterity. He did a couple of videos a while back talking about singing low and various techniques, and urged that the goal is NOT simply to sing as low as you can but to sing as well as you can. He does his own arrangements and he and the VoicePlay beatboxer, Layne Stein, pretty much split the arrangement duties for that accapella group. He has said that he and Layne firmly believe that 1) if all you are going to do is switch out the instrumentation for an identical arrangement of voices, there's no point in doing a cover of that song but 2) if you go so avant garde that no one can recognize the original song, that's not right either. His solo work uses instrumentation (usually using plug-ins though he does play piano occasionally) because he sings with VoicePlay when he wants to do accapella, there's no reason for him to do it in his solo work, even though he obviously writes the vocal arrangement for multiple voices/ranges.

Glad your reacting to Geoff he is also in a group called VoicePlay that he is in too they drop a song Yesterday Drunken Sailor, They done Creep, In The Air Tonight, Seven Nation Army, Hoist The Colours and a few Disney Stuff Like Mona Medley, Little Mermaid just to name a few. Valhalla Calling, My Mother Told Me, Nothing Else Matters, hope you do some more just Geoff and VoicePlay. Geoff also done Till Then, Way Up, Blackbird, Sound of Silence.

Geoff was the guy who made subharmonics cool. He didn't learn them himself, that was a guy named David Larson on YT, but his use of a subharmonic E1 at the end of Voiceplay's Oogie Boogie Song was the first commercially successful use of a subharmonic note, and Geoff has been a pioneer of that technique in the bass community

AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL LOW VOICE💙💙💙👌🏽

Loved the reaction and the concepts you explained, with which I totally agree. As I agree that what makes Geoff special is the quality of his voice, so warm, round and smooth throughout his 5 octaves range. 🙂 And he keeps working hard on improving his voice. You can hear that, IMHO, in the two songs he covered from "The Hobbit" trilogy, "Far over the Misty Mountains cold" a couple years ago and "I see fire"about a month ago. He "cloned" himself there too, and wears cosplay level costumes. The two videos have the same characters, costumes and makeups, but different sets and quite a different vocal structure. As other already pointed out, Geoff is the bass singer in the a cappella group Voiceplay, which is another super talented bunch of people. He and the beatboxer of the group share about 95% of their arrangements, alternating more or less every month 🙂. If you want to explore the real lowest range of Geoff, try their cover of "Valhalla calling", which is the sequel of "My mother told me". The latter is the one where he earned the nickname of "Foghorn Geoff" 😁😅, and the former is the one he reaches the lowest note I heard from him... Yet 😁. Just subscribed in anticipation of more Geoff, Voiceplay and Home Free (BTW, Geoff and Tim Foust, HF bass, are friends...). See you next time!

If you want to hear his full range, I would really recommend his cover of Blackbird. Simply smooth vocals.

Geoff has the ability to break anyone's mind with his range. It really is hard to fathom how smooth his range really is top to bottom

His cover of "I See Fire" is my personal favorite

Wonderful to see a professional evaluating Geoff. His bass is so rich and pleasant. Would love to see you to react to his group Voiceplay. Their cover of Nothing Else Matters. Extraordinary! On his personal channel, I recommend I See Fire.

There are great examples of bass out there indeed. Geoff, Tim from Home free, Avi, the whole Bass gang, and many others. 😅 Thank you for this reaction, hope you do many more to Voice Play and the others. 😊

I love the slow blink so many reactors do when Geoff hits certain notes, so fun!

What’s impressive is just how freaking easy it is for him to do. He sounds fantastic in both directions. Huge respect and huge range

Geoff has a couple of videos on his solo channel showing and telling how he hits some of his low notes, but one thing he emphasizes in his videos is that it's better to practice to be a good singer, than to be a low-note singer.

To be fair, Geoff is in his 40’s, and Bobby’s in his 20’s. Geoff EARNED that gorgeous, silky deep bass through years of hard practice. You might check out some of Bobby’s other covers when he’s not doing mostly subs. He reminds me of Thurl Ravenscroft sometimes. With Geoff, you should turn on the subtitles. Very often there are some really funny bits in there. Also, if you want to hear another young, developing bass who also has whistle notes, check out Tomi P. And there’s Dimash, who’s more of a bari-tenor naturally, who has insane high and low extensions, and who also has operatic training (he was actually invited to join an opera company but chose to do his own thing). Also Avi Kaplan, the former bass for Pentatonix, who’s doing his own thing now (he’s another mature bass singer who has operatic training). And then there’s Peter Barber, who is another young bass singer who is actually a professional opera singer. Anyway, I enjoyed this reaction! Like many others I really like bass singers, so I hope you’ll delve more into this category. Definitely more Geoff (and check out Voiceplay, his group, as well). You’re dead right that he’s one of the best bass singers out there right now

I like your analysis and review. Geoff has a lot of fans, do does Tim Foust of Home Free. They both have similar range (five octaves) and both have great enunciation when they sing. I look forward to your review of both of these popular bass singers both singly and with their groups. Subscribed for more bass analysis.

Your explanations help us a lot. Thank you. Greetings from Brazil.

As you pointed out, it is the character of the voice, not just the pitch that sets a great singer apart. In my opinion, and I'm always right, Geoff is the best of the best. What is also astounding about his solo work is that he does it (usually) all himself. The arrangement, editing, storyboard, production are all him. He sometimes has a crew for makeup and camera when necessary. He frequently uses Pattycake Productions for his sets. It is owned by the beatboxer from Voiceplay and the former baritone, Tony Wakim who left the group to concentrate on production. Subscribed in anticipation of more Geoff and Voiceplay.

Geoff himself has a video on "how to sing low" but he ends it up by saying "it's better to be a good/better singer than a low singer" and that's really true

What a phenomenal instrument he has! He is also a good musician.

Hoping you drive into his catalog. Geoff has songs for every mood. His Sound Of Silence cover is inspired.

I have watch Geoff a number of times and of course love him! The great part in this video was just the joy you showed watching.

I really enjoyed your reaction and your emphasis on "good singing" regardless of extreme range. I look forward to many more reactions. Check out Geoff with his group VoicePlay, and while your at it give a listen to several other fantastic singing groups, Pentatonix, Home Free and Voctave, all a cappella. Keep up the good work!

The absolute highest I have heard him sing is in the VoicePlay Mini "Peaches"

Geoff's version of "Ain't No Sunshine" is excellent and shows some vocal gymnastics as well as a novel arrangement. Really, it's hard to go wrong with most any of Geoff's solo work or Voiceplay's stuff. And heads' up, Voiceplay is an overall vocal powerhouse from their regular members to their guest vocalist spot that switches up. The arrangements are crazy good acapella - Hoist the Colors, Halo, The Dragonborn Come, My Mother Told Me, Carry On Wayward Son, or any (all?) of their Disney Medleys or Covers. (Good 4 U is fun, different, and a bit quirky.) So much great material with fantastic clean vocals, wonderful arrangements and harmonies, meticulous attention to detail, and entertaining videography. SO MUCH rich material for a vocal coach to cover!

I like your reviews. You take the time to explain what you mean, what you're looking for, instead of saying "it's so good" again and again. You know your stuff, and I think Geoff's performances deserve that. I subscribed because I want to hear more. Keep them coming.

So many people _not_ knowing this song kinda blows me away. I'm 64 and grew up in eastern KY, and in my youth this song fairly saturated the airwaves, on AM radio stations and the country music variety shows popular on TV at the time, including that of Tennessee Ernie Ford, whose cover of the song popularized it and caused it to become a signature track for him. It's been covered by many over the years, but Geoff captures the working man theme of it every bit as effectively as Ernie did, albeit with a certain flair that holds the interest of the ladies! lol

His cover of Blackbird really shows off his range and it’s a fantastic cover

Please react to Geoff's I See Fire. Each of the 4 characters have a different range from very low to high. Geoff has a 5+ octave range, from A0 (growl), B0 (subharmonic), F#1 (full chest), Bb5 (falsetto in mini Peaches (and earlier A5 on stage doing Elvira)). I first heard Geoff when he did the Monster Mash 2 yrs ago and was captivated. Then did VoicePlay's Hoist the Colours and fell completely into the rabbit hole. He started his solos when Covid kept VoicePlay from touring. I think his first one was The Bare Necessities. Blackbird and High and Dry are also both beautiful as is Shenandoah.

Chest voice only crazy low!!! Love Geoff. He is so so good

I love Geoff and VoicePlay! Their arrangements are always fun and surprising at the same time as they pay respect to the original. I hope you’ll react more to them, I enjoyed your reaction!

Geoff and VoicePlay are my faves!! Can't get enough and so happy to hear you react to/analyze his vocals. You nailed it, too; Geoff has a richness and a listenability that feels like a warm sonic hug. His voice is bettering every year and it's a joy to listen to. I love him on classics like Oh Shenandoh and Bare Necessities. He's also oh-so-fun on songs like Way Down and Monster Mash. XD

Geoff's total range is 5 octaves 1 semitone (A0-A#5), but his chest range is an insane 3 octaves 5 semitones (F#1-B4). His total range is probably larger, but this is his useful range that sounds good.

The other Low Bass that Geoff gave a bit credit was Tim Foust who is from Home Free

Thank you for covering one of my favorite singers. And thank you for stopping, commenting and then rewinding a bit so we don’t lose the continuity of the song. So far everybody has commented on most of my favorites so I’ll just encourage you to keep going down the rabbit hole and be sure to check out the a cappella group performs in VoicePlay. They do a wide variety of genres and and styles. One of my favorites, which I don’t think was mentioned here is the orchestral piece from Peer Gynt: In the Hall of the Mountain King. Warning: they are in cosplay mode so you probably won’t recognize anybody. Leave it to Voiceplay to take a piece of classical music and turn it into pure comedy gold! One other thing - always wait until the patron roll begins because sometimes they add little bits. Also, at least lately Voiceplay has been using the karaoke track to their song as the music that plays during the Patreon role and the outro. Sometimes those pieces of music could stand alone. Subscribing in hopes that you will follow through and cover not only these two but also dip into another one of my favorites : The Bass Gang. This is made up of four bass singers who got together a few years over the Internet and decided to collaborate. Because two live in separate sections of the US, one lives in Egypt and another lives in the Czech Republic, they have yet to meet. So sometimes their videos aren’t as fancy as others, but they are well worth a listen. They also have done collaborations with several other bass singers including Jonathan Young, Earl Halloway, and Tim Foust. Marwan Ayman from Egypt is 18 years old. When he grows up he’s going to be even more impressive. He has shorts where he does what I believe he calls a build up. He shows himself singing each part of a song as he compiles it. From tenor to tenor lead to bass to the beatboxing he does all of them himself. Just figuring out how to arrange it makes my brain hurt! Oh! If you have not already done so you really need to check out Amazing Grace by Dan Vasc. He’s a metal singer doing a church him. It is phenomenal. I’m pretty sure he would be considered a bass or maybe a baritone bass. I have no musical training but I know his voice certainly isn’t a tenor I think I have an weakness for bass voices!😂😂😂😂

Three words. Ain't No Sunshine

Geoff's channel was set up during lockdown and this is early in the beginning.. Though this is brilliant and i enjoy it, I am more taken by his covers of ghost riders in the sky, ain't no sunshine and Shenandoah... For a tongue in cheek cover showing his sense of humour, I recommend his cover of way down.. As others have said, his recent video of him covering Folsom prison blues is great... Voiceplay is a must if you want to be amazed by tight harmonies and amazing arrangements... Nothing else matters, Dream on, Seven nation army and Creep are just mind blowing.. subscribing in anticipation of more Geoff and subsequently Voiceplay. ❤ 🇬🇧

I like the way you go about explain both the video, and your feelings on the topic. Yeah geoff is crazy low, ( though some of his lower stuff is a bit froggy and compressed ) it still sounds pretty good for what he does! I personally am a fan of subs and fancy vocal stuff, so I find the sound interesting but even I admit that hearing someone achieve the same note with chest, and still have it be resonant is always fun to hear.

Yeah, Geoff's range is very impressive. 😃 I really enjoyed your video. I learned a great deal.

You have GOT to check out his cover of Shenandoah.

Love him! Subscribed in hopes for more Geoff and his group Voiceplay! Would also love to see your thoughts on Gabriel Henrique and his incredible whistle notes! ❤

Great reaction and instruction.

i think the best thing about Geoff is the fluidity of him going through his whole vocal range which you can see in the VoicePlay cover "Oogie Boogie's Song"

Definitely suggest you react to some Voiceplay, which is the a capella group that Geoff sings bass for. It’s also usually Geoff or Layne, the percussionist, who create the arrangements. If you ever wonder who is doing which part and who arranged the song, they always include those details in the video description, which is especially handy for newer reactors.

Try Geoff's newest, Folsom Prison Blues! It is awesome! Also, his group, Voice Play's version of Drunken Sailor! Also incredibly awesome! Also, in Drunken Sailor, Geoff hits some of the lowest notes I have ever heard!🤯

If you want to hear more of his range, check his solo covers on Sounds of Silence and Man of Constant Sorrow. He didn’t touch his high range here; that is, for the “lead”. The background singers were getting there. I appreciate your educational comments. Subscribed!

I see fire!!! It’s fantastic, also voice play for sure, they are all fantastic.

I just adore watching facial reactions of people hearing Geoff for the first time

If you enjoyed this you’ll really love Voiceplay which is the groups he sings with. They do a great job with harmonies and in my opinion they are the best at arranging between all the acapella groups

Check out Voiceplay's 'Valhalla Calling'. Geoff does a sustained B0 in that. At some point he's going to go off the low end of the piano.

more Geoff / Voiceplay reactions, please!

I'm sure someone has already recommended it, but you should check out his cover of Sound of Silence. It covers more of his range, features more of him doing his own backing vocals, even lets him play piano.

Thank you for reacting to Geoff! I look forward to you reacting to more of Geoff and his a cappella group, VoicePlay. My favorite Geoff song is Shenandoah, but you could react to anything from Geoff and VoicePlay and many people would be happy!

One of the best displays of his range is with his group Voiceplay doing a cover of "The Boogie Woogie Song" from The Nightmare before Christmas.

You should definitely check out his most recent upload, Folsom Prison Blues. It really showcases his ease of access into his higher range (4th and 5th octave) as well as including his lowest chest voice note (F#1). It isn't subharmonics-heavy but instead really displays his control and comfort in his entire ridiculous range.

If you want to see most of his vocal range…. VP did a song from the “Nightmare BEFORE Christmas” called The Oogie Boogie song. You will be amazed.🥰😬

I recommend his Blackbird by Geoff as good examples of his range at the time. He's gone lower since. It's his smooth tone across his range that is often remarked on. His range is indeed five octaves. Geoff has said, in his videos on how to sing low, does remark that although these tricks are nice to have your repetoire, it's important to concentrate first on singing well. Which he does. Thank you for your remarks which underline what he himself says. I should point out too that Geoff still has trouble calling himself a bass singer even though Peter Barber, the bass operatic singer insists that he is. He is so self-depracating and humble.

I believe in "Folsom Prison Blues" he sings purely in chest. No subs. He's the guy who made subharmonics popular. I remember my music friends going absolutely nuts when "Oogie Boogie" came out and Geoff hit that Eb1. It blew everyone away. Pretty sure that video trended on RU-vid for a while, we were all rewatching it, trying to figure this out. None of the singers I know had ever heard of subharmonics before, and immediately everyone (from basses to sopranos) began to practice getting those deep notes. Then during Covid, I guess everyone had time to mess around at home, and TikTok exploded with basses trying to outdo each other, some with talent (Bass Gang) but many of them were not that good. What I like about Geoff is he's not trying to set some record. He has hit I think either an E0 or G0 (I forget) in one of his singing advice videos, but he only records what he can make sound GOOD. So far, that's the B0 "war horn" in Valhalla Calling. (I think "Halo" was the first time he hit that low.) His high range is just as gorgeous, and really, I love to hear him sing in the tenor range. It's a smooth, beautiful tone with a lot of power behind it. "I See Fire" shows his flexibility. His voice remains smooth no matter the octave, which is what makes him one of my favorite bass singers. (I mean, it's hard to beat Avi Kaplan, Thurl Ravenscroft or Johnny Cash, but Geoff is evenly tied with them.)

Really liked your analysis. Please do a Voiceplay reaction?

There are two VoicePlay songs that also show off Geoff's low range are the Dragonborne Comes and the Halo theme song. Those are two songs that are really good and I recommend them.

you should definitely check out more of Geoff's covers there fantastic and yes he can sing much lower lol. Also check out the acapella group he's a part of which is called VoicePlay, they are also fantastic and if you want something really cool and also entertaining to watch/analyze i recommend checking out there cover of the Halo theme tune.

They have a vocal group called "VoicePlay." You should check out their songs! Each one of them has incredible talent.

Subscribing to watch your Geoff/VoicePlay journey. I know you’ll enjoy it. And your comments on teaching and singing sure seem insightful!

Thank you for a great reaction and analysis! I love Geoff as well! I appreciate your commentary about highs and lows being "popular" right now, but that vocal quality is far more important. Speaking of highs, have you had an opportunity to listen to Gabriel Henrique? I think he not only sings very high (for a man) but also very WELL. I would love to hear your thoughts!

Замечательная реакция! Вы еще не слышали Diana Ankudinova? Вы должны ее услышать! Начните с Rechenka. Там ей всего 15 лет, но вы будете поражены тем, что услышите. Это голос самой матери Земли.

If you listen to Voice Play's Valhalla Calling (accapella), you will hear him hit his B0...yes, he also sings high up to an A5....a 5 octave range. You'll hear it at the end of The Oogie Boogie Song. Geoff also sand Man of Constant Sorrow and just released his version of Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash. Also, The Bass Gang is all basses singing accapella.

Out of all of the vocal groups that I'm aware of with basso profundos, Geoff I believe has the widest range. What a great vocalist.

Halloween is coming soon. Geoff and his group VoicePlay love Halloween and do special Halloween videos for their fans. I hope you look them up and do more of Geoff's videos and dont forget his group. I hope you do Oogie Boogie's Song first.😊

For Halloween last year, Geoff covered "Ghost Riders in the Sky" and it is phenomenal! It's one of my favs from him. ❤

Great reaction! Yes..." great singer and sound good" the most important parts. Geoff has tons of videos out, but one i personally thinks that is simply beautiful with great range is his cover of "Shenandoah ", check it out!

Geoff's Big Bad John can sort of be considered a followup to this one.

Geoff has 4 octave range on his voice. The Oogie Boogie song he sings on voiceplay shows it well.

You should check out Geoff's acapella group Voiceplay's version of "Oogie Boogie's Song" (nightmare before Christmas is where the song is originally from in case you haven't seen it before)

For the record, a large portion of the 13,000,000 views are those of us who watched it too many times to count.

If you like Geoff, I would highly recommend listening to his group, VoicePlay. Personally, I've been really into Valhalla Calling. I think it really showcases all of their voices wonderfully and it's really fun to listen to. Edit: a surprising showcase of the range he can access in a single breath is in their Little Mermaid medley.

Try his Sound of Silence

You need to listen to Blackbird cover by Geoff it is amazing and truly shows his range

just found your channel on this vid, check out his cover of I See Fire, it shows a lot of his range, and it's amazing

10:45 - Amen! The obsession with the highest voice or the lowest voice reminds me of people who think that playing Maple Leaf Rag the fastest makes you the best pianist. That's not how it works! 😆

You should really react to Halo from Voiceplay, the way they arranged an completly instrumental piece of music is just amazing

Please check out Geoff’s cover of blackbird or way down, and voiceplays vallhallacalling.

PLEASE react to "I see fire" - or did you already!?😊❤

Try Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers (Bass Singer Cover by Geoff Castellucci) seeing as you like older songs

You should absolutely react to VoicePlays Oogie Boogie video - Geoff is the main singer and you can really hear his range in that one. Also, I might also recommend Misty Mountains as well. I first learned of Geoff through VoicePlay but I'm a fan for sure.

man of constant sorrow by Geoff next?

Kind of unrelated, but I just bought the mic you have! The Shure MV7. Are you happy with it? What’s it like for singing? Do you have advice on how to set it up? When I plug my headphones into it, monitoring volume is so low that it’s almost unusable, unless I crank the monitoring volume all the way up…but then it gets so sensitive it picks up every tiny noise…like touching the desk and the wind outside. There is also buzzing that doesn’t go away unless I touch the mic or the computer..I’ve tried to Google, but I found now good answers…have you experienced this?

When Geoff hit the low low note on "tons" why did Nick look concerned

You have to check out his cover of I See Fire

You need to check out Geoff's B0 in Voiceplay's _Valhalla Calling._ And _Hoist The Colors, Drunken Sailor,_ and _Dream On._ For starters.

I love his versions of God rest ye merry gentlemen and Blackbird and Take me home county road

You need to take the Home Free Journey. Home Free is an Acapela group.

Hello from Costa Rica, I love your analysis of the singers and the musical choices to which you are reacting. I am not a singer (remember the famous show that made Dimash famous?) lol. Anyway watching your reaction videos I got to appreciate the singers better and the background of the song, aria etc. I think that you have great potential to make your channel even better, great job👏👏👏👏. I would like to hear your reaction to Ikanaide by Dimash at Tokyo Jazz Festival or to Agnus Dei by Barber (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fRL447oDId4.html) that's my favorite version. Thank you again for taking the time to share your knowledge.

You should listen to the oogie boogie song by Voiceplay. Geoff shows off what he really can do this his range.