I think you’d thoroughly enjoy his recent cover of Jack’s Lament from the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas, not only for the stunning visuals, but how nimble he is moving back and forth between his upper and lower registers. It’s a breathtaking performance that really brings to life the character of Jack Skellington.
I can't get enough of Geoff and VoicePlay. The listenability is on par with the best of the best. Let's get more bass voices appreciated in mainstream music!
There are 4 clones. Only three appear here but the fourth is in other videos. Jeoph (gets most of the solos), Jeff (the funny one, my favorite), Goff (the shy one), and Darryl who isn’t in this video. He is the bad boy. There are many more layers but these are the personifications. He is also one of the most humble, kind, talented and funny people you’ll ever know. And if all that and being drop dead sexy isn’t enough, he is also a great husband and father and he cooks. He makes bread. 🥖 among other things. He describes himself as old and boring but he is neither.❤
@@MR-rj2qw good bread is hard to come by here in the states, especially if you live in a smaller city because a lot of our bakeries have either closed or converted into doughnut/pastry shops.
Great reaction, thank you. Very thoughtful. Something that I love about both Geoff and Voiceplay is that their arrangements (historically, Geoff's done nearly 50% of VP's) are both spare and incredibly complex - and that confuses me. I can't get my head around how they can do both at the same time. Perhaps your comment is the key - when they become very complex it's always in support of the song. There never seems to be any ego about it. There's a strong artistic editing going on... (I said historically, because in a recent interview Layne (beatboxer) said Eli (tenor) is committed to joining Geoff and Layne in arranging/producing, so each will be doing (on average) 1 performance every 3 months. (Eli recently arranged their version of Creep, and it's a jaw-dropper.) Anyway, unnecessary side info, but - Thank you.
I greatly appreciate the extra level of knowledge that you share. Geoff is my favorite low voice artist because he's the whole production package except for final mixing and some filming. His arrangements are sensitive to the original while bringing something new.
Great reaction. You should also take a look at Geoff's 'I See Fire' cover, from _The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug._ There are several vocal extension techniques that bass singers can use to go deeper than their natural chest voice, though I've never heard the term 'octavist'. I think the one Geoff usually prefers is subharmonics, but there's also chest growl, chest fry, generic vocal fry while pitching it (which sounds like a contradiction in terms), etc. Geoff has a couple of videos on his channel where he goes into each of these. Also, bass singer Peter Barber gives some 'bass-centric' analysis in his reactions of Geoff's videos, worth a visit.
And it should be also mentioned that certainly Peter Barber knows what he is talking about , given not only is he a member of the a capella group "The Bass Gang" that features 4 bass vocalists as members who also have circa 5 octave range and can sing high too , specialising in different bass techniques (Peter does chest fry) , but he also is professionally an opera singer (basso profundo).
Totally second your suggestion. Also, in that one all four Dwarves have their own solo section, and it showcases the width of his range as well as the fullness of all areas of his singing. I simply happen to love these two songs. 🙂
That super low notes that he does are subharmonic. He shows us how to do it in a video he made about three years ago.😊 He's been singing since he was thirteen. When he was a young adult he got jobs singing in the theme parks where he lives. He said he had to be very versatile to get work.
Stunning! And a great reaction as well! Please react to more of Geoff, with "Shenandoah" as an example. Or just Google him and pick a song. You won't be disappointed!
You will never be disappointed with a Geoff arrangement and he's a genius in choosing songs that showcase his voice He is known for his ability to shift seamlessly from chest voice to sub harmonic. If you're really interested in sub harmonics check out his tutorials on his page.
Sorry. Just had to comment on the gimmicky comment. Check out him singing Sound of Silence. Whoever made that comment needs to learn more about Geoff and/or VoicePlay. They aren't about about gimmicks with Halloween being the exception although I think Halloween songs for them are like catnip for them. They just can't resist. They only give each song what they feel will portray their arrangements the best. A good VP song to see how simple and real they can get is Nothing Else Matters or Creep.
It would be interesting to see you do a reaction to something more recent, like Jack’s Lament, just to talk about how much work he’s put in even since this piece, and how you can tell. You’re right that Geoff is a really intelligent musician. He and Layne trade off doing arrangements for Voiceplay and when he does interviews you can really tell that he’s not just a skilled musician but quite articulate and funny and smart. I enjoyed this reaction! More, please!
Funny thing with the 3 major Gs in this song. He sings all 3 with different techniques. The first G uses Subharmonics to achieve. The second was straight chest voice. The third was a growling technique that more played homage to Tim Foust's low G growl he sung at the end of a cover he did of the same song.
you should check out more of his recent stuff, he can sing even lower these days. i believe the lowest note he's sang so far in his videos is a B0 which is just crazy, the acapella group he's in (VoicePlay) is also amazing too.
FYI - if you want to find it, the subharmonic B0 is in VoicePlay's "Halo" and in their "Valhalla Calling". In their most recent song "Whiskey in the Jar", Geoff hits an F1, a new low for him in chest voice. And BTW - that's a really cool shirt you're wearing!
@@hwyla4416 Geoff has been hitting F1s in chest for quite a while now .. for years actually .. hasnt been a new low for him .. his F1s in chest were the most impressive in Folsom prison blue
@@ChangDaBang Thanks for the correction. Sorry - I depended on comments from others when the song came out. I therefore assumed (and we all know why one shouldn't assume) that the previous F1s were subharmonics, not chest.
Great educational reaction! Now you've seen what he does when he's on his own, literally. The sequal to what you reacted to here was made 5 mounth ago (I see fire), and in that video he's taking his interpretation a bit further. If you take a look of what he can do in the a capella group (VoicePlay), he and some classmates founded back in the nineties, you'll meet an other Geoff, with even more diversity. They can sing opera, musical, pop, rock, metall, game, movie and every other genre you can think of. The best part of VoicePlay is that they really play when they sing, and when they sing they do it together and help eachother to shine. During 2023 they have developed their skills a lot and shown us, who love them, one gem after another. Have a nice ride!
Appreciate the reaction to Geoff's most popular solo video! It was a real shock to my system the first time I heard him hit one of his subharmonic low notes (Oogie Boogie's Song), and it made me want to find out what else he's done. I would agree with several other comments that I See Fire is another excellent video I'd love to see you react to. Not only do the dwarves make a return, and we get to hear each of the clones sing in their own range, but Geoff uses some very specific techniques to "darken" his tone for one of the clones, and then sings in his natural voice right afterwards, and you can easily hear the difference in what he's doing. Peter Barber's reaction channel has an excellent discussion of it, as Peter is a professional opera singer himself (bass, of course!). FYI: G1 is rated at 49 Hz.
As you say Geoff does this to be able to sing all the parts of the arrangements he creates. The very low notes are known as subharmonics. Geoff has pracised long and hard to achieve these low notes. He will tell you that hs is not a basso profundo, as that suggests a powerful bass which Geoff doesn't have, he needs to be close to a mic to achieve it. However, his tone is superb throughout his wide range, which does set him apart from many basses. He maintains that he has four octaves usable on any day, going to five for occasional use. He also creates all the musical backing on his keyboard with plugins. Also his diction is always clear, There is a VoicePlay video, Valhalla Calling, in which he holds an even lower note for some considerable time. He's a beast. :)
Wonderful reaction, I just subscribed in hope of more Geoff and maybe also Voiceplay reactions ;-) It's so interesting, which details you are able to hear and explain. And I also aprecciate a lot that you informed yourself about the artist and the song beforehand. That's so seldom!
I would love you to analyze the three top acapella groups individually. The three groups are Voiceplay, Pentatonix, and Home Free All of them are alumni of the acapella competition show The Sing-Off. Pentatonix won season three. Home Free and Voiceplay were on the fourth season. Home Free won season four. They all have their unique abilities and niches.
Have you checked out "Misty Mountains" by Peter Hollens and Tim Foust? Tim is the man who taught Geoff how to reach that G....or, as they call it..."growling". Tim has blown out speakers at venues with his low notes. Geoff is wonderfully talented, though. I like the Bass Gang, too.
Geoff is the master of the subharmonic. Have you done either Geoff's I See Fire (same characters here) or Valhalla Calling where he has 3 extended B0s - the first of which is held for 14 seconds. He also has a couple of videos on "How to Sing Really Low". Of the VoicePlay group, he and Layne (beatboxer) started a group in high school (then called 4:2:Five). Earl Elkins was another original member and left the group about 3 yrs ago for personal reasons. Eli (bald tenor - also called Rock God) went to a school that was close enough to compete against their various choruses. He joined VoicePlay in 2010. J None replaced Tony Wakim (baritone) when Tony decided he wanted to be on the production side. He and Layne bought a studio and created Pattycake Productions where a goodly percentage of the videos of both VoicePlay and Geoff's solos are done. Back to J None, technically not a member, but he did say when he left for the Navy that he would be back - about 2.5 yrs ago the US Navy recruited him for their chorus. He's done well and was just promotedl moving from Seattle to Washington DC. That makes it much easier to fly down to Orlando and do a video and some minis before returning. Cesar is the newest member, as a baritone and tenor. Lovely voice, and lots of sass. His dual ranges allows VoicePlay to bring on a variety of guest vocalists.
This is so very awesome! Geoff is good friends with Tim Foust from Home Free who is also a bass. Tim helped him perfect his voice, you should check out Home Free. Tim did this song with Peter Hollens. You should definitely check it out. Love your reaction!
You’ve got to check out Mike Patton! Such a wide brush yet amazing in each aspect from opera to rock, Italian soap opera themes,, alternative, throat singing and to me, my favourite singer ever.
An Oktavist need only have an acoustic A1. There are three levels to being an Oktavist: A1, F1, and those handful who can do a non-amplified note below F1 (very rare). The first level of Oktavist doubles a standard baritone (A2/A1); the second level doubles a low baritone (F2/F1); and Oktavists like Mikhail Zlatopolsky (RIP) can be called upon to double a bass down to C2/C1.
Great reaction! You should check out Voiceplay's Halo cover Geoff hits a B0 subharmonic, and in their latest Whiskey in a Jar he hits an F1 in chest. He also can reach the 5th octave quite comfortably. Everyone in VP are extremely talented!
5:37 Have you ever listened to the Crystal River Boy's singing Rainbow of Love?? Their bass singer on the second half of the song goes into sub bass. Absolutely mental any Human being can sing so low.. Apparently he hits a c1..
Loved your reaction and I learned something new. You might like his God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. He made my least favorite Christmas carols into my top five. He arranged it, of course. I would love to hear what you think of it.
He describes himself as a baritone who has simply worked to relax his vocal apparatus enough to form octavist notes. (I'm inclined to disagree with his assessment; his speaking voice is that of a basso profundo, not a baritone.) The G1 he hits is a subharmonic; he's singing a G2 but using his "false" vocal folds to fry it at G1, and clever audio engineering is stripping out the G2. He can, however, hit G1 using his chest voice now - his range keeps expanding to include more notes every year, it seems. His breath control and daily work exploring new techniques are the keys to his vocal achievements. That breathy bass note at the end is something he learned from Tim Foust, and it is the technique he has used to add 3 or 4 notes at the basement of his range. Good microphone technique makes a huge difference for any octavist.
If you want to really be impressed i would recommend voice play the oogie boogi song. That performance is very incredible with how he can control the volume from low to high.
He hits G1 three times in this, though approached differently each time. But, they are all within his chest voice…no need for subharmonics or growl. He has been recording down to Bb0.
Ha e you ever listened to the Crystal River Boy's singing Rainbow of Love?? Their bass singer on the second half of the song goes into sub bass. Absolutely mental any Human being cancelled sing so low..
I love this cover of his, but if you want to hear his full range, listen to the Oogie Boogie song with Voiceplay (right to the end of the song). His range is unholy.
I want to hear how loud he can produce some of those low notes without the audio production. I'm not a singer, but I can pull off a lot of the techniques I hear the pros use (under ideal conditions). A couple notes in this one are past what I can reach. The slower my vocal folds vibrate, the harder it is to push air. It sounds like the right pitch in my head, but then it's so quiet that it'd be useless as a performer. Does he just have a longer neck? What is the limit to how slow a human can vibrate their vocal folds? Surely I wouldn't expect a woman to be able to reach down there, but who's to say it isn't possible?
Ha e you ever listened to the Crystal River Boy's singing Rainbow of Love?? Their bass singer on the second half of the song goes into sub bass. Absolutely mental any Human being cancelled sing so low..