Yellow: key, vocal range and notes
Chris Martin of Coldplay sings Yellow in B major at 88 BPM. The melody spans F#3–G#4, just over an octave, and 88% of the time stays between B3 and F#4 — comfortable for tenors in the original key. Difficulty: 45/100, medium.
- Key
- B major
- Vocal range
- F#3 – G#41.2 octaves
- Sits mostly
- B3 – F#488% of singing time
- Highest note
- G#48 times, first at 1:06
- Difficulty
- 45medium, out of 100
Notes of Yellow on the keyboard
Every note the vocal line touches. The brightest keys are the ones you hold most of the time.
The melody uses 5 different notes: B, C#, D#, F#, G#. Every note of the melody belongs to the B major pentatonic scale (B, C#, D#, F#, G#) — one reason the tune is easy to remember.
The whole song, note by note
The vocal melody from the first word to the last. Each colored block on top is one phrase: blocks with the same letter sing the same melody. Yellow has 20 phrases but only 6 different melodies — learn those and you know the whole song. Tap a letter to see where it comes back.
Notes and syllables as on the Vocaberry song screen: a line joins the notes of one syllable.
- Highest note
- G#4 at 1:06, 1:12, 1:17, 1:58, 2:12, 2:17, 2:23, 3:05. Altogether 7 seconds in total.
- Lowest note
- F#3 at 0:26, 0:42, 0:59, 1:48, 2:04, 2:32. Keep it relaxed, don't push the low end.
- Biggest jump
- A major sixth, B3 → G#4, 9 times; first at 1:06.
- Longest note
- B3, held for 1.7 s at 0:21.
- How much singing
- 2:00 of 3:25: 235 notes in 20 phrases.
- Tempo
- 88 BPM — slow enough to learn line by line. Vocaberry Karaoke lets you change the tempo.
How long each note is sung
Seconds of singing on each note across the whole song.
Intervals: how the melody moves
Every move from one note to the next inside a phrase — 205 in total. Steps are easy to sing in tune, wide leaps are where most people miss the note.
- 58% of the moves are repeated notes or steps — the melody mostly walks rather than jumps.
- No half steps at all. Without semitones there are no tricky chromatic notes to pitch.
- The most common move is major 2nd (89 times).
- The widest jump is major 6th, 9 times — 8 up, 1 down. Practise it slowly: the far note has to land exactly in tune.
The best key for your voice
The smallest key change that puts Yellow in the comfortable part of each voice type. Don't know your type? Take the free vocal range test.
| Voice | Change | Key | You'd sing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bass | −7 semitones | E major | B2C#4 |
| Baritone | −2 semitones | A major | E3F#4 |
| Tenor | original key | B major | F#3G#4 |
| Contralto | +1 semitone | C major | G3A4 |
| Mezzo-soprano | +5 semitones | E major | B3C#5 |
| Soprano | +8 semitones | G major | D4E5 |
Sing Yellow in your key. Vocaberry Karaoke shows which note to sing and whether you hit it. Key and tempo adjust to your voice.
Get Vocaberry Karaoke
What's your range? Sing a few notes in the online test: it finds your lowest and highest notes and your voice type.
Test my rangeSongs with the same range as Yellow
If Yellow fits your voice, these will too: the same lowest and highest notes and the same middle.
More Coldplay songs
Key, range and difficulty of other Coldplay songs in Vocaberry. All Coldplay songs and Chris Martin's vocal range →
| Song | Key | Range | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clocks2002 | Key B♭m | C3D#4 | medium · 45 |
| Paradise2011 | Key Gm | C3A4 | medium · 58 |
| Hymn for the weekend2015 | Key Fm | C3A#4 | medium · 55 |
| Adventure of a Lifetime2015 | Key Am | G4E6 | hard · 63 |
| Trouble2000 | Key Bm | F#3A4 | easy · 36 |
| Viva La Vida2008 | Key A♭ | D#3G#4 | medium · 50 |
Practise Yellow by the notes
Yellow is one of the songs in Vocaberry — Learn to Sing. The app shows in real time whether you hit the note, and lessons adapt to your vocal range.
Learn to sing with Yellow. Real-time pitch feedback, warm-ups and exercises tuned to your range.
Get VocaberryQuestions about Yellow
What key is Yellow by Coldplay in?
Yellow is in B major at 88 BPM. If it feels too high or too low, change the key: a bass lowers it 7 semitones (E major); a baritone lowers it 2 semitones (A major); a tenor can sing it in the original key.
What is the vocal range of Yellow?
The vocal line goes from F#3 to G#4 — 1.2 octaves. 88% of the singing time stays between B3 and F#4.
What is the highest note in Yellow?
G#4. It comes 8 times, first at 1:06: altogether 7 seconds out of 121 seconds of singing.
Is Yellow hard to sing?
It is rated medium — 45 out of 100 in Vocaberry. The range is moderate (1.2 octaves); the tricky part is the jump of a major sixth up to G#4.
Can a woman sing Yellow?
Yes, in another key: a contralto raises it 1 semitone (C major); a mezzo-soprano raises it 5 semitones (E major); a soprano raises it 8 semitones (G major). Vocaberry Karaoke lets you change the key and tempo of a song.
Notes, range and timing come from the vocal transcription used in Vocaberry Karaoke; the key and difficulty are Vocaberry's. Voice type ranges are the ones Vocal Range uses.