Hotel California: key, vocal range and notes
Donald Henley of Eagles sings Hotel California in B minor at 72 BPM. The melody spans G3–F5, about 1.8 octaves, and 82% of the time stays between A4 and C#5. Difficulty: 56/100, medium.
- Key
- B minor
- Vocal range
- G3 – F51.8 octaves
- Sits mostly
- A4 – C#582% of singing time
- Highest note
- F52 times, first at 1:44
- Difficulty
- 56medium, out of 100
Notes of Hotel California on the keyboard
Every note the vocal line touches. The brightest keys are the ones you hold most of the time.
The melody uses 11 different notes: B, C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, A.
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. Hotel California has 33 phrases but only 15 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
- F5 at 1:44, 4:24. Each one is short — 0 seconds in total.
- Lowest note
- G3 at 1:13. Keep it relaxed, don't push the low end.
- Biggest jump
- 17 semitones, G#3 → C#5; first at 1:23.
- Longest note
- C#5, held for 1.9 s at 3:30.
- How much singing
- 2:20 of 6:40: 490 notes in 33 phrases.
- Tempo
- 72 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 — 441 in total. Steps are easy to sing in tune, wide leaps are where most people miss the note.
- 88% of the moves are repeated notes or steps — the melody mostly walks rather than jumps.
- The most common move is major 2nd (151 times).
- The widest jump is 17 semitones, 1 time — 1 up, 0 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 Hotel California 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 | −14 semitones | A minor | F2D#4 |
| Baritone | −9 semitones | D minor | A#2G#4 |
| Tenor | −6 semitones | F minor | C#3B4 |
| Contralto | −1 semitone | B♭ minor | F#3E5 |
| Mezzo-soprano | +3 semitones | D minor | A#3G#5 |
| Soprano | +6 semitones | F minor | C#4B5 |
Sing Hotel California 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 Hotel California
If Hotel California fits your voice, these will too: the same lowest and highest notes and the same middle.
More Eagles songs
Key, range and difficulty of other Eagles songs in Vocaberry. All Eagles songs and Donald Henley's vocal range →
| Song | Key | Range | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life in the Fast Lane1976 | Key C | G3G#4 | hard · 65 |
| Lyin Eyes1975 | Key G | E4E5 | easy · 27 |
| Peaceful Easy Feeling1972 | Key E | B2E4 | easy · — |
| New Kid In Town1976 | Key F | D3C5 | hard · 68 |
| I Can't Tell You Why1979 | Key D | A3B4 | easy · 37 |
| Witchy Woman1972 | Key Dm | A1D5 | hard · 69 |
Practise Hotel California by the notes
Hotel California 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 Hotel California. Real-time pitch feedback, warm-ups and exercises tuned to your range.
Get VocaberryQuestions about Hotel California
What key is Hotel California by Eagles in?
Hotel California is in B minor at 72 BPM. If it feels too high or too low, change the key: a bass lowers it 14 semitones (A minor); a baritone lowers it 9 semitones (D minor); a tenor lowers it 6 semitones (F minor).
What is the vocal range of Hotel California?
The vocal line goes from G3 to F5 — 1.8 octaves. 82% of the singing time stays between A4 and C#5.
What is the highest note in Hotel California?
F5. It comes 2 times, first at 1:44, always for a moment: altogether 0 seconds out of 140 seconds of singing.
Is Hotel California hard to sing?
It is rated medium — 56 out of 100 in Vocaberry. The range is wide (1.8 octaves); the tricky part is the jump of 17 semitones up to C#5.
Can a woman sing Hotel California?
Yes, in another key: a contralto lowers it 1 semitone (B♭ minor); a mezzo-soprano raises it 3 semitones (D minor); a soprano raises it 6 semitones (F minor). 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.