Come as you are: key, vocal range and notes
Kurt Cobain of Nirvana sings Come as you are in F♯ minor at 120 BPM. The melody spans F#2–G#3, just over an octave, and 80% of the time stays between F#2 and D3 — comfortable for basss in the original key. Difficulty: 36/100, easy.
- Key
- F♯ minor
- Vocal range
- F#2 – G#31.2 octaves
- Sits mostly
- F#2 – D380% of singing time
- Highest note
- G#36 times, first at 0:14
- Difficulty
- 36easy, out of 100
Notes of Come as you are on the keyboard
Every note the vocal line touches. The brightest keys are the ones you hold most of the time.
The melody uses 7 different notes: F#, G#, A, B, C#, D, E.
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. Come as you are has 2 phrases but only 2 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#3 at 0:14, 0:22, 0:30, 0:38, 1:02, 1:10. Altogether 6 seconds in total.
- Lowest note
- F#2 at 1:34, 1:34, 1:38, 1:38, 1:42, 1:42, 2:22, 2:22, 2:26, 2:26, 2:30, 2:30 and later. Keep it relaxed, don't push the low end.
- Biggest jump
- A perfect fourth, F#3 → C#3, 27 times; first at 0:10.
- Longest note
- A2, held for 3.2 s at 1:26.
- How much singing
- 2:21 of 2:51: 213 notes in 2 phrases.
- Tempo
- 120 BPM — a quick one; learn the lines slowly first. 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 — 210 in total. Steps are easy to sing in tune, wide leaps are where most people miss the note.
- 50% of the moves are repeated notes or steps — the melody jumps a lot, so take the leaps slowly.
- No half steps at all. Without semitones there are no tricky chromatic notes to pitch.
- The most common move is major 2nd (79 times).
- The widest jump is perfect 4th, 27 times — 8 up, 19 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 Come as you are 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 | original key | F♯ minor | F#2G#3 |
| Baritone | +5 semitones | B minor | B2C#4 |
| Tenor | +8 semitones | D minor | D3E4 |
| Contralto | +13 semitones | G minor | G3A4 |
| Mezzo-soprano | +17 semitones | B minor | B3C#5 |
| Soprano | +20 semitones | D minor | D4E5 |
Sing Come as you are 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 Come as you are
If Come as you are fits your voice, these will too: the same lowest and highest notes and the same middle.
More Nirvana songs
Key, range and difficulty of other Nirvana songs in Vocaberry. All Nirvana songs and Kurt Cobain's vocal range →
| Song | Key | Range | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smells Like Teen Spirit1991 | Key F | F3B4 | medium · 53 |
| Heart Shaped Box1993 | Key Am | E2A4 | medium · 53 |
| The Man Who Sold The World - Live1994 | Key C | D3D4 | easy · 33 |
| About A Girl1989 | Key G♯m | B3A4 | medium · 42 |
| All Apologies1993 | Key B♭ | G#2D4 | medium · 48 |
| Lithium1991 | Key Dm | E3F4 | medium · 43 |
Practise Come as you are by the notes
Come as you are 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 Come as you are. Real-time pitch feedback, warm-ups and exercises tuned to your range.
Get VocaberryQuestions about Come as you are
What key is Come as you are by Nirvana in?
Come as you are is in F♯ minor at 120 BPM. If it feels too high or too low, change the key: a bass can sing it in the original key; a baritone raises it 5 semitones (B minor); a tenor raises it 8 semitones (D minor).
What is the vocal range of Come as you are?
The vocal line goes from F#2 to G#3 — 1.2 octaves. 80% of the singing time stays between F#2 and D3.
What is the highest note in Come as you are?
G#3. It comes 6 times, first at 0:14: altogether 6 seconds out of 142 seconds of singing.
Is Come as you are hard to sing?
It is rated easy — 36 out of 100 in Vocaberry. The range is moderate (1.2 octaves); the tricky part is the jump of a perfect fourth down to C#3.
Can a woman sing Come as you are?
Yes, in another key: a contralto raises it 13 semitones (G minor); a mezzo-soprano raises it 17 semitones (B minor); a soprano raises it 20 semitones (D 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.