Science & Freddie Mercury: 'Bohemian Rhapsody' Singer's Voice Secret Uncovered By Experts

Queen frontman Freddie Mercury and his four-octave vocal range were the subject of a study published in Logopedics Phoniatrics Vocology. As scientists took a careful look into the "Bohemian Rhapsody" singer's vocal stylings, the researchers said they uncovered the secrets of Freddie Mercury.

According to New York Daily News the study, "Freddie Mercury - Acoustic Analysis Of Speaking Fundamental Frequency, Vibrato, And Subharmonics," proposed that Freddie Mercury actually has the vocal range of a baritone. However, Freddie Mercury reportedly pushed his vocal cords to the limit and sang as a tenor for the most part of his career.

The authors of the study used various methods in their research of Freddie Mercury. One of these methods required the scientists to use a high-speed camera to film the Queen singer's larynx at 4,132 frames per second.

As the scientists studied "Freddie Mercury: The Solo Collection" along with 23 song recordings of Queen, they discovered that the "Under Pressure" singer used a curious technique with both his vocal and ventricular folds. Freddie Mercury was found to combine the manipulation of the ventricular folds with the vibration of the vocal folds.

With this technique, Freddie Mercury created a phenomenon called subharmonic vibration. According to the experts, this phenomenon occurs when a system for sound production is pushed to the limit. CNN points out that this style is mostly used by Tuvan throat singers.

"Perceptually, Freddie Mercury's irregular (and typically faster) vibrato is clearly audible in the sustained notes of famous songs such as 'Bohemian Rhapsody' (A Night at the Opera) or 'We Are the Champions' (News of the World), and it appears to be one of the hallmarks of his vocal style," the study explained. Interestingly, Freddie Mercury himself supposedly attributed his vocal style to his protruding inscissors and four extra back teeth.

Among the other hits by Freddie Mercury are "We Will Rock You," "Don't Stop Me Now" and "Another One Bites The Dust." Freddie Mercury, who was born Farrokh Bulsara, died in 1991 from AIDS-related causes.