Vocal Range

E3 ~ C6 (2 Octaves and 4 notes)

*Might be wider

Supported Range

B3 ~ G#4

Voice Type

Light-Lyric Soprano

Strengths/Achievements Able to hit a Soprano C Openness and forward placement are often present in her higher singing Able to keep acceptable intonation when singing songs Tone production is very strong and keeps her voice present throughout performances Some support is present in her voice when she sings more softly Weaknesses Voice is mostly stuck in , with a throaty placement Yells throughout most of her range Nasality is present in her singing Legato singing isn’t always optimal, the voice can sound chopped up and lacking in flow Intonation isn’t perfect, can go off and sound flat Tendency to go off during vocal runs, voice isn’t very agile Larynx isn’t very stable and sounds pushed and compressed throughout her range Tends to push notes above G#4 with pushed, yelled resonance Larynx goes high in the upper range and causes her to sound constricted and tense Lower range is underdeveloped, not well supported and disconnected Falsetto is weak, barely connected and does not transition well Very narrow supported range and overall range in general Every register in her voice is rather underdeveloped Jaw tension very present Registers  Lower register: A very underdeveloped and unstable register. For the most part tone is present in her lower range, but the tone production is very flat sounding, throaty and unstable. She tends to either lose projection in this register or easily lower her larynx to create a thicker lower sound in her voice. Mixed register: The middle part of her voice is the most stable and better placed voice she uses. For the most part, from C4 ~ G4, her voice is clear, somewhat supported, projected and comfortable. Anything above G#4, however, can often sound opened in sound and really forward in project, but with a lot of pushing, compression in the larynx, pressure of the vocal cords and tension in the throat. Upper register: Her falsetto register is very underused and is always disconnected. She doesn’t generally have the correct control of her falsetto and her transitions can often sound sloppy and poorly done. Her falsetto is generally thin and airy, not projecting very well and never really becoming a connected head voice. Agility

Jiyoon’s voice is not one to play around with styles of music that require great vocal agility. In general, her performances are usually sung straight and don’t have many embellishments when it comes to vocal runs. For the most part her usage of a Thyroarytenoid muscle dominance, responsible for the chest voice, causes her voice to lack flexibility and often sound too push, loud and thick in texture. Logically, a voice needs lightness for it to be agile, so by adding too much weight to the voice, the speed and flexibility will be affected, which causes Jiyoon to lack agility. The few moments in which she has done vocal runs, she shows a lack of ability to keep good separation of pitch and precision of notes, as well as a clean legato line that flows through the notes smoothly, seen for an example in her runs when singing “If I Were A Boy“, “길에서” and “또만 났네요“.

Overall analysis

As the lead vocalist of 4Minute, Jiyoon keeps her spot as a strong vocalist in comparison to the less highlighted vocalists in the group due to how much more volume she is able to create with her voice. Contrary to popular belief though, her power is not due to a strong and powerful technique, but instead one that goes against the natural lightness of her voice and tone. In terms of voice type, Jiyoon’s voice carries a very soft and light color to it, sitting most comfortably in the fourth octave and above, characteristics of a light lyric soprano voice. Her voice, however, barely ever shows such characteristics due to the improper technique she employs in her singing. Due to the weakness of her technique, it is also possible she could be a mezzo soprano with a very under developed voice in general, however due to her technique it is hard to be sure of where her voice would best be fit.

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