What type of music is frank sinatra

Frank Sinatra ranks as one of the best-selling singers of all time. With a career that lasted six decades, the American vocalist cemented his legacy as a true legend of popular music. But what genre is Frank Sinatra’s music?

From his humble beginnings in New Jersey, Sinatra’s rise to global fame is inspiring to say the least. Throughout his career, the landscape of popular music underwent many significant changes.

This inspired the singer to evolve his style throughout his career, but despite these adjustments, the key element – his iconic voice, remained instantly recognizable.

Categorizing Frank Sinatra’s type of music into a single genre is a difficult task. In this article, I’ll explore the various aspects that he used and attempt to identify the genre that he belongs to.

Frank Sinatra’s Signature Style

With most popular musicians, it’s relatively easy to describe their musical genre. No one can argue against James Brown being labeled a funk and soul artist, or claim that BB King wasn’t a bluesman.

However, specifying a single Frank Sinatra genre of music isn’t quite so straightforward. This is because his unique style borrowed elements from different genres.

To understand Frank Sinatra’s type of music, we must consider the time period that he burst onto the scene, and what was considered popular during that era.

Is Frank Sinatra a Pop Musician?

Renowned for his smooth, crooning vocals and perfect articulation, Sinatra has sold over 150 million records to date. It would therefore be accurate to label him a “pop” musician.

Pop is arguably the broadest genre of them all, as it refers to music that is in the mainstream at any given time. Throughout the decades, Frank Sinatra has been heavily played on radio stations worldwide, and he enjoyed remarkable success in the record-sale charts of many countries.

As a result, there’s a strong argument that pop is the genre that best describes Frank Sinatra. The only issue with this label is that it doesn’t describe the actual stylistic aspects of his music, but rather states that it was a hit with the masses.

Pop music changes as time go by. Before the rock and roll era, crooners like Frank Sinatra were considered “pop”. Today, these artists are often referred to as traditional pop.

Depending on the decade, certain musical genres are considered to be pop music. For example, in the early ‘60s, surf-rock was considered to be pop music, as it was a dominant force in the charts.

In the 1980s, synth-based music was considered to be pop, while surf rock had diminished in popularity.

Sinatra is still popular today, so there’s no denying that he is a pop singer. Nevertheless, there are other musical genres that it could be argued he also belonged to.

Is Frank Sinatra Jazz?

Other than traditional pop, another candidate for the Frank Sinatra genre of music is most commonly associated with is jazz. His backing bands often consisted of the most popular jazz musicians of the era, and the instrumentation he used was similar to that found in a conventional jazz group.

Frank Sinatra will forever be linked to the jazz genre, but it would be unfair to pigeonhole him solely in this style. The truth is, his music was a mixture of many genres, which is one of the reasons he was so popular throughout his celebrated career.

Around the time that Frank Sinatra was making his name, there was little distinction between jazz and pop music. Some other singers of that era, like Ella Fitzgerald, were labeled as “vocal jazz”, which was different from the predominantly instrumental forms of jazz that had become popular in bars and clubs across America.

Classical Influences

Sinatra’s music could more accurately be described as a unique blend of jazz and classical, as he often incorporated woodwind and string sections into his songs. This, mixed with the horns, bass, and drums gave him his signature sound.

While Sinatra wasn’t a classically trained musician, he was renowned for having an exceptional ear for music. This allowed him to identify out-of-tune instruments within his ensemble and explains how he was able to sing in key so consistently.

An example of classical music’s influence on Frank Sinatra is his 1956 cover of, “Close To You”. This track features a string quartet and was inspired by Sinatra’s love for classical music.

Previous to this recording, Sinatra had released an orchestral album called “Tone Poems of Color”. Impressively, not only did he record the vocals on this album, but he also conducted the orchestra. This marked a departure from the jazz style of instrumentation that he had used heavily earlier in his career.

Swing

Swing is a subgenre of jazz that it could be argued Frank Sinatra also belonged to. This style was hugely popular in the 1930s and 1940s and had a thriving live scene in clubs across the US.

The name of the genre was inspired by the emphasized off-beat, which was a staple of many early Sinatra recordings. It was so popular that the period was actually labeled the “swing era”, and this coincided with when Sinatra was first making his name as an up-and-coming vocalist.

In the later years of the Frank Sinatra music era, swing had declined in popularity. Despite this, it was common for the singer to pay homage to his roots by incorporating elements from swing into his albums.

The Legacy of Frank Sinatra

While the genre of Frank Sinatra is often debated, his legacy is something that can’t be questioned. Known as a true perfectionist, his work ethic and talent were lauded by critics and collaborators alike.

Incredibly, Frank Sinatra recorded over one thousand songs throughout his career as a vocalist. He was considered a true master of the recording process, with keen attention to detail setting him apart from the majority of singers in his era.

The most influential artists transcend genres, and Sinatra certainly falls into that category. His unique sound and recognizable style could even be described as his own “Frank Sinatra genre of music!”

Perhaps one of the major reasons for his prolonged popularity is the way he blended elements from jazz, big band, swing, classical, and traditional pop music genres. This allowed him to reach a diverse audience who could all appreciate the instrumentation of his songs and of course his legendary crooning vocal style.

(Last Updated On: July 1, 2022)

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Frank Sinatra is one of the most famous and legendary singers in history. Born in Hoboken, New Jersey, the artist is considered to be the greatest American singer of the 20th century. But what genre is Frank Sinatra’s music?

With a career that spanned the course of 60 years, the singer experimented with different types of music but always kept his characteristic baritone singing style intact. Such a long influence may lead many to wonder what are the fundamental elements of Frank Sinatra’s songs.

As we said before, the crooner always had a very unmistakable tone to his voice and songs and many different factors can explain this identity. In this article, we will go through all of these characteristics so that you can understand what makes up Sinatra’s style and, most importantly, what music genres the singer is considered to be a part of.

Also Read: What Is Indie Music – Meaning, History & Examples

Frank Sinatra’s Music Genre

Throughout the course of his career, Frank Sinatra experimented with many different genres, so we can’t pinpoint only one style of music. We will list those below, as well as explain the characteristics of each one.

• Traditional Pop
• Easy Listening
• Jazz
• Swing
• Big Band

Traditional Pop

This is Frank Sinatra’s main genre and the one that most people relate to the singer too. In the 1950s and 1960s, as well as before these decades, traditional pop was the most popular music style in the United States and had a global reach.

This genre of music is characterized by employing, most of the time, a main singer accompanied by a big band with traditional instruments such as drums, piano, and brass ensemble.

Easy Listening

The term easy listening was coined in the 1950s to, most of the time, describe the traditional pop music that was popular before rock n roll came around. It is deeply related to jazz and big bands of the 1930s and 1940s.

Jazz

Jazz was one of the first music genres to develop in the United States. It was also one of the first music styles that Frank Sinatra got into at a young age, so his music was heavily influenced by artists such as Gene Austin and Bing Crosby.

Also Read: How To Sing Jazz

Swing

Swing music is a style of jazz characterized by the emphasis on the off-beat and it was very popular in the 1920s and 1930s. Frank Sinatra appreciated this particular style and even released an album in 1961 called “Sinatra’s Swingin’ Session!!!”.

Big Band

Big Band is not exactly a music genre but more of a term for a jazz music ensemble consisting of ten or more musicians. It includes four different sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombone, and rhythm section.

Characteristics of Frank Sinatra’s Music and Singing Style

Frank Sinatra’s music is unmistakable and most people have listened to at least one or two songs from the artist in their life. But what exactly creates this identity?

A Baritone Voice Range

Frank Sinatra is arguably the most famous baritone singer of all time. The artist had a vocal range that spanned from G2 to G4 and often preferred to sing lower notes, thus creating his characteristic deep voice. If you want to learn more about vocal range and how to identify yours, make sure to check our website section specially dedicated to the subject here.

Legato Singing Style

Singing lower notes was not the only character present in Frank Sinatra’s singing style. The crooner very often employed the use of legato in his performances, heavily influenced by Bing Crosby. Legato singing is, simply put, when you make a connection between two notes that are far apart in the scale.

It is very easy to understand the technique once you listen to Frank Sinatra’s most popular songs such as Fly Me to the Moon.

Breath Control and Support

The singer had excellent breath control and support, which allowed him to sing longer notes. Training these two abilities is a must to sound like Frank Sinatra.

Signature Moves

Frank Sinatra had his own little signature moves that he employed in almost every performance. These include simple techniques that may not always be perceived if you don’t pay close attention when listening to a song but greatly improves the performance.

Some of his favorite signature techniques included short and quick vibrato, which is when the singer rapidly alternates through two adjacent notes on the scale; And subtle things such as holding consonants and playing with the dynamics of the vocal line.

If you want to understand these concepts better, here is a video from Ken Tamplin where the vocal coach makes an in-depth analysis of Frank Sinatra’s vocals on the song Fly Me To The Moon:

Also Read: Different Types of Singing Styles & Genres

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Frank Sinatra Considered Jazz?

Even though jazz wasn’t Frank Sinatra’s main genre, the artist was heavily influenced by the music genre and frequently played with jazz musicians, so we can consider Frank Sinatra a jazz artist.

What Is Frank Sinatra’s Biggest Song?

Strangers In The Night was Frank Sinatra’s most popular song if we consider that it spent 15 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. However, the singers have other compositions that are just as famous, such as Fly Me to the Moon.

What Was Frank Sinatra’s Biggest Influence on Popular Music?

The biggest influence Frank Sinatra had on popular music was his characteristic crooning style of singing, which inspired many artists after the singer got famous. He was also one of the first musicians to create concept albums.

How Many Number 1 Songs Did Frank Sinatra Have?

Frank Sinatra had 10 number 1 songs throughout the course of his career, but we must also note that the artist had 127 songs to reach the top twenty and 70 to reach the top ten.

Conclusion

As we learned in the article, the best music genre to describe Frank Sinatra’s music is traditional pop, but the crooner experimented with many styles throughout the course of his career and had a deep appreciation for jazz music.

Regardless of any labels, Frank Sinatra’s contribution to popular music is unique: the artist created the concept of a rockstar even before rock n roll was born and provided his unmistakable voice and style as inspiration for several generations of musicians and singers.

If you’re a singer and you want to sound like Frank Sinatra, we suggest that you practice basic techniques such as breath control and support frequently, as well as listen carefully to the singer’s work to identify the unique characteristics that make up his style. We hope this article was helpful. Please feel free to reach us if you have any questions or suggestions for our website!

James Mann is a 36-year-old session singer and vocal coach who loves to share his singing and musical experiences online. Besides focusing on singing. Songwriting, music production, studio setups and vocal recording and mastering other musical instruments are his passion too.