axemanchris

Voice types are divided initially into two broad categories - Adult males and Adult females/children. From there, each is divided further into three slightly narrower and somewhat more vague categories - high, medium, and low voices. At that point, each is defined with a label - tenor, soprano, etc. At this point, it is important to note that a male whose voice has not yet changed is classified similarly to females, as this is the range that they sing in. A young boy with a high voice would be a boy soprano, for instance.

Adult Males

High voice - Tenor
Medium Voice - Baritone
Low voice - Bass

Children and Adult Females

High voice - Soprano
Medium Voice - Mezzo-Soprano
Low Voice - Alto

Now, very few of us have a voice that fits these registers exactly, because everybody is different. The following is a general guideline of the ranges of each category. Note that these ranges are all typically defined as either from C to C, or from G to G, each covering two octaves. For the purposes of defining your range, falsetto and whistle registers are NOT counted.



Soprano - middle C to two octaves above middle C.
Mezzo-Soprano - G below middle C to high G
Alto - low C to high C (one octave above and one octave below middle C)
Tenor - low C to high C - same as alto
Baritone - low G to G above middle C
Bass - deep C (two octaves below middle C) to middle C


Bear in mind that this is not a definitive guide. There are differences of opinion, differences of application (ex. an operatic tenor is expected to reach a high C, whereas a choral tenor can sing most repertoire going only up to the A), extremes of repertoire demands (Mozart wrote a high F for a tenor part in one of his operas), etc.

Also, within all that, are different vocal characteristics. It's not just that you can *sing* the notes an alto will sing, you should also *sound* like an alto. It can get kind of confusing.

CT

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Gofer boy

WellI can't sing well at all, my voice just doesn't sound good, but I've got bettetr at hitting the right notes, and I can sing resonably low, and i can sing really high falsetto aswell, I don't know the actualy notes I can, but I don't know anyone with a bigger range.

ivan987

By these standards I'm a bass baritone, I can't sing lower than the D above the deep C and higher than D above the middle C. That is for the full voice, with falsetto I can't go higher than the high C.

Dragonis

Well thank you for that info. I just found out I'm most likely a tenor, and now I know what vocal ranges I can go through.

While I cant sing for the life of me right now, I am working on it, and this info helps me at least have an idea of what I might be capable of. I tend to sing in high falsetto alot which is a habit I picked up from singing along with Claudio of Coheed and Cambria for the past 8 years haha.

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Blind In 1 Ear

i dont really know what im supposed to be. i think vocal range wise i seem to be a baritone. but i can sing tenor parts like stevie wonder songs and grand funk railroad songs. so maybe im on the low end of tenor? or a high baritone? i doubt anyone is 100% one or the other though.

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EndOfDharma

not a great singer, im a baritone with about one and a half octave range

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food1010

Well, what are the highest and lowest notes you can hit?

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AlanHB

Howdy Chris - good work on getting this forum started.

In reference to middle C, which one is that on the guitar in standard tuning? I can sing as low as the F# on the low E string.

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axemanchris

And there is the complication....

*Actual* middle C is the second string first fret.

Guitar transposes down an octave, like male voices, so when a guitarist or a male singer sees middle C written on the staff, we actually play/sing the C below that, which is fifth string, third fret.

This is why I have a hard time making reference to middle C or C4 or whatever because it is never clear whether they mean the actual pitch or the played pitch.

CT

__________________
Could I get some more talent in the monitors, please?

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The4thHorsemen

I'm guessing I'm a baritone? I can hit the open g string, but I'm very shaky, I can easily hit the F below that. and I can almost hit the D if I'm in drop D tuning, but I can definitely hit the E.

edit: wait: I can go higher than the G string but everything is really shaky, it starts turning into falsetto around the C on the b string. I'm thinking maybe I could be a bass with practice? I don't think I'm a baritone cuz I can't go high enough, and I can go lower

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axemanchris

Sounds like bass to me. Although you don't fit perfectly in either one, you really seem to lean more heavily towards the bass register from your description.

CT

__________________
Could I get some more talent in the monitors, please?

I know it sounds crazy, but try to learn to inhale your voice. www.thebelcantotechnique.com

isaac_bandits

I was always under the impression that using scientific pitch notation, would indicate pitch, and not care about transposing instruments, so a C4 on a guitar is a C4 on a piano, is a C4 on a trumpet etc..., while "middle C" was an informal term used mainly by pianists, and meant the note on the staff that on a piano is the pitch C4, which would be a C3 on a guitar, or bass, and a different letter name for other transposing instruments (B3b on a trumpet for example).

ankthebank

What am I?


Bottom E flat (below e string on guitar) to a squeaky E (12th fret first string) - this is my absolute strained range.

Bottom G (on e string) to the G/A above middle C - Comfortable here, but have to warm up to get those higher notes.


Thanks,
AJ

Also, could I upload some clips of me singing here in a new thread... and get some much needed crit ?

The4thHorsemen

it sounds like you're including falsetto, which isn't included in your range (i think)

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Blind In 1 Ear

on a good day i can hit the low D on a guitar thats in drop D. but usually i can hit the low E. on the piano i just did it and including falsetto i can get 4 octaves of E starting on the same low E as a guitar. i can go a few above that high e but its obviously in full falsetto and usually they dont count that as part of the range (which makes no sense seeing as its a note you can sing) but i included the high E just to give an idea. so i guess without falsetto i can do three octaves of E. so is this baritone or tenor?

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Blind In 1 Ear

a bass would be singing actual bass. so you would need to hit those notes an octave lower if im not mistaken. so a bass guitar instead of a guitar. not a lot of people are true basses.

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check out my youtube page for some songs.

AlanHB

Yeah I was about to say that some of the notes on this thread that people claim to sing are incredibly low. I didn't realise that I could sing lower than most people until I started singing lessons and my teacher commented upon it.

Edit: Next week I might just post a recording of my range on my profile.

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ankthebank

Nope, i can hit the A in full voice when i'm warmed up

food1010

Looks like you're a bass. E2 to E4 is precisely the classical bass range.

You only count your modal register, because honestly, it makes sense. The modal register is the only of the four (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocal_register) that is consistently used. Falsetto can be almost as useful as modal in males if trained, but it doesn't make sense to count it in your range, because in falsetto, most men can hit notes as high as altos.

That just doesn't sound right. So you can hit three octaves (Eb2 to E5) if you strain but only two (G2 to G4) if you don't? Honestly, if you have a three-octave range, you could make some serious money. And if you mean, when you strain, that you can hit Eb2 to E4, but when you don't, you can hit from G2 to G4, that's really strange. Try testing your range again, and see if you messed something up along the way.

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