You might think that when it comes to voice types, everything depends on vocal range. Yet the actual notes a person can sing are only a small part of what determines their vocal category. A huge deciding factor is a concept known as timbre , or tonal quality. Timbre is entirely different from a musical note: A note or pitch refers to the place a single sound falls on a scale, while timbre is the phenomenon of the specific color or texture of a voice. How can those ideas apply to sound?
Voices are subtle and invisible things. So what do vocal professionals do when they have to describe something as seemingly indescribable as the human voice? They call on their other senses for help.
Singers, voice teachers, and other vocal scholars like to fall back on sight, touch, and taste when discussing specific voices. For example:. Try these metaphors on for size:. Comparisons like these will help get the point across because the brain is pretty good at translating one sensation into another. The timbre of a voice along with its musical range, its tessitura pronounced tes-see-TOO-rah, meaning the span of notes where the voice feels most comfortable , and its flexibility how fast the voice can move from note to note combine to form a vocal category.
The standard vocal categories in Western music are:. The following is a basic overview of each of these voice types and a look at how they function in modern and classical music.
As you read on, though, keep in mind that these voice categories are merely guidelines. There are many variations within each voice group, so much so that vocal scholars often have trouble agreeing on where one voice category begins and another ends. No soprano is more soprano-y than another.
Do not use this guide as a way of defining your own voice. While one voice type may appeal to you more than the others, it is absolutely essential that you do not try to fit your voice into any specific category——this can be incredibly unhealthy.
Allow your voice time to grow and develop. A selection of singers share their skills from the lowest voice type to the highest, demonstrating the power of the bass, baritone, tenor, mezzo-soprano, countertenor and soprano voices. In opera, sopranos are divided into three basic groups: coloratura kuhl-er-ah-TOOR-ah , lyric , and dramatic , with coloratura being the lightest and most flexible sound, and dramatic being the darkest and most powerful.
Audra McDonald. In fact, mezzos often sing just as high as their soprano counterparts. In addition, operatic mezzos are also divided into the basic coloratura, lyric, and dramatic groups.
What sets mezzos apart are their strong middle voices, their smoldering lower registers, and their lush tone quality. Most female pop and Broadway artists fall into the mezzo category. A mezzo-soprano performs "Habanera" from Bizet's Carmen. Tracy Chapman. And you thought the mezzos had deep voices? Check these ladies out. Contraltos are arguably the rarest of female voice types and they possess a tone so dark they often give the men a run for their money.
If mezzos are like clarinets, contraltos are more like bass clarinets. Idina Menzel. Belting is a complicated but exciting technique in which singers push the heavier chest voice register up past its natural range.
Any vocal category can produce a belt, but the most familiar belter is the mezzo-soprano, who is often showcased in Broadway musicals. Elphaba in Wicked? Elle in Legally Blonde? You get the picture.
The following voice types explore all aspects of the male sound, from the light and lilting to the dark and forceful. No girls allowed———these voices are strictly for the men. Luciano Pavarotti. Tenors are the highest male voice and, like sopranos, they are capable of delivering thrilling high notes and often have a brilliant shining timbre.
Think of them as the trumpet of the vocal orchestra. In opera, tenors have several subcategories, which range from the softer sound of the tenore buffo ten-OR-eh BOO-foh, a high-range tenor who sings comedic roles to the bold and hefty sound of a Heldentenor HELL-dehn-ten-OR, the term for a strong-voiced tenor who sings heroic roles in lengthy German operas. Norm Lewis. The most common of all male voices, this category occupies the wide range of vocal timbres between the tenor and the bass.
Soprano verb To sing or utter with high pitch, like a soprano singer. Contralto noun a woman singer having a contralto voice. Soprano noun The treble; the highest vocal register; the highest kind of female or boy's voice; the upper part in harmony for mixed voices.
Contralto noun the lowest female singing voice. Soprano noun a female singer. Contralto adjective of or being the lowest female voice. Soprano noun the highest female voice; the voice of a boy before puberty. Soprano noun the pitch range of the highest female voice. Contralto noun a singer with a contralto voice. Contralto noun a part written for a contralto voice. Popular Comparisons. Adress vs.
Comming vs. Label vs. Genius vs. Speech vs. Chief vs. Teat vs. Neice vs. Buisness vs. Beeing vs. Amature vs. Lieing vs. Preferred vs. Omage vs. Finally vs. The terms contralto and alto refer to a similar musical pitch, but among singers, the term contralto is reserved for female singers; the equivalent male form is counter-tenor. Originally the contratenor altus was a high countermelody sung against the tenor or main melody.
The difference between Contralto and Soprano When used as nouns , contralto means the lowest female voice or voice part, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano.
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