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44-467: A soprano ( Italian pronunciation: [soˈpraːno] ) is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types . The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation ) is from approximately middle C (C 4 ) = 261  Hz to "high A" (A 5 ) = 880 Hz in choral music , or to "soprano C" (C 6 , two octaves above middle C) = 1046 Hz or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony,

88-405: A coloratura mezzo-soprano. Rarely does a singer remain a soubrette throughout her entire career. A soubrette's range extends approximately from Middle C (C 4 ) to "high D" (D 6 ). The tessitura of the soubrette tends to lie a bit lower than the lyric soprano and spinto soprano. The lyric soprano is a warm voice with a bright, full timbre, which can be heard over a big orchestra. It generally has

132-455: A full spinto or dramatic soprano. Dramatic coloraturas have a range of approximately "low B" (B 3 ) to "high F" (F 6 ) with some coloratura sopranos being able to sing somewhat higher or lower. In classical music and opera, a soubrette soprano refers to both a voice type and a particular type of opera role. A soubrette voice is light with a bright, sweet timbre, a tessitura in the mid-range, and with no extensive coloratura. The soubrette voice

176-422: A higher tessitura than a soubrette and usually plays ingénues and other sympathetic characters in opera. Lyric sopranos have a range from approximately middle C (C 4 ) to "high D" (D 6 ). The lyric soprano may be a light lyric soprano or a full lyric soprano. The light lyric soprano has a bigger voice than a soubrette but still possesses a youthful quality. The full lyric soprano has a more mature sound than

220-409: A light-lyric soprano and can be heard over a bigger orchestra. Also lirico- spinto , Italian for "pushed lyric", the spinto soprano has the brightness and height of a lyric soprano, but can be "pushed" to dramatic climaxes without strain, and may have a somewhat darker timbre. Spinto sopranos have a range from approximately B (B 3 ) to "high D" (D 6 ). A dramatic soprano (or soprano robusto ) has

264-593: A low note in a song within a soprano role. Low notes can be reached with a lowered position of the larynx . The high extreme, at a minimum, for non-coloratura sopranos is "soprano C" (C 6 two octaves above middle C), and many roles in the standard repertoire call for C ♯ 6 or D 6 . A couple of roles have optional E ♭ 6 s, as well. In the coloratura repertoire, several roles call for E ♭ 6 on up to F 6 . In rare cases, some coloratura roles go as high as G 6 or G ♯ 6 , such as Mozart's concert aria " Popoli di Tessaglia! ", or

308-438: A mezzo-soprano and the high notes of a soprano. A voice teacher would therefore look to see whether the singer was more comfortable singing higher, or lower. If she were more comfortable singing higher, then the teacher would probably classify her as a soprano. If the singer were more comfortable singing in the mid to lower part of their voice the teacher would probably classify her as a mezzo-soprano. The teacher would also consider

352-497: A person is classified through the identification of several vocal traits, including range, vocal timbre , vocal weight , vocal tessitura , vocal resonance , and vocal transition points (lifts or " passaggio ") within the singer's voice. These different traits are used to identify different sub-types within the voice. Within opera , particular roles are written with specific kinds of soprano voices in mind, causing certain roles to be associated with certain kinds of voices . Within

396-486: A powerful, rich, emotive voice that can sing over a full orchestra. Usually (but not always) this voice has a lower tessitura than other sopranos, and a darker timbre. Dramatic sopranos have a range from approximately A (A 3 ) to "high C" (C 6 ). Some dramatic sopranos, known as Wagnerian sopranos, have a very big voice that can assert itself over an exceptionally large orchestra (over eighty pieces). These voices are substantial and very powerful and ideally even throughout

440-436: A result of certain rare physiological conditions, can sing in the same range as women. These do not fall into the female categories, instead called countertenors within classical music. Within contemporary music, however, the use of the term tenor for these male voices would be more appropriate. Within choral music there are only four categories for adult singers: soprano and alto for women, tenor and bass for men. In

484-680: A singer's voice into a particular kind of singing use or voice type. The discipline of voice classification developed within European classical music and is not generally applicable to other forms of singing. Voice classification is often used within opera to associate possible roles with potential voices. There are several systems in use including the German Fach system , the Italian opera tradition, and French opera tradition. There are other systems of classification as well, most commonly

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528-465: A solid coloratura technique, a capacity for patter singing and ripe tonal qualities if they are to be brought off to maximum effect. They are usually the blustering antagonist of the hero/heroine or the comic-relief fool in bel canto operas. English equivalent: dramatic bass Basso profondo (lyric low bass) is the lowest bass voice type. According to J. B. Steane in Voices, Singers & Critics ,

572-485: Is a higher, more lyrical voice. It is produced using a more Italianate vocal production, and possesses a faster vibrato, than its closest Germanic/Anglo-Saxon equivalent, the bass-baritone . Hoher Bass or "high bass" or often a dramatic bass-baritone . Jugendlicher Bass (juvenile bass) denotes the role of a young man sung by a bass, regardless of the age of the singer. Buffo , literally "funny", basses are lyrical roles that demand from their practitioners

616-615: Is normally defined by the outermost lines of the bass clef . Categories of bass voices vary according to national style and classification system. Italians favour subdividing basses into the basso cantante (singing bass), basso buffo (comical bass), or the dramatic basso profondo (deep bass). The American system identifies the bass-baritone, comic bass, lyric bass, and dramatic bass. The German Fach system offers further distinctions: Spielbass (Bassbuffo), Schwerer Spielbass (Schwerer Bassbuffo), Charakterbass (Bassbariton), and Seriöser Bass. These classification systems can overlap. Rare

660-424: Is not a weak voice, for it must carry over an orchestra without a microphone like all voices in opera. The voice, however, has a lighter vocal weight than other soprano voices with a brighter timbre. Many young singers start out as soubrettes, but, as they grow older and the voice matures more physically, they may be reclassified as another voice type, usually either a light lyric soprano, a lyric coloratura soprano, or

704-432: Is often not what is meant when "vocal range" is discussed in the context of singing. Vocal pedagogists tend to define the vocal range as the total span of "musically useful" pitches that a singer can produce. This is because some of the notes a voice can produce may not be considered usable by the singer within performance for various reasons. For example, within opera all singers must project over an orchestra without

748-421: Is roughly A 3 or B ♭ 3 (just below middle C). Within opera, the lowest demanded note for sopranos is F 3 (from Richard Strauss 's Die Frau ohne Schatten ). Often low notes in higher voices will project less, lack timbre, and tend to "count less" in roles (although some Verdi, Strauss and Wagner roles call for stronger singing below the staff ). However, rarely is a soprano simply unable to sing

792-1014: Is the performer who embodies a single Fach without also touching repertoire from another category. Cultural influence and individual variation create a wide variation in range and quality of bass singers. Parts for basses have included notes as low as the B-flat two octaves and a tone below middle C (B ♭ 1 ), for example in Gustav Mahler 's Symphony No. 2 and the Rachmaninov 's All-Night Vigil , A below that in Frederik Magle 's symphonic suite Cantabile , G below that (e.g. Measure 76 of Ne otverzhi mene by Pavel Chesnokov ) or F below those in Kheruvimskaya pesn (Song of Cherubim) by Krzysztof Penderecki . Many basso profondos have trouble reaching those notes, and

836-477: Is the term for a male countertenor able to sing in the soprano vocal range, while a castrato is the term for a castrated male singer, typical of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, and a treble is a boy soprano , whether they finished puberty or are still a child, as long as they are still able to sing in that range. The term "soprano" is also based on the Latin word superius which, like soprano, referred to

880-422: Is where the voice has the best timbre, easy volume , and most comfort. In SATB four-part mixed chorus, the soprano is the highest vocal range, above the alto , tenor , and bass . Sopranos commonly sing in the tessitura G4-A5. When the composer calls for divisi, sopranos can be separated into Soprano I (highest part) and Soprano II (lower soprano part). In contrast to choral singing, in classical solo singing

924-417: Is widely used as well. Bass (voice type) A bass is a type of classical male singing voice and has the lowest vocal range of all voice types . According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera , a bass is typically classified as having a vocal range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C (i.e., E 2 –E 4 ). Its tessitura , or comfortable range,

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968-511: The choral music system. No system is universally applied or accepted. Most of the voice types identified by such systems, however, are sub-types that fall under seven different major voice categories that are for the most part acknowledged across all of the major voice classification systems. Women are typically divided into three main groups: soprano , mezzo-soprano , and contralto . Men are usually divided into four main groups: countertenor , tenor , baritone , and bass . When considering

1012-611: The larynx . These different forms of voice production are known as vocal registers . While the exact number and definition of vocal registers is a controversial topic within the field of singing, the sciences identify only four registers: the whistle register , the falsetto register , the modal register , and the vocal fry register . Typically only the usable pitches within the modal register—the register used in normal speech and most singing—are included when determining singers' vocal ranges. There are exceptions, as in opera, where countertenors employ falsetto and coloratura sopranos use

1056-686: The Doll Aria, "Les oiseaux dans la charmille", from The Tales of Hoffmann , e.g. by Rachele Gilmore in a 2009 performance, and a written A ♮ 6 by Audrey Luna in 2017 in The Exterminating Angel , both at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The dramatic coloratura soprano is a coloratura soprano with great flexibility in high-lying velocity passages, yet with great sustaining power comparable to that of

1100-509: The UK, the term "male alto" refers to a man who uses falsetto vocal production to sing in the alto section of a chorus. This practice is much less common outside the UK where the term countertenor is more often applied. Countertenors are also widely employed within opera as solo vocalists, though the term "male alto" is never used to refer to a solo vocalist. Children's voices, both male and female, are described as trebles , although boy soprano

1144-447: The aid of a microphone. An opera singer would therefore only be able to include the notes that they are able to adequately project over an orchestra within their vocal range. In contrast, a pop artist could include notes that could be heard with the aid of a microphone. Another factor to consider is the use of different forms of vocal production. The human voice is capable of producing sounds using different physiological processes within

1188-528: The aria "Fra l'ombre e gl'orrori" in Handel's serenata Aci, Galatea e Polifemo , Polifemo reaches an A 4 . Within the bass voice type category are seven generally recognized subcategories: basso cantante (singing bass), hoher bass (high bass), jugendlicher bass (juvenile bass), basso buffo ("funny" bass), Schwerer Spielbass (dramatic bass), lyric bass, and dramatic basso profondo (low bass). Basso cantante means "singing bass". Basso cantante

1232-527: The basso profondo voice "derives from a method of tone-production that eliminates the more Italian quick vibrato. In its place is a kind of tonal solidity, a wall-like front, which may nevertheless prove susceptible to the other kind of vibrato, the slow beat or dreaded wobble." English equivalent: dramatic low bass. Dramatic basso profondo is a powerful basso profondo voice. All of the Gilbert and Sullivan Savoy operas , except Patience and The Yeomen of

1276-558: The first movement of his choral work Rejoice in the Lamb ) that center far higher than the bass tessitura as implied by the clef. The Harvard Dictionary of Music defines the range as being from the E below low C to middle C (i.e. E 2 –C 4 ). In SATB four-part mixed chorus, the bass is the lowest vocal range, below the tenor , alto , and soprano . Voices are subdivided into first bass and second bass with no distinction being made between bass and baritone voices, in contrast to

1320-420: The highest pitch vocal range of all human voice types. The word superius was especially used in choral and other multi-part vocal music between the 13th and 16th centuries. The soprano has the highest vocal range of all voice types , with the highest tessitura . A soprano and a mezzo-soprano have a similar range, but their tessituras will lie in different parts of that range. The low extreme for sopranos

1364-458: The lowest note in the standard bass repertoire is D 2 , sung by the character Osmin in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail , but few roles fall below F 2 . Although Osmin's note is the lowest 'demanded' in the operatic repertoire, lower notes are heard, both written and unwritten: for example, it is traditional for basses to interpolate a low C in the duet "Ich gehe doch rathe ich dir" in

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1408-509: The pre-pubescent voices of children an eighth term, treble , can be applied. Within each of these major categories there are several sub-categories that identify specific vocal qualities like coloratura facility and vocal weight to differentiate between voices. Vocal range itself does not determine a singer's voice type. While each voice type does have a general vocal range associated with it, human singing voices may possess vocal ranges that encompass more than one voice type or are in between

1452-532: The registers. Two other types of soprano are the Dugazon and the Falcon , which are intermediate voice types between the soprano and the mezzo-soprano: a Dugazon is a darker-colored soubrette, a Falcon a darker-colored soprano drammatico. Vocal range While the broadest definition of "vocal range" is simply the span from the lowest to the highest note a particular voice can produce, this broad definition

1496-548: The same opera; in Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier , Baron Ochs has an optional C 2 ("Mein lieber Hippolyte"). The high extreme: a few bass roles in the standard repertoire call for a high F ♯ or G (F ♯ 4 and G 4 , the one above middle C), but few roles go over F 4 . In the operatic bass repertoire, the highest notes are a G ♯ 4 (The Barber in The Nose by Shostakovich) and, in

1540-519: The soprano takes the highest part, which often encompasses the melody . The soprano voice type is generally divided into the coloratura , soubrette , lyric , spinto , and dramatic soprano. The word "soprano" comes from the Italian word sopra (above, over, on top of), as the soprano is the highest pitch human voice, often given to the leading female roles in operas. "Soprano" refers mainly to women, but it can also be applied to men; " sopranist "

1584-583: The soprano voice type category are five generally recognized subcategories: coloratura soprano , soubrette , lyric soprano , spinto soprano , and dramatic soprano . The coloratura soprano may be a lyric coloratura or a dramatic coloratura. The lyric coloratura soprano is a very agile light voice with a high upper extension capable of fast vocal coloratura. Light coloraturas have a range of approximately middle C (C 4 ) to "high F" ( in alt ) (F 6 ) with some coloratura sopranos being able to sing somewhat lower or higher, e.g. an interpolated A ♭ 6 in

1628-455: The sound of the voice; sopranos tend to have a lighter and less rich vocal sound than a mezzo-soprano. A voice teacher, however, would never classify a singer in more than one voice type, regardless of the size of the vocal range of the singer. Within the operatic systems of classification, there are six basic voice types. The ranges given below are approximations and are not meant to be too rigidly applied. Some men, in falsetto voice or as

1672-479: The stage of the menstrual cycle while Puts (2006) found women preferred lower male voices mainly for short-term, sexual relationships. Intrasexual selection, via male competition, also causes a selection in voice pitch. Pitch is related to interpersonal power and males tend to adjust their pitch according to their perceived dominance when speaking to a competitor. Vocal range plays such an important role in classifying singing voices into voice types that sometimes

1716-510: The three-fold (tenor–baritone–bass) categorization of solo voices. The exception is in arrangements for male choir (TTBB) and barbershop quartets (TLBB), which sometimes label the lowest two parts baritone and bass. Bass has the lowest vocal range of all voice types , with the lowest tessitura . The low extreme for basses is generally C 2 (two Cs below middle C). Some extreme bass singers, referred to as basso profondos and oktavists , are able to reach much lower than this. Within opera ,

1760-466: The title role of Jules Massenet 's opera Esclarmonde . While not necessarily within the tessitura, a good soprano will be able to sing her top notes full-throated, with timbre and dynamic control. In opera, the tessitura , vocal weight , and timbre of voices, and the roles they sing, are commonly categorized into voice types, often called Fächer ( sg. Fach , from German Fach or Stimmfach , "vocal category"). A singer's tessitura

1804-457: The two terms are confused with one another. A voice type is a particular kind of human singing voice perceived as having certain identifying qualities or characteristics; vocal range being only one of those characteristics. Other factors are vocal weight , vocal tessitura , vocal timbre , vocal transition points , physical characteristics, speech level, scientific testing, and vocal registration. All of these factors combined are used to categorize

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1848-413: The typical ranges of two voice types. Therefore, voice teachers use vocal range as only one factor among many in classifying a singer's voice. More important than range in voice classification is tessitura , or where the voice is most comfortable singing, and vocal timbre, or the characteristic sound of the singing voice. For example, a female singer may have a vocal range that encompasses the low notes of

1892-539: The use of them in works by Slavic composers has led to the colloquial term "Russian bass" for an exceptionally deep-ranged basso profondo who can easily sing these notes. Some traditional Russian religious music calls for A 2 (110 Hz ) drone singing, which is doubled by A 1 (55 Hz) in the rare occasion that a choir includes singers who can produce this very low human voice pitch. Many British composers such as Benjamin Britten have written parts for bass (such as

1936-495: The whistle register; notes from these registers would therefore be included in the vocal ranges of these voices. The upper pitch range of the human voice is, on average, about half as high in males as in females. Even after controlling for body height and volume, the male voice remains lower. Charles Darwin suggested that the human voice evolved through intersexual sexual selection, via female mate choices. Puts (2005) showed that preference for male voice pitch changed according to

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