Vocal Colors

Female singing voice.

A. Soprano (Italian sopra, “above”), highest female voice. The normal range of the soprano
is about two octaves, generally with its lowest note at middle C, although many sopranos
exceed these limits. Sopranos are classified as dramatic, lyric, or coloratura.
1. Dramatic soprano has a powerful and theatrical voice;
2. Lyric soprano, a lighter, smoothly flowing voice;
3. Coloratura soprano, an extremely flexible and light voice capable of performing
highly ornamented virtuoso passages such as trills and runs.
4. boy soprano, The similar unchanged boy's voice. Male sopranos who were castrated
as boys in the 18th century in order to keep their soprano voices were known as
castrati.
5. mezzo-soprano is used for a female voice that has a range between the soprano and
contralto, the lowest female singing voice. The term soprano also denotes the highest
in range of a family of instruments, such as the soprano saxophone.

B. Mezzo-soprano (Italian mezzo, “middle,”sopra, “above”) in Western music, a female

voice that lies in range between soprano and alto. Its range extends from below middle C
to nearly two octaves (interval of eight notes between two tones) above middle C. Most
untrained voices fall into intermediate ranges such as mezzo-soprano.

An outstanding mezzo-soprano voice has a rich and full quality and is considered
effective in transmitting a sense of dramatic power and deep emotion. A number of
composers have written music specifically for the mezzo-soprano voice. In opera, the
best-known parts for the voice include Princess Eboli in Don Carlos (1867) and Amneris
in Aïda (1871), both by Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi. Also composed for a mezzo-
soprano is the title role in Carmen (1875), by French composer Georges Bizet.

C. Alto or Contralto lowest of the three principal ranges of voice found in women or young
boys. The contralto has a range of about two octaves upward from E or F below middle
C. Originally the term also was applied in choral music to the highest male voice, the
countertenor, or male alto. In modern times it generally refers to the vocal part below the
soprano part of a musical composition; contralto is the term for the voice or the
performer. Today women who have a rich, weighty quality in the lower register are called
contraltos. In combination with the name of an instrument (alto trombone, alto
saxophone), the word alto denotes an instrument with a range just below the highest
range reached by that family of instruments. The alto clef is the C clef, so placed as to
indicate that middle C is on the third line of the staff.
Male singing voice.
A. Tenor, highest natural adult male voice, having an approximate range of two octaves,
starting usually at C below middle C.
 Two classes of tenor are generally recognized
1. Tenore robusto - The dramatic tenor (“robust tenor”), with a quality in its
lower register that resembles that of the baritone, and the lighter and more
agile lyric tenor.
2. Heldentenor - less common tenor voices, (German Held, “hero”), a dramatic
voice naturally powerful enough to project over the large orchestras required
for some German operas;
3. Countertenor, or male alto, a light voice above and overlapping the normal
tenor range, which can be produced either by falsetto or by full-voice singing
by a tenor having a very high range.

The term tenor is derived from the Latin tenere (“to hold”). In medieval music the
tenor part was so named because it “held” the basic melodic line, known as the
cantus firmus, to which the other voices furnished countermelodies.

B. Baritone, a voice range and a wind instrument. The baritone voice is the male singing
voice intermediate between the bass and the tenor, having a normal compass of about two
octaves upward from the second A below middle C.

The instrument called a baritone is brass, with a cup mouthpiece, a conical bore, three valves,
and the same general range as the trombone. The term baritone is often also applied to similarly
pitched brass instruments such as the euphonium, which has a narrower bore and four or five
valves, and the tenor horn, which is a three-valved relative of the cornet.

C. Bass (voice) (Latin basis, “base, foot, pedestal”; influenced by French basse and Italian
basso), deepest, or lowest, male singing voice. The normal range of the bass voice is
about two octaves, with its lowest note usually an octave and a sixth below middle C.
Trained basses can reach notes considerably lower and higher; for example, the
contrabass (an especially deep voice developed principally in Russia) can range nearly an
octave below the normal lowest note.

Basses classification

1. basso profondo (Italian, “deep bass”), a powerful, low-ranging voice.

2. basso cantante (Italian, “singing bass”), a voice with a well-developed upper range.

3. basso buffo (Italian, “comic bass”), an agile voice suited to comic operatic roles. A
bass baritone combines both basso profondo and basso cantante qualities, with a
slightly higher than normal range.

The term bass also is used for the normally lowest-pitched member of a family of instruments,
for example, the bass clarinet; a contrabass instrument has a range below the usual bass member
of the family. Bass also denotes the lowest part in a musical composition.