Characterize Your Vocal Range
Many people love to sing, but when asked what part, they are unsure or pick the part that has the melody. There are several different vocal ranges. This article discusses how to determine which you might fit into.
Steps
- The first thing you'll need is a piano or other instrument where you know what the notes are.
- Find the pitch at which you speak and the pitch at which you laugh. These two pitches are good indications of where your voice is most comfortable.
- Using a staccato (short) ha, move up and down the scale to find your highest and lowest note. Make note of where you feel the most comfortable and sing the best. Exaggerated sighing where your voice moves through pitches is also a good way to find how high and low your voice can go.
- The notes you sing most easily and beautifully are called tessitura. Your working range are the notes where you can comfortably sing beyond this. The extreme range of a voice is usually only accessible by professionals or those who have been trained.
- The highest voice is a Coloratura. The tessitura is from B above middle C and up the scale to G above high C. Their working range extends from E above middle C to A above high C.
- The next voice is called a Lyric Soprano. The tessitura for this voice is from A above middle C to F above high C. The working range is from D above middle C to G above high C.
- Next we come to the Dramatic Soprano. The tessitura is from G above middle C to E above high C. Their working range extends from middle C up to F above high C.
- Mezzo Soprano is next on the list. The tessitura is from E above middle C to high C. The working range is from B below middle C to E above high C.
- Contraltos are the lowest of the treble voices. Their tessitura is middle C to A above middle C. Their working range is from G below middle C to high C.
- The Lyric Tenor straddles the treble and base clefs. They can sing from A below middle C to F above middle C in the tessitura range. Working ranges are from D below middle C through A above middle C.
- Dramatic Tenors come next. The tessitura is D below middle C up to D above middle C. Working range is low C to F above middle C.
- Baritones have a tessitura from B below low C to G above low C and a working range of A below low C to D above middle C.
- The next lowest voice is the Bass Baritone. The tessitura is from A below low C to F above low C. Working range encompasses G below low C to middle C.
- Finally we have the Bass. This voice has a tessitura from G below low C to E above low C. The working range is F below low C up to B below middle C.
Things You'll Need
- A piano or musical instrument
- Ability to read music
Related Articles
Sources and Citations
- Information gathered from The Voice of Singing by Esther Andreas and Robert M. Fowells.
