According to your chart, I have a Baritone, Tenor, Alto and Mezzo all-mixed-into-one range … so what am I?
The suggested guidelines for the above singing ranges are standardised. Music written for eg. a Bass singer will be written within this range of notes, Soprano’s in that range of notes. Many of you will find that you have a range beyond these standard ranges. This is completely normal. If you are comfortable singing within a particular range, then stick with it.
However, there are other factors which will determine your voice range. Depending on what genre of music you sing, or even the role you take in more classical pieces, your singing teacher, choir or music director may point you into the direction of a different range. For example: You can sing within the soprano range and can hit all the high notes, but you may be pointed to the Mezzo range or they feel you are more suited to an Alto range.
Why?
There are different characteristics with your voice, which, alongside your singing range which also factor in determining your voice type:
- ·Range – the notes your body can produce
- ·Weight – light voices, bright and agile; heavy voices, powerful, rich, and darker
- ·Tessitura – part of the range which is most comfortable to sing
- ·Timbre – unique voice quality and texture
- ·Transition points – points where you change from chest, to middle, to head register
- ·Vocal registers – how extended each register is
- ·Speech level – speaking range
- ·Physical characteristics
Vocal tessitura and timbre can be more important than range, especially in the case with sopranos and mezzo-sopranos; They might have the same range of notes, but a soprano will sound brighter and lighter, whereas a mezzo-sopranos would have a lower tessitura and darker timbre.
Something else to mention, especially in the pop genre. Singers have what are called ‘Money Notes’. This is what the singer has become famous for (eg Mariah Carey’s whistle pitch, Celine Dion’s high notes in full voice) part of the song, which the singer’s voice can being out the most emotion or dramatic part of the song, or they may have a challenging technique or reach high notes that are difficult to sing, It all helps sell tickets or albums, for which the singer becomes well-known for, but it may not always sit within traditional voice ranges.