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Revision as of 05:33, 18 December 2005 by Antifamilymang (talk | contribs) (corrected tenor range)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Voices may be classified according to their vocal range — the highest and lowest pitches that they can produce
Vocal range defined
Despite its intuitive clarity, vocal range is not easy to define, nor is it easy to compare the vocal ranges of singers in different genres. It is important to remember that the tonal quality of the voice is as imporant, in vocal range, as the variety of notes themselves.
The broadest definition of vocal range, given above, is simply the span from the highest to the lowest note a particular voice can produce. This broad definition, however, is quite often not the one meant when someone speaks of "vocal range." This is because some of the notes a voice can produce may not be considered "musically useful" for a particular purpose. For example, when speaking of the vocal range of a male opera singer, one usually excludes falsetto pitches, which are not used in most opera. A male doo-wop singer, on the other hand, might quite regularly deploy his falsetto pitches in performance and thus include them in determining his range.
For this reason, it is important to clearly define what is meant when discussing a vocal range. For example, one might say of a man that he has a one and a half octave range in full voice and an additional one half octave in falsetto. Similarly, when discussing the range of a woman one might say that she has a "useful" two octave range with an additional major third on the bottom that is only audible with amplification. Unfortunately, there is no standardization in this nomenclature.
Vocal range in classical music
Vocal range is generally very important in classical music. In opera, two considerations are paramount in determining vocal range: consistency of timbre across the vocal range, and ability to project the pitches (that is, to be heard clearly over an orchestra without amplification). Thus the vocal range for a man is generally determined by the pitches that he can produce in full voice - that is, excluding falsetto, which sounds too harshly different from lower notes in most men's voices. Vocal range for women is only slightly more freely determined: The same criteria broadly apply, but women of the highest voice type (soprano) can on occasion deploy their flageolet register to reach very high notes despite a typically noticeable difference in timbre. Of course, if any pitch cannot be properly projected, it is not considered part of the range.
Choral music is somewhat less stringent. In contrast to opera, the large number of voices that can be deployed in each group make it somewhat less important that each individual voice be flawlessly produced and completely audible. Thus, for example, choirs can often deploy notes that are lower than those that might be deployed in an operatic performance - no single member of the choir might be able to project such a low note individually, but taken together the note might be quite audible.
Classification of vocal range in classical music
The following vocal range classifications are typically used in classical music (from highest to lowest). The ranges listed are for a prototypical opera singer and should be taken as general guides:
- Soprano: C4 - C6
- Mezzo-soprano: A3 - A5
- Contralto: F3 - F5
- Tenor: C3 - C5
- Baritone: G2 - G4
- Bass: E2 - F4
The first three ranges are usually sung by women, and the last three are usually sung by men. Occasionally men will sing in the three female registers. When sung by men, they are renamed:
In addition to these general classifications, additional subdivisions are very commonly deployed in opera and other classical music for solo voice. There are a number of such detailed classification schemes, many of which are country-specific. See, for example, the articles on individual voice types above or the article on Fach.
Induced vocal range
Where the above are largely achieved through practice and natural aptitude, vocal ranges can be achieved by means of physiological modification. Only the example of the castrato is particularly notable.
Vocal range in popular music
Vocal range in popular music is usually more generously defined than in classical. Because of the use of amplification it is possible for singers to produce musically useful pitches that are much lower than might be possible for classical singers. Similarly, consistency of timbre is much less important in popular music. Thus in many popular genres falsetto is acceptable for men, deep growling pitches can be deployed, and flageolet notes (commonly referred to as the whistle register in popular music) can be freely used by any female or male who can produce them.
The importance of vocal range varies in popular music. At one extreme, to choose a well known example, genres such as punk show little concern for technical proficiency of any sort and thus no particular concern for vocal range. Similarly, many roles in the musical theater, while requiring rather more skill, call for only vaguely determined voice types. At the other extreme, vocal range is considered extremely important by many singers and fans of pop and R&B. There is often intense discussion among fans of precisely what a particular singer's vocal range is, and singers or their press representatives often claim extremely wide ranges.
For these various reasons, it is extremely difficult to speak of vocal range in popular music generally. For more information, see the articles on individual genres.
World records and extremes of vocal range
As noted above, claims of exceptionally wide vocal ranges are not uncommon among some singers. Fortunately, in 2006 the Guinness Book of Records published several categories relating to extremes of "Human vocal range." It stated the following:
Females
- Greatest range: Nine octaves, G2-G10, Georgia Brown
- Highest vocal note: G10, Georgia Brown
Males
- Greates range: Six octave, Tim Storms
- Highest vocal note: D7, Adam Lopez
- Lowest vocal note: B-2 (nearly two octaves below piano's lowest note), Tim Storms
Guinness also lists the highest demanded note in the classical repertoire as G6 in 'Popoli di Tessaglia,' a concert aria by W. A. Mozart and the lowest demanded note in the classical repertoire as a "Low D in Osmin's aria in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail." This latter claim is incorrect in several ways, though. First, the low D in question is the second D below middle C, not the third. Second, though that note is the lowest demanded and commonly performed in the operatic reperatoire, Leonard Bernstein's Candide has an optional low B (a minor third) below the low D) in a bass aria of its opera house version. Finally, some choral works call for notes lower than the low D.