What’s Your Voice Type?

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Most people have heard of Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass. These divisions are used in choirs in the western or European tradition, and basically just divide high and low women and high and low men. Solo singers usually want to know their own voice types more precisely. Classical singers have the most complex system, which helps a singer to know what pieces suit his or her voice best. Categories overlap and the terminology is even used differently by different people, making it hard to be absolute about any of it, but here are the basics.

The highest voice is the coloratura. While the term can be applied to other voices, it most commonly refers to the highest soprano, who can do fast passages more easily than any other voices. The rest of the sopranos are called lyric or dramatic. Lyric means a bright, younger-sounding voice and dramatic means the darkest, heaviest and loudest soprano.

A mezzo soprano can be a lyric or dramatic and often has a wide range with nearly the same high notes as a soprano, and more sound in the middle and low ranges. A contralto is the lowest female voice and is quite rare.

The countertenor is a man who sings in the contralto range. Usually he sings falsetto, and is frequently heard in music written before 1750.

Tenors can be described as lyric or dramatic. Baritones, the middle men’s voices, can also be lyric or dramatic. Basses are the lowest, with the term basso profundo referring to the very lowest and darkest bass. Lyric and dramatic are not generally used for contraltos or basses, although there are coloratura basses - those who specialize in singing fast notes, like in Messiah, by G. F. Händel.

There are scores of other terms used for classical singers, but many singers defy any categorization, or switch between categories.

If your voice seems to fit musical theater better, or if you just like to sing it sometimes, be aware that the types are described differently here. Usually (in the older, traditional shows) the hero and heroine are young, light tenor and soprano voices, called legit. The mother or aunt figure is a lower voice (maybe in the contralto range). The girl’s best friend (not quite as innocent and pure) may be a belter. The other male parts are probably mid-range (baritones), with basses heard only rarely.

In popular or jazz singing, the divisions are not made much of, but people do tend to say they are low or high voices, or simply “A higher key would be better for me.”

So what voice type are you? While some singers are pretty easily identified, for many people it’s very hard to say before you have studied long enough to get the voice secure and free in all its range. Having high notes doesn’t necessarily mean soprano or tenor, while difficulty with high notes right now doesn’t always mean you are a low voice. On top of it all, voices mature and change, so just when you think you’ve figured it out, your voice goes through another change. This can happen at least until you are 30 years old, and there may be other changes for you based on improvements in your technique. In the meantime, we’ll keep experimenting to figure out where you are most comfortable.

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