how to know what your voice sounds like

Posted on 26/05/2020 (Last updated 02/12/2021)

Knowing what type ofvoice  you accept is the primal to unlocking a successful music career. Your voice type volition decide your range , timbre ,  and tessitura. Vocal classification is quick and easy to do and is something a lot of singers are great to find out.

In that location are four main phonation types, which are unremarkably categorised into either male or female person. Each vocalisation blazon has its own subtypes equally every phonation varies in tone, range ,  and timbre. Your vocalisation type is largely determined by your range, but there are other factors too.

Understanding your voice means you tin can choose the songs and genres you're best suited to ,  ensur ing  you lot a lways sound keen.

What are the iv vocalization types?

There are actually more  than iv voice types birthday, merely these are considered to be the principal four as they are the most common :

1. Soprano
2. Tenor
3. Alto
4. Bass

While there is a standard criteri on  for belonging to each voice type, no 2 voices ever sound the same then there can be a lot of variation within each voice group.

What are the half-dozen types of voices?

You might hear some people refer to the fou r voice types, while others say that at that place are 6 types of voices. Both are correct , as there are a couple of extra sub-categories to the vocalization classifications.

The iv vocalization types (soprano, tenor, alto, and bass) are generally considered the main voice classifications. But in full, there are six voice types: soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, and bass.

Looking at the six vocalisation types can exist helpful if you don't feel like your vocalism fits squarely into one of the four main categories . The sub-categories like mezzo-soprano and baritone deed like an in-between vox type for those whose voice's overlap between 2 types.

Soprano voice

The soprano is the highest type of voice. Sopranos are normally female, but male singers with a loftier voice can too be called a soprano or countertenor.

A soprano singer can achieve and sustain high notes with ease. The typical range for a soprano is B3 – C6, just certain types of sopranos  tin reach even higher notes. These are called coloratura soprano south and take the ability to  attain F6, G6, or mayhap even higher.

There are several types of soprano voice sub-categories, including coloratura soprano, lyric soprano ,  and the soubrette . Each of these voices autumn into the soprano category merely might vary slightly in audio, agility, and range.

Tenor vocalism

The tenor is the highest male vocalization type. Singers who are tenors have a tessitura that's typically between C3 and C5 and have a ringing quality to their voices.

Due to their high phonation, t enors are well suited to choirs or opera . A natural tenor doesn't just use falsetto to striking the high notes, they tin also sing in a loftier register using head resonance.

T enors  can hit actually high  notes, but they have the smallest range of all the different voice types. A tenor's range is typically around C3 – B4 .

This tin can vary depending on the blazon of tenor a singer is, every bit there are eight  subtypes: countertenor, leggero, tenor buffo or spieltenor , lyric  tenor , Mozart, spinto  tenor , dramatic  tenor , and heldentenor.

Alto  vocalization

Also known every bit the contralto, the alto is the everyman female person voice type. True altos have a natural deep timbre to their vocalization and tin can actually be  quite difficult to find.

 An alto has a tessitura of betwixt F3 and F5. The typical range of a contralto is E3 – F5, but many trained altos can still high really loftier  notes at the meridian of their range.

Bass voice

The bass is the lowest type of male vocalization  and has the everyman tessitura of all the vox types.  A bass singer typically has a range from the second E below heart C to F ♯  above .

In some cases, basses tin reach a lower extreme of C2 or an upper farthermost of G4. Every bass vocalizer's vox has a different weight and dexterity which will affect their range. A basso profundo, for example, sounds depression and rich while a basso cantante has a lyrical vox despite their depression vocalization.

There are six bass vocalizer subtypes  altogether. These are dramatic bass, bass-baritone , basso prof u ndo, basso buffo, bel canto bass,  and  basso cantante .

Baritone voice

Often described as a classical singing voice, a baritone is a cross-over between bass and tenor phonation-types.

A baritone vox falls between the college register of a tenor voice and the lower bass registers. It'due south the most common singing phonation for a male person and is recognised by its deep, rich timbre.

The typical range of a baritone vocaliser is G2 – G4. In a choir, a baritone who has a higher tessitura tends to choose to sing with the tenor singers, while baritones with a lower tessitura choose to sing with the basses.

How do yous know your voice type?

Now you know all the different types of vocalism, y'all might be wondering how you lot work out which one you are.

When it comes to working out your voice type, you'll hear range being mentioned a lot. Your range is a key variable in the voice classification process, just it'southward non the only affair to consider. There are really three  things to take into account when you're identifying your vox type:

#1 Your range

Identifying the highest and lowest annotation you can comfortably sing volition requite you an idea  of  what your range is. You lot can then compare your range to the typical range of each vox type and see which you best fit into.

#ii Your tessitura

Knowing your range might not be  enough to clearly identify your phonation type. Your range might autumn in-between categories and leave you lot feeling even more confused about your vocalisation. This is where working out your tessitura comes in.

Your tessitura is the range you feel most comfortable singing in and where your timbre sounds at information technology's  best. Yous can use your tessitura to narrow down your vocalism type if you're stuck between two  categories .

If your tessitura falls at the lower half of your range, your vocalization is more probable to vest to the lower voice type of the two categories you autumn in. If your tessitura is at the higher end of your range, you're probably amend suited to the college voice type of the 2.

#three  Anatomical factors

The 3rd and final factor that decides your voice blazon is your genetics and physiology. The size and shape of your vocal cords, song tract ,  and  larynx  will make up one's mind your range and timbre, automatically filing your vocalization into its natural vocalisation category.

Anatomical factors play a big office in determining your voice blazon, just there's no manner to really measure  and examination the length and size of your voice box to find out what blazon of vox you have.

Song range chart

Hearing lots of references to ranges and tessituras  can exist confusing, especially if y'all're non familiar with keys.

The easiest manner to get a adept handle of keys and to work out your vocal range is to apply a piano . Testing your voice out while looking at a vocal range chart like this will really help you visualise the different keys your voice tin achieve in comparison to the piano keys.

You tin can use a real piano or an online piano  to assist you lot in testing your vocal range.

Song range scale

To give you lot a sense of scale, it tin can assistance seeing the typical tessitura of each vox type lined upwards alongside each other.  This would look like this:

• Soprano : C4 – C6
• Mezzo-Soprano : A3 – A5
• Alto : F3 – F5
• Tenor : C3 – C5
• Baritone : G2 – G4
• Bass : E2 – E5

Yous might notice that there's a range in the tessitura of each phonation grouping. T hat's because every singing vocalisation is unique , and charts and scales can only provide a ballpark field near a singer'due south range.

Information technology's quite common for singers to be able to sing a scrap lower or higher than the typical range of their vox type.

Vocal range of famous singers

Photo: Kirk Stauffer

When y'all're familiarising yourself with singing voice types, it  tin help to have a point of reference to help yous recognise the dissimilar vocalism classifications.

Looking at famous singers and what their range and voice type is can requite you a good comparing. Here are some of the biggest singers in each vocalization blazon category:

1. Taylor Swift

   The Shake It Off singer'southward song range is E3 – F#five . This makes Taylor Swift a Light-Lyric Soprano.

2. Eminem

   You might look a rapper'due south vocal range to exist quite narrow, only Eminem can comfortably sing from D2  – F2 . He raps in a deeper, baritone vocalism in some of his tracks, simply Eminem is actually a  tenor.

3. Lorde

   While her low notes are the strongest in her range, popular-singer Lorde'southward range is One thousand# ii – Thou #3. This makes her a contralto.

4. Adele

   With her deep, rich tone, Adele is sometimes mistaken for an alto. But her song range, C3 – B5, puts her in the dark mezzo-soprano vocalization category.

5. Michael Bublé

   Bublé is sometimes mistaken for a tenor due to the bright and warm quality to his voice. But the Canadian singer-songwriter is actually a  lyric baritone, equally his range is D2 – Eb5 (and possibly even higher).

What determines vocal range?

Your vox type is largely determined by your range. Simply you might wonder, what determines your vocal range? There are several primal factors that touch on your range when you sing:

• Age –  singers don't normally access their full range until their voice has matured (which can vary, but  tends to roughly exist effectually the age of 30).

• Training –  a beginner ordinarily has a smaller range than an avant-garde singer. The more yous train your voice, the stronger your vocal cords and diaphragm go and the wider your range will go.

• Genetics –  your physiology is one of the biggest factors that make up one's mind your vocal range. The length of your vocal cords and muscles of the diaphragm will make up one's mind what notes you're physically able to achieve.

What is your vocal range quiz

If y'all're struggling to place what your vocal range is, or if yous only want to double – check your findings, there are dozens of online quizzes out there that are designed to practice just that.

If you're looking for a quiz that will determine your vocal range, Quizony's What Vocal Range Am I?  is a cracking online test.

If you're seeking aid to clarify your voice type, Which vocalization type am I?  on AllTheTests.com asks y'all ten questions nigh your tone and range before giving you an gauge voice type at the end.

A fun alternative quiz is available on playback.fm . If you've always wondered what famous singer you virtually sound like, Discover Your Song Range & Famous Vocalizer Match  not only calculates your vocal range just matches y'all with the celebrity your voice best compares to.

Vocal range test app

In that location's an app for everything nowadays, phonation classification included. To test your song range on an apple or android device, y'all tin download an app like Vocal Range – Pitch Detector .

Vocal apps will not only help you work out your range, but they can as well assist you lot finetune your vocalisation and test your pitch.

The Vocal Range- Pitch Detector app fifty-fifty finds your most comfortable songs to perform, and the artist who your voice blazon is closest to.

Test your singing voice online

If you're not sure whether yous've correctly identified your range or vocalism blazon, there's no harm in getting a second opinion. Performing to friends or family is a great feedback resource, simply there's also plenty of singing tests online that can exam every aspect of your voice.

Taking a  Tone Deaf Exam online  will get to the very bare bones of your singing ability by testing your pitch perception.

Singing test with microphone

If you lot want to cantankerous the barrier betwixt the screen and your vox and examination your voice online using real recordings, you can take the Power to Sing test . This online examination gets yous to use your device'south microphone to record yourself singing and gives y'all an accurate voice nomenclature consequence.

Types of voice tones

Your tone can also aid make up one's mind what phonation type you have. While your range  will help you lot detect the broad voice category y'all belong to, your tone tin can help narrow downwards which vocal subcategory your vocalization fits into.

Tone is also referred to as the timbre of your vocalisation. Some of the most common ways to describe a singer's tone are  light or dark, bright or deep, and  rich or shrill.

Knowing your tone will help you narrow downwards your voice nomenclature. A soprano vocaliser with a light tone, for example, will be a lyric soprano, while a soprano with a nighttime or deep tone is more likely to be a dramatic soprano or a nighttime mezzo-soprano.

Effort non to go besides hung upward on your voice typ due east  and trying to fit yourself into a firm category, equally this tin box your voice off.

Children'southward vocalism types

Children'due south voices tin't really exist labelled using the aforementioned voice classification system every bit an adult singer. Boys and girls  typically have higher voices during babyhood than they practise when their voice matures, meaning their range and tessitura aren't fully adult or settled still.

With that in mind, most  children have soprano voices. This is because children tend to have lighter, higher voices before their voice boxes mature and their vocal cords lengthen.

Boys are more than likely to find their phonation matches a female person singing vocalisation type (soprano, mezzo-soprano ,  or contralto) during childhood. This is because boys tin access a higher vocal range before they get through puberty when their voice s  will most likely deepen and change their range.

A really unique  and interesting type of vocalism is the "treble vocalism." This refers to the female and male singers who se  voice remains unchanged even after puberty and maintains their soprano quality.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Can I change my vocalization type?

Equally genetics play a large role in how your phonation sounds, y ou tin can't completely change your voice  type. You lot can, notwithstanding, alter how your voice sounds.

Singing in your upper breast voice or caput voice will brand your vocals sound higher and lighter. Training and using practiced breath control volition also change how your voice sounds, and perchance improve your range.

Some soprano singers endeavor to sing in their lowest key  to make themselves sound similar an alto, but this tin can cause song strain, so information technology's best to sing in your natural tessitura.

• What is the about common voice type?

The b aritone is the most common voice type  for males, and mezzo – soprano is the nearly common female person vocalization blazon.

• What is the rarest phonation type?

A contralto is the rarest type of singing vocalisation. Contralto s are female singers who have the everyman voice and tessitura of all the female singing groups.

Naturally deep and powerful voices are commonly the rarest. True contraltos are and so hard to find that their roles are frequently filled by mezzo-sopranos or sopranos in choirs.

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Source: https://www.openmicuk.co.uk/advice/know-your-voice-vocal-type/

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