CLASSIFICATION OF HUMAN VOICE

FEMALE VOICES MALE VOICES

VOICE TYPE• A voice type is a particular kind of

human singing voice perceived as having certain identifying qualities or characteristics.

• Women are typically divided into three groups: soprano, mezzo-soprano, and contralto.

• Men are usually divided into four groups: countertenor, tenor, baritone, and bass.

VOICE TYPESVoice type

Female voice

SopranoMezzo-sopranoContralto

Male voices

ContratenorTenorBaritoneBass

FEMALE VOICESoprano:

• The soprano is the highest female voice. • The tessitura of the soprano voice lies higher than all the other

female voices.

Mezzo-soprano:

• Mezzo-soprano tessitura, the tessitura of the mezzo-soprano is lower than that of the soprano and higher than that of the contralto.

Contralto:

• The contralto voice is the lowest female voice. A true operatic contralto is extremely rare.

FEMALE VOICES

SOPRANO MEZZOSOPRANO CONTRALTO

MONTSERRAT CABALLÉ TERESA BERGANZA EULA BEAL

MALE VOICESCountertenor:

• The term countertenor refers to the highest male voice. Many countertenor singers perform roles originally written for castrati in baroque operas.

Tenor:• The tenor is the highest male voice within the modal

register.

Baritone:

• The Baritone is the most common type of male voice.

• The tessitura of the baritone is lower than that of the tenor and higher than that of the bass.

Bass:

• The bass is the lowest male voice. • Bass tessitura: The bass voice has the lowest

tessitura of all the voices.

MALE VOICES

TENOR BARITONE BASS

L.PAVAROTTI LEO NUCCI NICOLAI GHIAUROV

RANGE

ACTIVITY: Listen to both fragments and choose which kind of voice is.

Audition 1: a) Soprano b) Mezzosoprano c) Contralto Solution: ______________

Audition 2 : a) Tenor b) Baritone c) Bass

Solution: ______________

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VOCAL GROUP• Mixed choirs (with male and female voices). This is perhaps the

most common type, usually consisting of soprano, alto, tenor and bass voices.

• Male choirs, with the same voicing as mixed choirs, but with boys singing. This format is typical of British cathedralchoirs.

• Female choirs, usually consisting of soprano and alto voices, two parts in each.

• Children's choirs, often two-part SA or three-part SSA, sometimes more voices. This includes boys’ choirs.

ACTIVITY: Listen to both fragments and choose which kind of Vocal group is.

• Audition 1: a) Mixed choir b) Male choir c) Children´s choir

Solution: ______________

• Audition 2 : a) Female choir b) Male choir c) Mixed choir

Solution: ______________