Cool Stuff > Music

Singing Voices

A singing voice is classified by how high or low a performer naturally sings.

Male Voices

ClassificationRangeExample
basslowSamuel Ramey
baritonemiddleBryn Terfel
tenorhighLuciano Pavarotti
countertenorhighestDaniel Taylor

Female Voices

ClassificationRangeExample
contralto (or “alto”)lowMarian Anderson
mezzo-sopranomiddleCecilia Bartoli
sopranohighJessye Norman

Music

Fact Monster/Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Families of Musical InstrumentsMusicMost Played Songs on the Radio, 2006

More on Singing Voices from Fact Monster:

  • yodel - yodel yodel or yodle, type of wordless singing, joyous in nature, usually associated with the ...
  • voice, sound produced by living beings: Bibliography - Bibliography See D. Stevens, ed., A History of Song (1960); R. Luchsinger and G. E. Arnold, Voice, ...
  • alto - alto alto, singing voice the range of which is lower than the soprano by the interval of a fifth. ...
  • countertenor - countertenor countertenor, a male singing voice in the alto range. Singing in this range requires ...
  • Eddie Cantor - Cantor, Eddie Cantor, Eddie, 1892–1964, American entertainer, b. New York City, originally ...