The Choir

Soprano / Alto

n music, a Soprano  is a singer with a voice ranging approximately from the A below middle C to high C two octaves above middle C (i.e. A3-C6). Some sopranoes can go much higher, up to C7! In four part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, and will usually take the melody. The word "soprano" generally refers to a female singer of this highest vocal range and to her voice. Male singers whose voices have not changed are known either as "boy sopranos" or, in the Anglican and English Catholic traditions, as trebles. Some adult male singers use a special technique without using falsetto in order to sing in this high range, and they are known as sopranistas. Historically women were not allowed to sing in the Church, so the soprano roles were given to young boys, and later to castrati, who were men whose larynxes had been fixed in a pre-adolescent state.

In music, an Alto is a singer with a vocal range somewhere between a tenor and a mezzo-soprano. The term is used to refer to the deepest female singing voice, or the highest male voice. A typical alto will have a range from around the F below middle C to the D a ninth above middle C (i.e. F3-D5); at the bottom of their range, altos sound almost like tenors. Some altos have even larger ranges; from the C below middle C to the C two octaves above (C3-C6 if middle C is C4). In four part choral harmony, the alto is the second highest voice. Altos originally sang from music written in the alto clef, but now use the treble clef.

Although both men and women may have voices in the alto range, the word is usually used to mean a female singer. However, choirs singing early music frequently include adult male altos, also called countertenors. In English church usage, the term alto is sometimes exclusively used to mean a boy with this range, while contralto is used for a female singer. However, this is not done consistently, and for most practical purposes, alto and contralto can be thought of as synonyms (the phrase "boy alto" can be used if there is a chance of misunderstanding). A few popular music enthusiasts define the contralto and alto separately, as the contralto having an especially dark range, from the D above low C to Tenor C, which is essentially a female of tenor range, while alto is a voice with a range from F below middle C to the F an eleventh above middle C, and is closer to the mezzo-soprano. The majority however define contralto and alto as synonyms, and assign the adjectives light and dark, with a dark alto being a female of tenor range, while a light alto, commonly referred to as simply alto, to include mezzo-sopranos as well.

In medieval polyphony the principal voice was the tenor. When additional voices were added, they were called contratenor, "against the tenor." When two such voices were added they were called contratenor alto and contratenor bassus, indicating high and low respectively. So alto essentially means high voice.

Contraltos are fairly rare in opera (and in general), since there is very little work that was written specifically for them. Most of the time, contralto roles are limited to maids, mothers and grandmothers, but they do occasionally get notable roles, with witches being the most common ourtside of the three former roles.

NOTE: In most cases, it is not possible to find a reputable source for the vocal range of pop singers. It must be noted that in the pop world, the vocal range of a singer is often artificially enhanced.

Top Ten reasons for being a Soprano

10. The rest of the choir exists just to make you look good.

9. You can entertain your friends by breaking their wine glasses.

8. Can you name an opera where an alto got the man?

7. When sopranos want to sing in the shower, they know the tune.

6. It's not like you're ever going to sing the alto part by accident.

5. Great costumes - like the hat with the horns on it.

4. How many world famous altos can you name?

3. When the fat lady sings, she's usually singing soprano.

2. When you get tired of singing the tune, you can sing the descant.

1. You can sing along with Michael Jackson.

Top Ten reasons for being an Alto

10. You get really good at singing an E flat.

9. You get to sing the same note for 12 consecutive bars.

8. You don't really need to warm up to sing 12 consecutive bars of E flat.

7. If the choir is rough, it's unlikely the altos will be blamed

6. You have lots of time to chat during soprano solos.

5. You get to pretend that you are better than the sopranos, because everybody knows that women

      only sing soprano so they don't have to learn to read music.

4. You can sometimes find part-time work singing tenor.

3. Altos get all the great intervals.

2. When the sopranos are holding some outrageously high note at the end of a piece, the altos

     always get the last words.

1. When the altos miss a note, nobody gets hurt.