How to find your vocal range & voice type
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Last updated Wondering why some songs are easy to sing while others are almost impossible?
It’s because each song is written for a specific voice, one that’s capable of reaching a certain low note and a certain high note.
Using this guide, you’ll identify your own vocal range and voice type then choose from over 5,500 songs from more than 300 artists that we’ve categorised by voice type.
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What is a vocal range?
A vocal range is simply the range of notes that a vocalist can sing from the very lowest to the very highest.
What is a voice type?
A voice type is a group of voices that have similar vocal ranges and transition points. The three most common voice types for females are soprano, mezzo-soprano and contralto, while the three common male voice types are tenor, baritone and bass.
Identifying your vocal range and voice type
Find yours with an app
Some people will want to understand the theory while others just want a quick and easy answer. This method is for the latter. There’s a handy and free app that will do the heavy lifting for you on either iPhone or Android.
We’re not affiliated with this app, we just think it does a great job. It’s called Vocal Range – Pitch Detector, here’s the link for Android and here’s the link for Apple iOS.
Just install the app and then sing your lowest note all the way up to your highest note (but don’t go right into falsetto, stay in chest voice), and it will tell you your vocal range and voice type.
Now you can skip the theory (if you wish), find your voice type and start browsing hundreds of matching songs!
Find yours using music theory and a piano
To understand what a vocal range is in terms of music theory, we need to touch on a few basics.
The entire musical scale is just 12 notes repeated in lower and higher pitches called octaves. The best way to visualise this is by thinking of a piano. The white keys on a piano are the seven notes A, B, C, D, E, F and G, and the remaining five notes in the musical scale are the black keys which are sharps or flats.
To write down a note without the musical stave (staff in the UK) it’s necessary to provide both the name of the note and its octave. To achieve this a number is added at the end of the note to pinpoint the position of its octave on a piano.
The first note on a piano is A and its octave has been given the number zero. So, as you can see in the diagram below, that first A note is A0 and the next repetition of A is labeled A1.
If you have a piano, sing your lowest note and find that same note on the piano and write down its name. After doing the same for your highest singing note (not including falsetto) you’ll be able to use our definitions below to identify your voice type and starting looking through hundreds of matching songs.
Choose from over 5,500 songs
We’ve classified over 5,500 songs from more than 300 artists by voice type so you can quickly choose from a list of songs that you’ll be able to sing. Simply find your voice type below and follow the link through to our matching list of songs.
Female voice types
Soprano
The soprano is the highest of the three most common female voice types.
Vocal range: approximately C4 to C6.
Three famous sopranos: Mariah Carey, Celine Dion and Sarah Brightman.
Mezzo-Soprano
Mezzo-Soprano or mezzo is the female voice type between soprano and contralto.
Vocal range: approximately A3 to A5.
Three famous mezzo-sopranos: Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Whitney Houston.
Contralto
Contralto is the lowest of the common female voice types.
Vocal range: approximately F3 to F5.
Three famous mezzo-sopranos: Tracy Chapman, Annie Lennox and Toni Braxton.
Male voice types
Tenor
The tenor classification is the highest of the common male voice types.
Vocal range: approximately C3 to C5.
Three famous tenors: Justin Timberlake, Ed Sheeran and Freddie Mercury.
Baritone
Baritone is the most common male voice type. It’s in between tenor and bass.
Vocal range: approximately A2 to A4.
Three famous tenors: Elvis Presley, John Legend and Eddie Vedder.
Bass
Bass singers are capable of singing at the lowest of the male registers.
Vocal range: approximately E2 to E4.
Three famous tenors: Louis Armstrong, Leonard Cohen and Barry White.
Final thoughts on voice types and vocal ranges
Now you know your voice type and your vocal range. Singing, in all its forms, will be far easier from this moment forward.
We’ll leave you with one last tip. You don’t need to be confined to songs that match your voice type. Instead, you can change the key of songs for other voice types to make them the right range for you.
Do you have something to add? Or would you just like to say hello? Please leave us a comment below.
Image credits
Annie Lennox via Flickr
Adele creative commons
Rihanna via Flickr
John Legend via Flickr
All other images are in the public domain.
