Difference between Vocal Ranges and Vocal Types

What is the difference between Vocal Ranges and Vocal Types?

• Vocal Range: the distance between your highest note and the lowest note

• Vocal Type: a specific kind of voice that has common characteristics and qualities such as vocal range, vocal registration, vocal weight, vocal tessitura(best range), timbre, vocal transition points between the vocal registers, vocal register, etc.

As you have a specific clothing size that fits your body type, you also have a range that fits your voice type. You probably saw a pitch control that changes keys at karaoke before. You won't look so great in wrong size clothing and this is the same in singing as well. So let's figure out your range(the distance between the highest and lowest notes).

So what is the highest note & also the lowest note you can sing? The easiest way to find it out is matching your voice with the piano as you play from the middle C (C4) to the highest you can go up, and also from the middle C (C4) to the lowest you can go down.

The gap between your highest note and your lowest note will be your vocal range!

On the other hand vocal types are not only determined by vocal range but also determined by other factors including vocal tessitura(the most comfortable range), characteristic sound, timber, vocal register, etc.

There are usually 6 different vocal types that use common vocal ranges as I laid them out on the piano for you here.

Women: Soprano(high), Mezzo-soprano(middle), Alto(low)

Men: Tenor(high), Baritone(middle), Bass(low)

I hope this clears out the confusion between vocal Ranges and vocal Types...

In the next lesson I'll talk about the 'the cause of singing off key' and how to fix the problem~

Happy Singing and Playing the Piano, Hun!

Difference between Vocal Ranges and Vocal Type