i know it is a very stupid question really. 
can anyone told me the voice range of soprano, alto, tenor and bass please. i am going to compose a popular song for one of my gcse composition so i really need the voice ranges to do it.
Full Version: The Range Of Voice
i know it is a very stupid question really. can anyone told me the voice range of soprano, alto, tenor and bass please. i am going to compose a popular song for one of my gcse composition so i really need the voice ranges to do it.
Not a stupid question at all .....
Keep to fairly standard ranges for your composition and you're unlikely to go wrong, so approx -
soprano - middle C to A above the stave
alto - F below middle C to D or E towards the top of the treble stave
tenor - C below middle C to G above middle C
bass - F below the bottom line of the bass stave to about middle C or D.
You will meet people who will be able to sing outside those limits, eg basses who can sing below F, or sopranos who can go way above A, altos who can sing a G or an A. But these are fairly safe workable ranges which will be useful to keep in mind.
Hope this is useful.
Keep to fairly standard ranges for your composition and you're unlikely to go wrong, so approx -
soprano - middle C to A above the stave
alto - F below middle C to D or E towards the top of the treble stave
tenor - C below middle C to G above middle C
bass - F below the bottom line of the bass stave to about middle C or D.
You will meet people who will be able to sing outside those limits, eg basses who can sing below F, or sopranos who can go way above A, altos who can sing a G or an A. But these are fairly safe workable ranges which will be useful to keep in mind.
Hope this is useful.
QUOTE(maggiemay @ Jul 31 2005, 04:10 PM)
Not a stupid question at all .....
Keep to fairly standard ranges for your composition and you're unlikely to go wrong, so approx -
soprano - middle C to A above the stave
alto - F below middle C to D or E towards the top of the treble stave
tenor - C below middle C to G above middle C
bass - F below the bottom line of the bass stave to about middle C or D.
You will meet people who will be able to sing outside those limits, eg basses who can sing below F, or sopranos who can go way above A, altos who can sing a G or an A. But these are fairly safe workable ranges which will be useful to keep in mind.
Hope this is useful.
Keep to fairly standard ranges for your composition and you're unlikely to go wrong, so approx -
soprano - middle C to A above the stave
alto - F below middle C to D or E towards the top of the treble stave
tenor - C below middle C to G above middle C
bass - F below the bottom line of the bass stave to about middle C or D.
You will meet people who will be able to sing outside those limits, eg basses who can sing below F, or sopranos who can go way above A, altos who can sing a G or an A. But these are fairly safe workable ranges which will be useful to keep in mind.
Hope this is useful.
Male singers should be able to do a little more than this at top end. Basses are regularly asked to sing an F, F#
QUOTE(George Burrell @ Aug 1 2005, 04:28 AM)
QUOTE(maggiemay @ Jul 31 2005, 04:10 PM)
Not a stupid question at all .....
Keep to fairly standard ranges for your composition and you're unlikely to go wrong, so approx -
soprano - middle C to A above the stave
alto - F below middle C to D or E towards the top of the treble stave
tenor - C below middle C to G above middle C
bass - F below the bottom line of the bass stave to about middle C or D.
You will meet people who will be able to sing outside those limits, eg basses who can sing below F, or sopranos who can go way above A, altos who can sing a G or an A. But these are fairly safe workable ranges which will be useful to keep in mind.
Hope this is useful.
Keep to fairly standard ranges for your composition and you're unlikely to go wrong, so approx -
soprano - middle C to A above the stave
alto - F below middle C to D or E towards the top of the treble stave
tenor - C below middle C to G above middle C
bass - F below the bottom line of the bass stave to about middle C or D.
You will meet people who will be able to sing outside those limits, eg basses who can sing below F, or sopranos who can go way above A, altos who can sing a G or an A. But these are fairly safe workable ranges which will be useful to keep in mind.
Hope this is useful.
Male singers should be able to do a little more than this at top end. Basses are regularly asked to sing an F, F#
Basses up to F / F# above middle C?? Some may but most of the basses I've known would struggle to produce a decent sound up here. It may be feasible if you know your singers, but if I were writing for unkown basses I wouldn't go above E, and for an academic excercise I 'd probably play a bit safer still and keep to D / Eb.
QUOTE(maggiemay @ Jul 31 2005, 05:10 PM)
Not a stupid question at all .....
Keep to fairly standard ranges for your composition and you're unlikely to go wrong, so approx -
soprano - middle C to A above the stave
alto - F below middle C to D or E towards the top of the treble stave
tenor - C below middle C to G above middle C
bass - F below the bottom line of the bass stave to about middle C or D.
You will meet people who will be able to sing outside those limits, eg basses who can sing below F, or sopranos who can go way above A, altos who can sing a G or an A. But these are fairly safe workable ranges which will be useful to keep in mind.
Hope this is useful.
Keep to fairly standard ranges for your composition and you're unlikely to go wrong, so approx -
soprano - middle C to A above the stave
alto - F below middle C to D or E towards the top of the treble stave
tenor - C below middle C to G above middle C
bass - F below the bottom line of the bass stave to about middle C or D.
You will meet people who will be able to sing outside those limits, eg basses who can sing below F, or sopranos who can go way above A, altos who can sing a G or an A. But these are fairly safe workable ranges which will be useful to keep in mind.
Hope this is useful.
thank you so much for helping!
Oh ! you're very welcome. I'm pleased if it helped. 
that is absolutely not a stupid question- its so awesome that ur curious about singing- everyone should sing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
just one more note- it also depends on which part you feel comfortable singing in for which group you consider yourself in- even if you can sing up to like a high D but don't feel like you'd rather not- go ahead and be an alto- there is no real fine line to what you have to be
just one more note- it also depends on which part you feel comfortable singing in for which group you consider yourself in- even if you can sing up to like a high D but don't feel like you'd rather not- go ahead and be an alto- there is no real fine line to what you have to be
QUOTE(maggiemay @ Aug 1 2005, 02:10 AM)
QUOTE(George Burrell @ Aug 1 2005, 04:28 AM)
QUOTE(maggiemay @ Jul 31 2005, 04:10 PM)
Not a stupid question at all .....
Keep to fairly standard ranges for your composition and you're unlikely to go wrong, so approx -
soprano -  middle C to A above the stave
alto -  F below middle C to D or E towards the top of the treble stave
tenor  -  C below middle C to G above middle C
bass  -  F below the bottom line of the bass stave to about middle C or D.
You will meet people who will be able to sing outside those limits, eg basses who can sing below F, or sopranos who can go way above A, altos who can sing a G or an A. But these are fairly safe workable ranges which will be useful to keep in mind.
Hope this is useful.
Keep to fairly standard ranges for your composition and you're unlikely to go wrong, so approx -
soprano -  middle C to A above the stave
alto -  F below middle C to D or E towards the top of the treble stave
tenor  -  C below middle C to G above middle C
bass  -  F below the bottom line of the bass stave to about middle C or D.
You will meet people who will be able to sing outside those limits, eg basses who can sing below F, or sopranos who can go way above A, altos who can sing a G or an A. But these are fairly safe workable ranges which will be useful to keep in mind.
Hope this is useful.
Male singers should be able to do a little more than this at top end. Basses are regularly asked to sing an F, F#
Basses up to F / F# above middle C?? Some may but most of the basses I've known would struggle to produce a decent sound up here. It may be feasible if you know your singers, but if I were writing for unkown basses I wouldn't go above E, and for an academic excercise I 'd probably play a bit safer still and keep to D / Eb.
my father and I once did the duet "All I ask of you" from Phantom- even though he his a bass- in that song the male is required to hit an E flat- he struggled but he could still manage
The ranges given in this thread are the textbook ones which are very comfortably within most singers' ranges. As a rule, you can go a bit higher/lower than this if you're writing for solo voice, but these are pretty much right when it comes to choral music.
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