Idedntifying Your Vocal Range

Once the lyrics are written and the melody is complete, it is important to obtain the perfect vocal accompaniment. How exactly do you go about finding your vocal range? Any choir director or trained vocalist can help or, if you have access to a piano, you can follow these basic steps toward finding your perfect pitch:

1. Identify your top and bottom pitches using an accompanist and a recently tuned piano.
2. Sing the first five notes of the D-major scale going up and down, using the words one-two-three-four-five-four-three-two-one.
3. Breathe deeply and relax. Sing the same pitches on me-oh-my-oh-me-oh-my-oh-me. Hold the top and final pitch.
4. Have the pianist change the scale by moving up one half-step, playing the E-flat major scale.
5. Repeat steps three and four in this new key. Continue moving up scales a half-step at a time, relaxing your jaw and tongue. Avoid straining your throat or tensing your neck.
6. Produce the top note of this exercise in F-flat major. The pitch is C. If this pitch is at your highest comfort level, C is the top of your vocal range.
7. Continue your vocal ascent as your comfort level allows without pinching the sound. The pianist can identify your uppermost notes as well as your degree of ease.
8. Start on the note G and reverse this exercise by singing five-four-three-two-one-two-three-four-five in the C-major key.
9. Identify your lowest note in the same manner. The lowest note must clearly resonate. Your vocal range will grow slowly with wise guidance, regular practice and continual care.

Vocal Ranges
The different types of vocal ranges for women are known as soprano, mezzo-soprano and contralto. The vocal ranges for a male singer are know as sopranist, alto, tenor, baritenor, baritone, bass-baritone and bass. These varying vocal levels are known as a singer's tessitura.

The word soprano refers to a female singer with the highest vocal range, singing from the A below middle C to the high C two octaves above middle C. An octave is a measurement of seven notes above or below a certain point. Aptly named, middle C is the central key on a piano. Young male singers, whose voices have not yet changed, are called boy sopranos. When adult male singers, called sopranists, sing within this high vocal range, it is called a falsetto.

A mezzo-soprano is a female singer with a vocal range extending from the A note directly below middle C to the A two octaves above. Mezzo-sopranos have a darker and richer vocal tone than regular sopranos. These vocalists lie between soprano and contralto.

A contralto, also known as an alto, is the deepest singing voice for a female and one of the highest singing voices for a male. An alto has a vocal range from the F note below middle C to the E note a tenth above middle C.

A tenor is a male singer with a high vocal range. A typical tenor will have a range extending from the C below middle C to the C above middle C.

A baritenor is a male voice whose tessitura lies between the baritone and the tenor. In classical music, the term is used to describe male vocal students who are uncertain about how their voice will mature. It is rarely used to describe an adult voice.

Baritone is the most common type of adult male voice. It is typically in the range between the A note one octave and a third below middle C to the F note above middle C.

A bass-baritone is distinguished by two attributes. First, it must be capable of singing comfortably in a baritonal tessitura. It must also have the resonant lower range typically associated with the bass. It covers the range of F-sharp above middle C to the F below the bass clef.

A bass is a male singer with the human voice's lowest vocal range. A typical bass has a vocal range extending from the F below the bottom of the bass clef to the E above middle C.