- Most singers start their vocal journey
with a primal question:
"Who am I?"
We all want to know who we are
and what sets us apart as individual voices.
Now, a part of this discovery process is determining
what voice classification you fall into.
Now, in contemporary singing, voice classification
has limited use, but it can be helpful
when learning what to expect from your God-given anatomy.
- (Woman) Sound check. (guitar strumming)
Check one, check two. (audience cheering)
(upbeat music)
- Hey there, my name is Dr. Dan
and welcome to Voice Essentials
where we develop your voice and improve your sound.
Voice classification is a helpful tool
when seeking to identify yours
or someone else's general voice type.
Most people typically think of voice types
as falling into one of four categories:
Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Bass.
These four basic types are derived from choral compositions,
and sometimes, you'll hear these referred to as SATB.
If you want to join a SATB choir,
you'll generally need to slide into
one of the four groupings.
So, if you have a voice that is capable
of singing high notes with relative ease,
then as a female, you'd be classified as a Soprano,
and as a male, you'd be classified as a Tenor.
Equally, if your voice feels more comfortable singing
the lower pitches, your classification would be Alto,
if you're female and Bass if you're male.
Importantly, I'm only talking about adult voices
in today's video, so if you're younger than 16 or 17,
I'd advise having your voice classified
by your school choir director or a trained singing teacher.
Now, if you've had even the slightest amount
of singing experience,
you'd know that while the SATB classification is helpful
as a starting point, it falls rather short
of correctly categorizing many voices.
The human race simply doesn't fit neatly
into four little boxes.
- (Woman) Sound check.
(crowd cheering) (drums beating)
- Know the human race is far more diverse and nuanced,
so too are our voices.
When we approach voice classification
from a classical perspective,
we generally add three more classes:
Mezzo Soprano, which sits between Soprano and Alto,
Counter Tenor, the highest male classification,
and Baritone, which sits between Tenor and Bass.
In fact, it gets even more precise
with each seven classifications
being further divided into sub-categories.
For example, Tenor alone can be split
into a further six sub-divisions.
I'm not going to bore you with each and every one
because we'd be here all day,
and neither of us has time for that.
So, let's get back up and out of the rabbit hole
before we get lost and confused,
because I think we can settle for classifying us
as contemporary singers into six standardized types:
Soprano, Mezzo, Alto, Tenor, Baritone, and Bass.
- (Woman) Sound check.
(crowd cheering) (drums beating)
- One of the major hurdles that I face
with my singing students is their pre-established
perceptions of their voice type.
Many singers have a view of themselves and their voice.
Sometimes, these views are healthy and correct,
leading to efficient, expressive singing.
Sometimes however, our self-perception may result
in inefficient singing, which in turn can predispose
the voice to wear and tear.
I think we often observe this misalignment
in contemporary singers, because
many modern genres, like pop and rock,
are written for the two highest voice types,
Soprano and Tenor.
The problem here is the vast majority of singers
actually fall into the two middle classifications.
Now, anecdotally, it's been my observation
that about two thirds of women can be loosely
classified as Mezzo,
and approximately two thirds of men
can be grouped as Baritone.
Of course, this only continues to present a problem
if a singer insists on singing repertoire
that sits outside of their classification.
Always remember your anatomy can't change,
but the song can.
Yes, you can develop your technique
to more efficiently navigate the full potential
of your natural range,
but ultimately, your voice has a lower and an upper limit.
In one of my earlier videos, I discussed the concept
of altitude training for singers.
The idea that practicing songs in a higher key
can be helpful.
I'll leave a link below, so you can check it out later.
The concept that singing songs outside our comfortable range
is helpful as a limited practice tool,
but the moment you start expecting your voice
to regularly perform at a sustained, extreme level,
you place your voice at absolute risk of wear and tear.
So, when seeking to identify
what songs suit our individual voice,
we need to add one more variable to the equation.
The classical school calls this variable Fach.
- (Woman) Sound check.
(crowd cheering) (drums beating)
- The German term, Fach, is a system
for classifying voice types.
Loosely applied, the term Fach can be used to describe
the singer's prime voice.
You might also see the Italian word "tessitura"
employed in a similar way.
You see, each of us has around one octave,
which could be described as the sweet spot,
that place in your voice where you can sing all day long
with relative ease and comfort.
The implication of Fach or tessitura is the variable
that ultimately leads the classical school of voice
to categorize 29 sub-categories of voice type.
Again, we're not going to label them all today,
but knowing where your prime voice, your Fach,
lies within your total range
can be really helpful when choosing what to sing.
So, for example, my voice's Fach would see my voice
classified as Leggero.
The broad classification of Tenor is further refined
by my prime voice, which sits in the upper part
of my vocal range.
My voice type of Tenor, along with my Fach,
predisposed me to singing 70's and 80's rock
with greater ease than most.
But, equally, my high voice disadvantages me
when I want to sing repertoire like jazz,
which is often performed beautifully by baritones.
At the end of the day, it's all about embracing
who you are and exploring the expansive limitations
of your own voice type.
And for this reason, I'm going to stop short
of displaying the textbook notation for each voice type.
As I stated at the opening of today's video,
for contemporary singers,
voice classification has limited uses,
and I'm not keen for you to get bogged down
in what notes you should or shouldn't be able to reach.
I can assure you that if you workshop your voice
in a technical manner and if you intentionally
explore the extremities of your range
without driving the larynx too hard,
you'll achieve excellent outcomes vocally.
And, you'll also get a sense of where your voice sits,
relative to the six classifications
of Soprano, Mezzo, Alto, Tenor, Baritone, and Bass.
I hope today's video has been helpful.
Leave me a comment below identifying
your approximate voice type
along with your general Fach: Low, High, or Mid-range.
If this is your first ever Voice Essentials video,
welcome, thanks for clicking on the video.
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Hopefully, I'll see you in the next Voice Essentials video.
I'm Dr. Dan, sing well.
(crowd cheering)