This video is all about the baritone singer, why we use the term baritone, what is the vocal range
of a baritone singer? how to find your voice part if you have a baritone voice, and if you wait till
the end of this video I'm going to give you some great examples of baritone singers to listen to.
Now the baritone singer refers to a male singer who sings below the range of a tenor, but above
the range of a bass and if you're not sure what a vocal range is or classification check out this
link and it will explain to you that terminology in very simple terms. The etymology or origin of
the word baritone comes from the ancient greek word 'baritonus' if we break up that word we see
two different words. We see 'bari' which means 'heavy' and we also see the word 'tonus' which
means 'tone'. So together we have 'heavy tone', baritone! which fits perfectly with the baritone
singer, because they have such a rich low tone. The typical voice range or parameter of a baritone
singer ranges from G2 all the way up to G4, but do remember that this is just a approximate parameter
and depending on age, health, ability, training you could go higher or lower than that range.
Also keep in mind that there are different subcategories of the baritone voice. You can have
lyric baritone, you can have dramatic and there's also another voice called the bari-tenor, which I
will talk about in another video, but today just for the purpose of keeping things simple I'm going
to talk about the baritone in general terms. So next, let's look at where to find your part
if you are a baritone singer. When you look at sheet music, when singing solo, you will
likely have music which displays the baritone part on the treble clef on the top line. It's
pretty common that the baritone part is written an octave above what it's actually meant to be sung,
so that it's written on the treble clef. In music from the past you'll sometimes see the treble clef
showing a little figure eight which indicates that the music is sung up the octave, however nowadays
that's usually omitted because it's just so common that you assume that you're singing up the octave.
In choir music I hope I can help a little bit, because it can be a little confusing
with the baritone singer and where they're meant to sing. the typical rule of thumb is that in SATB
or TTBB or TB arrangements the baritone singer defaults as the bass part, although you may feel
slightly weak singing those lower notes. There will be hopefully other bass singers in the choir
who can boost those low notes and balance out the choir sound. If you sing tenor in any of these
parts then you might just find that you're a tenor are not a baritone. Choir composers typically
write the bass part to cater to both the baritone and the base singer. As a baritone in a TB or
tenor-bass score you will double with the bass singers. In a TTBB or tenor-tenor-bass-bass there
are two bass parts and this is where you will definitely choose the higher option. Sometimes
it can be listed as 'bass 1' or sometimes it can be labeled as 'baritone'. If there
are four vocal parts, which are split into four different staves, you will sing the third line,
second from the bottom and if both parts share a line then you will sing the higher of the notes
or stems up, but keep in mind that when there's only one note that means you're singing in unison
with the bass singers! In SATB arrangements you will double with bass and sing the lowest part
that is written and in two lines you will sing the lowest note, stems down in this situation.
Yes, that's a little confusing, the baritone sometimes has to be a bit of a chameleon
going in between singing the first bass baseline or just the baseline so sometimes you're looking
in different areas. So how do you know if you're a bass singer? the first suggestion I have is to get
a keyboard app or a online piano which shows the notes and their octaves. I've listed these below
if you want some links and I would go through your range slowly. So start somewhere where you
feel comfortable and then move all the way down until you stop singing, but make sure that you're
not pushing your voice forcing a sound, it's just where you sit comfortably and then move
all the way up to the top of your range make sure you take a pencil and write this down as you go.
I do suggest doing this with a music professional or someone who might be familiar with piano
or confident with music, but if you don't have that just do it yourself and don't panic if
you sing lower than that or higher than that, or you can't even get more than four or five notes!
It's just checking where you are, don't get too hung up on parameters and labels,
just meet your voice where it is now and if that's too tricky take some time and listen to
some baritone singers and see if you identify or can sing along with any of them. I found so many
examples of baritone voices in pop music there is Michael Buble you have Chris Martin from Coldplay
you have John Mayer you also have Nat King Cole and Elvis and although sometimes we feel
that the musical theater industry is run by tenors and belters, don't worry there are roles for
baritones! actually a lot of roles! Some examples they found were rRcky Balboa from Rocky the
musical, there was also Jackie Elliott who plays Billy Elliot's father in Billy Elliot the musical
and Edward Bloom the lead of Big Fish. So are you a baritone singer? what's your range? or
are you not sure? Let me know in the comments below, give me the thumbs up and until next time,
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