A vocal range chart shows which notes each voice type commonly covers, from the lowest bass notes around E2 to the highest soprano notes around C6. Your vocal range is the range of tones your voice can produce, from your lowest note to your highest. The six standard voice types, from highest to lowest, are soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, tenor, baritone and bass.
Use the chart to see where each voice sits, then take the vocal range test to find your own lowest and highest notes and compare them with the bars below.
Complete Vocal Range Chart — All 6 Voice Types
| Voice type | Voice group | Note range | Frequency | Octave span | Typical timbre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soprano | Female | C4 – C6 | 262 – 1,047 Hz | 2 octaves | Bright, clear, soaring |
| Mezzo-Soprano | Female | A3 – A5 | 220 – 880 Hz | 2 octaves | Warm, rounded, versatile |
| Alto / Contralto | Female | F3 – F5 | 175 – 698 Hz | 2 octaves | Rich, dark, full low notes |
| Tenor | Male | C3 – C5 | 131 – 523 Hz | 2 octaves | Bright, ringing top notes |
| Baritone | Male | A2 – A4 | 110 – 440 Hz | 2 octaves | Warm, full middle voice |
| Bass | Male | E2 – E4 | 82 – 330 Hz | 2 octaves | Deep, dark, resonant |
These are the ranges most commonly cited for trained classical singers. They are conventions, not limits: sources differ by a few notes, choirs write narrower parts (see the SATB choir parts), and many singers go beyond both ends. Frequencies use standard tuning, where A4 = 440 Hz.
Which Vocal Range Chart Do You Need?
| You want to… | Use |
|---|---|
| Compare all six voice types on one chart | This page |
| See only female voices, including contralto, with average and trained ranges | Female vocal range chart |
| See only male voices, including countertenor | Male vocal range chart |
| Look up one note, its frequency and which voices reach it | Every note with its frequency |
How to Read the Vocal Range Chart
Note naming convention: notes are written as a letter plus an octave number. Middle C is C4, about 262 Hz. The number goes up by one at every C, so B3 sits directly below C4. Higher numbers mean higher pitch.
- C4 = middle C, the C near the centre of a piano keyboard
- A4 = 440 Hz, the note orchestras tune to
- C5 = one octave above middle C; C6 = two octaves above, the top of the soprano bar
- A2 = 110 Hz, two octaves below A4, low in the baritone and bass range
Octaves and semitones: an octave is 12 semitones, and each octave up doubles the frequency. Every bar on the chart spans two octaves (24 semitones). To read a range such as C3 to F5, count the octaves first (C3 to C5 is two), then the extra notes (C5 to F5 is five semitones). The result is two octaves and a fourth, 29 semitones in total. That range covers the whole tenor bar and reaches into the alto and mezzo-soprano bars, so range alone cannot tell you the voice type.
Want to see how high or low your own voice is in numbers? You can check your voice’s pitch in Hz.
Voice Types Highest to Lowest
From highest to lowest pitch: Soprano → Mezzo-Soprano → Alto → Tenor → Baritone → Bass.
In a four-part choir this becomes SATB: soprano, alto, tenor and bass, with mezzo-sopranos and baritones joining the nearest part. From the bottom of the bass bar (E2) to the top of the soprano bar (C6) is 44 semitones, almost four octaves (three octaves and a minor sixth). No single standard voice type covers all of it.
Female Voice Types
Soprano (C4 – C6)
The highest standard voice type. Sopranos usually carry the melody in choirs and sing most leading female roles in opera. The sound is bright and clear, and trained sopranos can often sing above C6. Maria Callas and Renée Fleming are well-known operatic sopranos; in pop, Ariana Grande is commonly described as a soprano. More detail in the soprano vocal range guide.
Mezzo-Soprano (A3 – A5)
The middle female voice, with a warm, rounded sound and a stronger lower middle than a soprano. Many pop and musical theatre singers spend most of their time in this range. Cecilia Bartoli is a famous operatic mezzo, and Adele is often described as a mezzo-soprano. See the mezzo-soprano range in detail.
Alto / Contralto (F3 – F5)
The lowest female voice. “Alto” is mainly a choir part, while “contralto” is the classical voice type; a true contralto has an unusually strong, dark low register. Marian Anderson was a celebrated contralto, and Amy Winehouse is commonly described as one. Read the alto range guide, or see how alto and contralto differ.
Male Voice Types
Tenor (C3 – C5)
The highest standard male voice, bright and ringing at the top. Tenors often sing the melody in pop and rock and the heroic roles in opera. Luciano Pavarotti is the classic operatic example; Bruno Mars is commonly described as a tenor. More in the tenor range and notes.
Baritone (A2 – A4)
The middle male voice, and the one most often described as the most common male type. It sounds warm and full, and a lot of popular music for men sits comfortably in this range. Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley are usually classed as baritones. See the baritone range and subtypes.
Bass (E2 – E4)
The lowest standard male voice, deep and resonant. In choirs the bass line supports the harmony. Operatic basses such as Feodor Chaliapin sang in this range, while low pop voices like Barry White and Johnny Cash are usually described as bass-baritones. More in the bass voice guide.
Beyond the Six: Countertenor and Opera Subtypes
- Countertenor: a male singer who sings in roughly the alto or mezzo-soprano range, mostly in head voice or falsetto. The range is commonly cited as about G3 to E5.
- Extreme types: a coloratura soprano can sing well above C6, and a basso profundo or a Russian oktavist can sing below E2.
Opera houses also split each type into subtypes by weight and agility, for example lyric, dramatic and coloratura sopranos, or bass-baritones. This is the German Fach system, and it is why opera vocal ranges look more detailed than a six-type chart.
How Do Voice Types Compare to Each Other?
| Voice types | Shared notes | Key difference |
|---|---|---|
| Soprano vs Mezzo | C4 – A5 | Soprano sits higher and sounds brighter; mezzo is warmer and stronger in the lower middle |
| Mezzo vs Alto | A3 – F5 | Mezzo is lighter at the top; alto is darker, with a heavier low register |
| Alto vs Tenor | F3 – C5 | Similar pitches, different voices: an alto sings them in the lower middle of a female voice, a tenor at the top of a male voice |
| Tenor vs Baritone | C3 – A4 | Tenor is comfortable higher and sounds brighter; baritone is warmer in the middle |
| Baritone vs Bass | A2 – E4 | Baritone is lighter and sits higher; bass is darker and stronger at the bottom |
Overlap is normal. Neighbouring types share most of their notes, which is why a chart alone cannot decide your type.
Vocal Range vs Voice Type
Your vocal range is every note you can sing. Your voice type is where your voice works best. Teachers classify voices with several factors, and range is only one of them:
- Tessitura: the notes you can sing comfortably for a whole song. Two singers with the same range can have different tessituras; read how tessitura works.
- Timbre: the colour of the voice, from bright to dark and light to heavy.
- Passaggio: the notes where your voice shifts between registers. They fall at different pitches in different voice types.
- Comfort and stamina: touching a high note once does not make you a soprano or a tenor, and one low note does not make you a bass.
Voice type is not fixed for life either. It can shift a little with training, age and health, and teenage voices, especially boys’ voices, change a lot. The labels describe how a voice behaves, and in contemporary styles many singers move between them.
Once you know your range, identify your voice type with a test that looks at comfort as well as extremes.
Vocal Registers on the Chart
A register is a group of notes produced in the same way. The four commonly named registers, from lowest to highest, are:
- Vocal fry: a low, creaky sound below the normal speaking range.
- Modal register: your normal voice, including chest voice, head voice and the mix between them. The ranges on this chart are measured here.
- Falsetto: a lighter, breathier sound above the modal register, heard most in male voices.
- Whistle register: the highest register, used mainly by sopranos, mostly above C6.
Fry and whistle notes are not usually counted in a voice type’s range. That is why the published ranges of some famous singers look much wider than the six-type chart.
Average vs Professional Vocal Ranges
| Voice type | Comfortable untrained range | Trained range |
|---|---|---|
| Soprano | C4 – G5 | C4 – C6+ |
| Mezzo-Soprano | A3 – E5 | A3 – A5 |
| Alto | F3 – C5 | F3 – F5 |
| Tenor | C3 – G4 | C3 – C5+ |
| Baritone | A2 – F4 | A2 – A4 |
| Bass | E2 – C4 | E2 – E4 |
These are rough guides, not measurements. An untrained singer usually sings comfortably across a narrower span inside their type, and training mostly adds control and ease at the top and bottom. For typical octave spans, see how many octaves the average singer covers.
Find Your Voice Type
Not sure where you fit? Work through these steps:
- Warm up gently, then check your own range with the free vocal range test. It uses your microphone to find your lowest and highest notes.
- If your top note is unclear, find your highest comfortable note separately.
- Sing a few notes in the middle of your range and name each note as you sing it. Mark where singing feels easiest.
- Compare both your full range and your easy zone with the six bars on the chart above.
Test on two or three different days. Results change with warm-up, time of day and tiredness.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the 6 main vocal range types?
Soprano, mezzo-soprano and alto for female voices, and tenor, baritone and bass for male voices. These six are the standard classifications used in classical training, opera and choirs.
What is the most common vocal range?
There is no reliable count. Baritone is widely described as the most common male voice. For women, sources disagree: choirs often have the most sopranos, while many voice teachers say untrained female voices most often sit in the mezzo-soprano range.
Which vocal range is the rarest?
True contraltos and true basses are usually described as the rarest of the six standard types, and countertenors are rarer still. No reliable percentages exist.
Which voice type has the widest range?
On this chart all six types span about two octaves. Very wide ranges belong to individual singers, not to a type: some professional singers are widely reported to cover four or five octaves when fry and whistle notes are included.
How many octaves can a singer have?
Most people can sing about two octaves, and trained singers often reach around three. Four octaves or more is rare. The chart itself runs from E2 to C6, almost four octaves across all six types together.
What is above soprano and below bass?
No standard type sits above soprano; the highest notes belong to coloratura sopranos and the whistle register. Below bass are the basso profundo and the oktavist, heard mainly in Russian Orthodox choirs.
How do I find my voice type?
Measure your full range, find the part of it where singing feels easiest, and match both to the chart. Range gives you the candidates; comfort, tone and where your voice changes gear decide between them.