i have the same thing! i am good at singing when i sing sam smith songs and some deeper sections of beyoncé and adele but whenever i try and sing any female ‘easy’ songs i really felt like i was straining to hit even the easy notes
Sorry to jump on this from months ago but this definitely sounds like me too! I'm having a little trouble in the choir I'm in at the moment because they just have soprano, alto.... and the guys but I find it much more comfortable singing the guys bit. :/
Both of my parents were singers and musicians. My mom tested me as a contralto when I was around age 16. She was impressed. She did tell me it was a rare vocal range. But then I never trained. Just sang a lot. Now, at 60, I want to develop my voice for my own enjoyment. Always had stage fright, anyway.
Wow! Thank you for sharing, I’m happy you are rediscovering you voice !! I’m so jealous you had musical parents. My parents didn’t think singing was a real instrument and I took me to get my degree until I convinced them!!! I hope you learn to overcome your stage fright, it is common to have it thought xxx
I too have always felt more comfortable singing lower keys (I’m sure I’m a contra alto). I always felt like something was wrong with me because most pop songs I enjoy ‘singing’ are challenging- (now Karen Carpenter low notes are a breeze for me). I realize now that they are just not in my range. I too would love to also have voice lessons ( almost 60 myself). Something to do for ‘me.’ But how to find the right teacher has been the challenge.
I started singing bluegrass. You don't need to audition. You just show up to a jam. The expectation is you play an instrument used in bluegrass. You don't need to sing. You do need to play. Still one way to get out there. If you sing well, playing will be the problem. And I have stage fright too but it's amazing how well you might sing if you embarrass yourself at the get go. Then you're free. The problem is, though, you still have to play.
Me too would love voice lessons at 63. I always sang Alto, 2nd alto or Tenor in junior high school, high school, college and church choirs. I was never labled contraalto.@@kuvasz93
That explains a lot. My vocal teacher kept insisting I was an alto but I've always been able to sing a lot lower and could never get to the higher range that altos should be able to sing. Thank you.
This is the issue I had in school lol and the one time in musical theatre that I was able to get a higher note than normal I actually lost my voice for almost 24hrs and since then I haven't been able to get "high notes" except in some random songs for example Pink's who knew and Dolly Parton's chorus on Hard Candy Christmas idk if they actually are high they just sound high so I was surprised I could get those notes especially the dolly one coz she has said in numerous interviews that she's a soprano singer xxx
I always found alto an awkard range to sing in, but could sing soprano fairly well. However, when in choir at University, there were enough sopranos and altos and only two male tenors. So, knowing my vocal range, I offered to fill out their section, and it worked out fine ':D Guess that makes me a contralto. I still sing songs an octave lower to make it more comfortable for me, though I can get up in the higher mezzo range if I cared to.
@@Tyler_Mills26exactly each time i try to sing like an alto i end up loosing my voice for sometime. My music teacher always said i should sing make part cause it would spoil my voice he never knew i was contralto. I was always forced to sing alto but i was never feeling comfortable at it
@@TamaraNozik Yes, thank you . Just today furst time in my life i went to sing and they gave me a paer of tenors. To sing with men was so easy. I love singing and have a strong and deep voice , i was always trying to sing high notes and was not able to, so I was shy of it and did not sing at all. Please , advice us good songs for low female voices. And thank you again for such helpful video. I was almost crying that all my life i was shy to sing.
@@avonalim3617 I'm so happy to hear that you love to sing and how wonderful to have a strong deep voice. I will have to make a video of repertoire for low female singers! I'm so happy that you are starting to become more confident singing. How wonderful!
That only means that you have worked too much on the chest register and you will need a teacher to develop the head register. If you really want to sing, try to work slowly with someone who teaches you, for you won't be able to do it yourself; your higher notes might get lost for good if you don't work on it. But you don't have to worry; it also depends on the repertoire that you want to sing. Italian technique proves to be one of the best; it will keep your chest voice, and since there is a parallelism between high and low notes, as soon as you work on the high ones, the low notes will get even bigger!!
I'm definitely a contralto. I've always found the "male" notes to be far more comfortable. Which is why I'm typically disappointed with most of the vocal lessons I've come across. They tend to split things into "male" and "female" notes with the assumption that women sing high and men sing low. As a result it took unnecessarily long for me to find my comfortable range. I wish instead of the "male" / " female" distinction it was a high and low notes distinction. I'm sure this is something which troubles countertenor men too.
That is such an interesting perspective! I'm sure many who have commented here can relate. The genderizing of the voice type labels is something I think which hasn't quite kept up with the times and might need review to a degree.
Another important aspect of a contralto is the heaviness, darkness, and warmth of her tone, especially in classical singing. I discovered I'm a contralto a year ago, but I can sing mezzo-soprano and soprano parts as well, and I can sing countertenor. Recently I've come upon subharmonic singing that bass singers use and I'm learning it so I can sing baritone and bass.
@@xelestial_sky Not exactly sure what 'androgynous' necessarily even sounds like. A lot of what makes someone sound 'feminine' or 'masculine' is in how they form their words, not necessarily how high or low their voices are. I mean, I can sound like a man or a woman depending on how I form my vowels, even though I'm singing the exact same notes. I mean, there are a lot of contraltos out there you would never mistake or men when you heard them.
@user-on8lv3tz3x Contralto here: in my experience, it's about where the tessitura is. So for me, I'm most comfortable WAY down in the low notes, but I can't really belt the way a "true" alto can and my passagio is also pretty low. But YMMV.
I'm definitely a contralto and only got interested in singing in high school when I started going to a music focused school started learning about different voice types and harmonising with people who appreciated different types of voices. My sister always told me not to sing in the car, because I was "bad" and I never sung when I was in elementary/middle school even though I went to instrument lessons. Well, turns out I'm not bad I'm just not a soprano like Ariana Grande and that's why I sounded awful in the car when I tried to sing with my sister. My range is about D#3/E3 to E5/F5, though I'm most comfortable at F3 to B4/C5 ish. I'm trying to start singing lessons, I think it's cool that I have a rare voice type and it would be a shame to let it go to waste. I was hanging out with my male friend who is a baritone/tenor (we're not sure) and it was weird to realize his lowest note is only a D3, which I have been able to reach previously when I mostly sang only lower male songs and talked at a lower pitch daily to seem more cool when I was like 16, I don't do that anymore though haha.
You have made several excellent points Sib666! I truly believe a lot of people give up and refuse to sing in public because at one point a family member or someone close told them they were horrible. Singing along with a song that doesn’t fit in your range can be fun (karaoke) but shouldn’t be compared to what your instrument can achieve! I think if you start lessons and find someone who can help you explore your voice further there is no stopping you. Your voice is unique and should be celebrated 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
hahaha. I'm right there too. I have a good ear for music, though no training. I can't sing the high women's parts, but boy, can I belt out some of the hardest songs for men, which most untrained men won't even touch.
Like so many here, for years I thought I couldn't sing. After years of people saying "you're a girl! you can sing higher!" a community choir director picked up on my being contralto and sat me with the tenors. It was fantastic! So for fun I took voice lessons and the teacher was like naaaah you're a girl, you can sing soprano! Sing higher! Ended up straining my voice for a week and my choir director had words with the voice teacher XD
I have a high speaking voice so my chorus teacher always put me in soprano but a could barely hit any of the notes so I only recently realized I was a contralto so this helped me reassure myself. thanks
Thank you for this video, I’ve always felt like there was something wrong with me because I couldn’t sing higher notes and therefore, I should just give up on singing all together so, I am very grateful for this video!
thank you for this video ❤️ I definitely think I'm a contralto. At the moment my vocal range is: B2 to E5. It's so annoying when people tell me to sing higher or that I'm singing to low :( it needs to be more recognised because in the past I've had singing teachers who would force me to sing higher and it hurt so bad. (I know they were just trying to expand my range but it felt like they didn't want me to sing low which sucked)
I'm sorry this is a late reply, I'm still learning how to use RUclips and this comment went into my review section! That would be so frustrating to be told to change when THAT is your range and how you sing. Gently just remind people that you are unique and your voice has it's own quality. It's not about how high you can sing - it's how well!!!
I am told the same by friends. I make an effort, but end up cracking and sounding unstable, so surely I sound like a bad singer. :( I tried to explain to them that I believe I'm a contralto and that I have a naturally low range, but they keep cheering me up with positive remarks such as "it's just practice, you can do it" which is so demoralising and makes me hate my voice. :(
I have a really low voice. I usually struggle to keep up with singing female parts and are way more comfortable singing songs sung by male and don't struggle with low notes. Still figuring out my voice type, I am gonna have a listen to the examples you gave.
Finding comfort when singing along to male repertiore can be a sign you are contralto. Perhaps try checking out the examples I listed (also some people have shared some great examples in the comments) and see if it sounds similar to your sound :)
After reading the comment section I'm happy to know I'm not the only alto who can't sing as high as the other altos. 😂 My comfortable range is A2 to D5
I recently realized that I am a contralto and after testing out my range I fit pretty well within the tenor range. I can hit pretty low for a female and can't go high enough for most of my favourite songs which sucks but it is nice to know that there is a name for my voice type and it's not just what I've been referring to as a screwed up voice. I always felt off singing with my family because all of the females who liked singing have mezzo or soprano voices and I always felt more comfortable singing in the male range.
I’m so sorry that you felt unappreciated, but so happy that you now know why!! Hopefully you can go an find repertoire (fancy word for songs you study) that you can sing with confidence and joy. You deserve to know your voice is unique and awesome exactly how it is! Plus you get the fun of singing both low female and tenor songs ! Woo
Im nearly 40 and only now am I really embracing my contralto voice and realising why I always had to transpose songs and sing make parts! Thank you for your video!! I'm a full time singer now and looking for more and more song suggestions for a contralto voice ❤
I sang alto in choirs for two decades, finally switched down to tenor a couple of years ago. I can now use the lower, richer part of my voice rather than straining it trying to hit notes that are just too high for me. Would recommend!
I think I will try that too, as I am struggling too much with some of the Alto parts. Tired of feeling I’m not getting to use the best parts of my voice, I can sing Johnny Cash and Leonard Cohen but not so much ladies songs 😂
I could sing high vocals before, but after I grew up (puberty mainly) I couldn't hit the notes, I was getting so worried and scared lol. But after then I could easily sing male songs, even with most deep vocals in the songs. I was confused, so I decided to check it out. And your video confirmed it for me that I am an contralto~
I relate. Used to sing very high notes some guys used to call me Mariah cause it was also very agile could do the riffs too Now everyone says I sound like Tony Braxton we have the same tone but I wanna be myself lol not a sound alike. Can’t sing high notes like before anymore!
my teacher today told me today im a contralto and i am the loudest voice in my class muahahhaa i have so much power... to do my best! I love my choir class and tend to overthrow the sopranos and the other altos >:).
I just started with a new piano teacher last night who also teaches voice. I admitted I couldn’t sing a lick - so she said - let’s give that a try. She played some scales I’ve never heard before, almost all #&b and had me do a chee-hum thing. After this exercise she said, “You’re a contralto - definitely.” I had never even heard of this before! I have no idea what to do next (so naturally I go to RUclips) but seeing that you suggest Tracy Chapman as a model absolutely thrills me to pieces. I feel like a huge door just opened for me and this bright light is shining but I am still baffled...in a really exciting way. The new teach and I are going to mix voice training with the piano lessons....so...here we go. I love new adventures. Thanks for this video.
Sorry for this late reply! That is wonderful that the video has helped you and exciting that there are so many opportunities to find songs now you know more about your voice!! Wonderful! Keep practicing!
I'm definitely not a contralto, as I am a guy. I'm just watching videos on all of the voice types and this was next in line. Great video. Very well explained.
I am a contralto. Whole my life I tried to reach high note and thought theres something wrong with me. If people have brief talks to me on phone they always thought i was a male.. I never had any examples of contralto in my asian culture, singing class always tried pushing me to higher range and I felt like Im not good enough. Thank you.
For sure and it's a struggle. My comfortable range is B2-B4 but I can sing an A2 and go up to around an A5 (and a tad higher but everything above an F5 is not reliable at all). Glad to know there are voice teachers out there for us low ladies! So many of my choir directors assume I just was singing improperly or not trying hard enough when I struggle to sing female parts!
@@TamaraNozik : D Yep. Though I suppose it's not a bad thing that I called myself a Counter at first since most Countertenors do fall within the same range of notes. Countertenor/Contralto is the true midrange.
Strangely the two terms are considered extremes of each gender. Countertenors are the highest male singers and contraltos are the lowest. Put them next to each other comparatively with all the other ranges and I can see why you said mid range! Crazy!
Wow this is seriously blowing my mind right now. Im definitely a contralto. I can go as low as D3, C3 if I really push it, and alto always was just a bit too high for me but male singers like tenors were a bit too low. My natural range is in between F3-F4. In highschool choir we didnt have enough tenors so I was put in tenor because I definitely had the lowest range of all the altos lol. Really wild!!! I also remember noticing that when I was about 13 or 14 or so my voice began to change and got deeper over the years and I have found out from a blood test I have slightly elevated testosterone. Maybe that is the cause? I dont know, its all super interesting to me. I’m also nonbinary so its kind of cool to feel so in the middle and fluid with my voice type.
I have always called myself a female bass... I didnt know the word contralto existed until i turned 40. From the age of 13, I was always with the boys in choir and sang deeper than most of them.
B2-B4... I've always felt kinda stuck since it's so difficult to sing so many songs in the original key unless it's by a male singer haha. Definitely need more training. Thanks for the video!
I am testing at exactly E3-E5. I have always known I have had a lower voice but its cool to find out I have a more rare voice type! Some of my favorite artists to sing are: Amy Winehouse, Etta James, Fiona Apple...and many more. Thank you for this!
I'm a soprano but I've always loved listening to alto/contralto voices. Eabha McMahon (from Celtic Woman) is a great example. Their voices are so beautiful and calming.
I am a contralto, but I’ve not always been one. I had surgery on the front of my neck to correct a C7 vertebra, but it did not take and I ended up with yet another surgery on my neck and spinal cord injury to boot. All of that gave me a wonderfully low voice with a nice resonance. A voice that I am still trying to learn to use!
Thank you for a very interesting video! I'm slowly starting to understand my real singing voice. As many people in this comment section, I have been taught classical singing right on the upper edge of my register - I never really liked it, it never sounded right in my ears, it was too sharp and ringing and unnatural (and my throat kinda hurt), but I didn't know anything else. I was somehow stuck in my nasal resonance and I couldn't even sing below E4... Today I would say my range starts at C3, but I can get to A2 when my voicebox is truly relaxed, and it stops at about F5 on most days. Finally, my voice has some weight and colour... I'm finally comfortable with improvising now or singing along with Sinatra or Billie Holiday, which I couldn't do when I was younger (maybe also because my voice naturally got deeper but who knows). Once again, thank you!
Wow! What a journey you have been on! Thank you for sharing. When I was young my mother could not find a CCM teacher, or really anyone would would not just teach classical. I had some of the weirdest training. It was not the teachers fault, they didn’t know any better. Luckily over the years I was able to study and also find incredible teachers who teach contemporary music. You rock!!!
Thanks for this video I now understand better my voice type and I believe that I am in the Contralto range for I choose songs that are sang by male singers, and my speaking voice sounds like that of a male even though I am a woman.
Thank you so much for the video, Tamara! I wondered why it felt so natural signing to queens like Nina Simone and Toni Braxton! Never thought I had it in me but recently have been exploring my voice - E4 C5
D# to E/F range. My singing teacher once estimated me as a mezzo-soprano and I recall feeling like I was stretching my vocal range. We never really tested my vocal scale. Only now I'm realising I've probably always been a contralto and that's why I never felt right singing mainstream songs. Now I've started making my own music, and am embracing my lower range! Thanks for the vid!
I took vocal lessons from a woman who had performed on Broadway. She was a great instructor, but unfortunately I was taught to spend years making my voice higher instead of trying to strengthen what I already have. I’m glad I’m not just awkward as I always thought!
There are some incredible artists who have a lot of training, but sometimes (not always) they aren't quite equip to train other voices. They sometimes work on the things their voice needs, not the voice they are training. Sounds like this happened to you!!
I am a contra alto and can almost cover the entire piano in vocal range. I practice my head register with a classical coach and my chest register I use a vocal straw. Also reading Money Notes and practicing the exercises really helps the range of the contra alto ❤
YES. Finally! Ive sang with the tenors countless times in choir comfortably. But my teacher would put me all over the place up to soprano so Ive got a huge voice range but I have to force higher notes.
YAy! Now you know!!! You can probably now communicate with your choir master to keep you with the gents. A lot of contraltos like to sing tenor or at very least alto.
Sometimes singers can temporarily sing some notes of songs in a key that is not in their regular range. So, a mezzo-soprano (mid-range) could sing some notes that are in the lower range (contralto), or sing some higher-pitched [but in the lower] soprano range notes that are not in their regular voice, in straining to reach either extreme from their regular mezzo-soprano range.
I can sing C3 to D5 which I guess would be a contralto thanks for simplifying it for me. I was recently in a musical theater production my song was in the mezzo soprano range I hurt my voice pretty badly trying to hit the high notes Contraltos should be recognized more in theater!
i’m a contralto and i’ve never been all that much into singing although i’m not bad at it. One time i decided to join a chorus, BAD MISTAKE, turns out there aren’t many contraltos and for years i had different choruses and music schools reaching out to me wanting me to join them and trying to book me for plays! As I said this is NOT my thing so i politely declined but when the offers kept coming I had to lie and said i was moving to france 😂 no more requests since
This explains everything. I fit the contralto range. Now I know why I always had difficulty cracking at the higher c and d in choir where I was recognized as an alto, yet had no trouble singing most tenor parts.
I didn't realize how much I was beating myself up for not having a high range until I stopped doing it. My lowest note is a D3 and I'm proud of it now! 💛💛💛
Was encouraged by a teacher as a kid...alto...parents never encouraged and ex husband mocked...so i shut down...im alone and enjoy singing...where would one practice and improve upon that as a hobby....thank you❤❤
Contralto for sure. I filled in for tenor/baritone years ago in choir to help out. :) I had a higher range then, too, mezzo-sop, basically Madonna's range, but can't do it now.
I have always wondered why i could sing the men's part so easily and not the women's? I couldn't and I'd get so sad but now i am finally accepting the voice i am born with. I am an theatre actor and wanna be a singer as well so i definitely should be proud of myself and keep practicing and thanks for the video.
Lisa Gerrard has a very unique vocal range. She can go from a deep masculine operatic contralto chest vocal to a higher mezzo-soprano head voice. When you listen to her sing it’s almost like your hearing two or three different singers singing. ❤
Ever since about 9 and 10 years old I was never able to any popular female songs at all because I had a very deep and big voice. I always used to be super ashamed of it because I had a “man voice”. After doing some research and watching this video, I found out some of my faves like Cher, Tracy Chapman and Amy Whitehouse also fall into this contralto voice type. I find much more confidence in my range now. Thanks for this video 💕
I'm a contralto. When I sing, I'm mistaken for a male pretty often (by the listeners, without seeing my face of course). Back in the day, I did feel bad for not being able to hit high Soprano notes (without sounding like a cooked chicken 🤣). But eventually I learned to appreciate it, especially when my Soprano friends struggled to hit low & I kinda faked the tenor to troll them 🤣
Your accent fascinates me, you sound like an Australian that's spent a lot of time in Jersey. Great video, thanks for the clarity with your explanation.
I have a daughter who has a tenor voice, with a baritone extension to G#2. But, with my vocal range being A1-C5 and my wife being a contralto, this wouldn't be so odd, I suppose.
I’ve always wondered where I fit - now I understand that I’m a contralto! The hardest part in singing hymns - never quite sure whether to sing with the females or join the men. Struggle with the extremes of both.
The first contralto I discovered was Mahalia Jackson when I was a little girl in the 1960s, and lately I've discovered recordings of Nina Simone. I found my own contralto voice about 10 years ago, but I struggled to sing the higher alto notes in my church choir. So I'm joining the tenors, where my voice is quite comfortable - but I find reading the notes difficult with the various clefs tenors use, like the treble octave for their own line in one song and then in bass clef with the basses in the next. I must say that, at age 68, I can truly express myself and sing my heart out in the contralto range!
Hi, informative video! I love that you’re bringing awareness to contralto voice in contemporary music because it’s definitely not a label that is often used apart from classic. I’m not a professionally trained musician or anything, but I enjoy singing and playing music. I’m hoping you could help me decide if I have a Mezzo or Contralto voice. When I first heard about Contralto voice, I thought yes that's me, and a classical/operatic singer (not a professional coach) did tell me I have a "very rare voice type", but there's lots of conflicting information on it so I am unsure. My range if you count every note I can possibly squeak out is C3 to E5. My comfortable range is F3 to G4. I find that I start to rely on “head voice” (idk if I’m using the term right) more around the F4 note, basically I can’t sing that note the same way I do an A3. I definitely find tenor male songs much more comfortable to sing, and avoided singing songs by contemporary female singers. Even Adele who has a lower mezzo-soprano voice is difficult for me even if I just try to match the notes/style without belting. I’ve been branching out a little more though, and I’m capable of singing most songs that stick with an E3 to B4 range, as long as most of the notes fall below G4. My actual voice is what makes me confused. People online say a contralto voice should be "androgynous" and I'm not sure what that means, but I wouldn't call my voice androgynous. I like listening to contralto singers like Nina Simone, Karen Carpenter, Allison Moyet and they don't sound androgynous to me, either? While I definitely sing better in my lower range, I can hit higher notes (like, that high note from Take On Me by a-ha) but if I were to consistently sing a song with an upper range (with many notes above G4) I feel it sounds flat (as in monotonous) and not very colorful. I know this could either be a mezzo-soprano in need of more head/mixed voice training or a contralto, but I’m struggling to tell the difference. Perhaps your experience could help distinguish the two? Or perhaps since I’m not technically trained maybe I just need more experience to figure it out.
I experience the exact same thing and people tell me that I have "2 voices" when I sing, but no one including different vocal coaches has been able to help me with this. They tell me that I need to gain self confidence, or that it is puberty and it will pass in time (I am 17) or that it is all in my head (bc I believe I can't achieve that range idk?). For the longest time I couldn't understand what was wrong with me and no one can help me either. You have explained it perfectly.
This is exactly what i'm trying to find out in this deep internet dive i'm doing rn now..what i've been gathering from voice coaches is that I think what is different between them is where your voice's sweet spot (range wise) *where the "prima voce" of your voice lies*...and then like if the timbre is has more girth and depth to it in the lower register and is thinner more Falsetto like in the higher register because I think mezzo is more able to use chest voice for higher notes and they don't have to go into their Falsetto so soon and when they go don't to their lowest notes (which may be easy for contralto) they struggle to maintain great tone and don't have a round booming sound down there. This app called Voice Range Voiceberry allowed me to sing to my lowest note and highest note and then estimated the type of singer I am (then it gave me an artist that i'm similar to....there was also a way to manually adjust the range and I noticed that depending on where I put it the voice type would change so that something..all that was offered in the free version and I think there's even more stuff in the pro version) But yea i'm definitely trying to find examples of ppl singing bc I don't get what they mean yet when talking about the qualities of one's singing voice is a better testament to voice type then range alone
@@phoebeats Another thing important for determining voice type I found in my deep dive is the "passagio"-- where your voice transitions into chest, mixed, head voice naturally. Opera terms, yes, but it is the basis for vocal type classification. It takes a lot of training to figure out where these actually are because a lot of people with no musical knowledge do not know how to get into head voice, let alone mixed voice. I think there's no need to rush in classifying your voice in such serious terms if you are just singing as a hobby, but it definitely helps to know your comfort range to avoid damaging your voice. And I certainly understand the curiosity hence why I'm here lol
I really like the sound of Contralto ladies! Smooth rich full and gorgeous! But then, I am biased because I sing Oktavist range at bass minus an octave or more. My range is A0 Bb0 B0 up to about G3. The E2/F2 at the bottom end of operatic bass is midrange as far as I am concerned. I start descending scales at C2 and go waaaaay down. My speaking voice is around G1 to D2 but I can speak lower when I want to catch your attention. Happy day to you and thanks for posting!
Great video. Just one thing: Alto is not a voice type, it's a part of the choir, because usually there are no mezzo-soprano part in choral music, just the "alto" which contains mezzo-soprano and contralto singers. :) Toni Braxton, she sounds like a low mezzo to me, or a hybrid voice type like a "mezzo-contralto", her higher notes are pretty feminine and light compared to Tracy Chapman or Nina Simone who are truly real contraltos. I think Cher, Annie Lennox or late Sarah Vaughan would be also great examples. Thank you for your informative videos! :)
@@TamaraNozik yeah and today I practiced for 30 minutes and did vocal exercises that increases your vocal range and power like crazy and plus I sang for an hour to build stanima
Funny that the range of the contralto is E3 to E5 since, despite that being vaguely my range, I struggle to hit those E's 😆 I tend to slip up and go half a tone below or over those two always
Im pretty sure this is my singing type, I just thought I was defected cause I can sing so low and when I try to sing high notes I physically cant so it's nice to know I'm not alone! Thank you for the vid it helped!
I was classified as a soprano.I hit a B5 when going on higher notes. I'm now untrained, so I don't know if I could do better then. But I have a deep low speaking voice and this always confused a lot of people, including me... The last note I can hit is a B2. I guess this classification depends most on the passage notes? My middle notes are terrible, so I know for sure I'm not a Mezzo hahahahah
This is a very interesting conversation Alexia. Your voice sounds very unique. I know when I don't train I loose my head voice completely and my range diminishes significantly. I'm curious about your point about your middle voice when you have a strong head and chest voice. Have you ever thought to get a vocal check up from a local speech pathologist for peace of mind? It doesn't necessarily mean somethings wrong, but it's unusual for the middle to be unbalanced in your voice when you have a strong upper and lower voice. :)
@@TamaraNozik Thanks a lot for the reply! It really hit something... This issue with my middle notes bugs me a lot and obviously I would like to fix it, since most popular songs are in middle register. It has always been like this since I started to sing. I don't know if the fact that I speak too low for my actual register can damage my voice, but I have a low voice for a girl since I was a kid hahaha. I speak mostly around D3. I will take your advice for getting a check! Thanks =D
Great! I hate to have to send you elsewhere but if you have issues in the middle but strong in top and bottom it can be a range of things, which can be solved! I’ve even had students with tension which they didn’t know they had, once tension was addressed by a professional BAM issue gone! Please let me know how you go, I would love to know 💕
@@TamaraNozik Figured that's why I always enjoyed singing Annie Lennox and Cher. Btw, I'm really glad I found your channel, it's very informative! Cheers from Poland :)
Don’t worry! It’s just a parameter! It doesn’t necessarily mean that you will be able to sing the range exactly. Depends on age, health, your physiology and also if you are working with a teacher able to work with you. C5 is great!! You also might not be using your head voice yet or have access to that vocal register at this point. :)
@@TamaraNozik thank you for the feedback :) yes my head voice is my problem cause my voice always breaks or it sounds too airy or nothing but air comes out :/
i've always been told i have potential to be a great singer, but i became discouraged growing up seeing how singers were primarily praised for high notes i physically couldn't hit. after discovering i'm a contralto, i feel like i've finally unlocked the key to being able to sing at my best!!!
Check out Diana Ankudinova! Singing : wicked games, rechenka, human... She is 14-15 in those exhibitions! She is a true contralto and is a unique singer !! Cheers !!
Hello Dr. Crimp! I just listened to her Wicked Games audition and John in a comment below also suggested her. Thank you so much! A perfect example of contralto. Her range in the song I just listened to was F3 - C#5. Thank you so much for sharing!
I have a really powerful voice, and a dark voice tone, my range is C3 - C6 but I can go higher til D7 with whistle tone. I prefer singing in chest voice and I’m comfortable in higher notes then in low notes. I can belt all the fifth octave. A friend of mine, a musician, says that I’m a contralto with a wide range but I’m confused ‘cause I’m not comfortable in low Notes even if I can reach them. She says that ‘cause of my dark and full voice but I think I’m a mezzo I don’t know :(
This is a great conversation! Lots of people can get confused and I do not blame them. I think there are a few things to consider here. Having a dark tone doesn't necessarily mean you are automatically contralto. Look at Adele - warm tone, but a mezzo-soprano. The tessitura (I'm bringing a video out on this next!) is something to consider when you are working out range. Where does the voice sit comfortably. Just because you have a large range doesn't mean it's your go to area. This has to be considered when working out voice type. You say you are much more comfortable in those higher notes and mid area. Typically a contralto will feel at home in those lower tones. My gut is you are a mezzo-soprano, but I haven't heard you and others might differ. I hope that helps you ❤️
@@TamaraNozik thank you! This really helps me! Once a vocal coach told me that even if I have a nice low notes, my true power is my high range. I really feel into mezzo-soprano, I’m also comfortable singing Adele, Gaga And demi lovato songs! I hope to discover more over my voice! Thank you again ❤️❤️
Hi! I found your video and liked intresting. I would like tô suggest foi tô listen to Brazilian singers Ana Carolina, Paula Fernandes and Ivete Sangalo. I think they seem to be contralto. Ivete Sangalo has been one of the most popular singers um Brazil for nearly 30 years and Paula Fernandes has won 2 grammys.
You would just consider yourself a low contralto ! It’s kind of like Bass for men, there is nothing lower. So amazing that you can sing lower, incredible !!!
This was a great video! I really don't know what my range is. When I was in a musical, the music director asked what I was, I told him that I've never sung before, so I didn't know what it was. He tested me but didn't tell me. He stuck me in Soprano to start with, I couldn't reach some of those notes. He then moved me to Alto. Then when he realized that he didn't have enough male tenor voices, he moved me and one other woman to Tenor. Then for the big number (male dominated) he told me to sing some parts of the song with the Baritones. When I checked my range about a year ago the keys were B2 or 3 - G5. However, I have a feeling I may have done it wrong. I thought it said B2, but maybe I read it wrong? I don't know, but I can go pretty low since I damaged my vocal cords when I was 19. I wish I knew what exercises to do to strengthen my vocal cords so that I don't hurt them anymore and make myself have laryngitis. I'm outgoing so I love to talk to people, I also love to sing along with my favs, and I'm trying to get work as a voice actor- which is my dream job (I love to mimic people singing and sounds of things)... but I always end up straining something, even when I'm trying to be careful and not strain anything. Oh well, maybe someday I'll find out what I can do to save my voice and figure out what my range really is.
This is SUCH an interesting conversation. Tani if there is any possible way I highly suggest you connect with a speech pathologist in your area. They can take a very in-depth listen and look at your voice and refer you or give you exercises to help your speaking voice and give you peace of mind that everything is ok!!! The first time I went, I just wanted to make sure everything was healthy and I’m so grateful I went. Especially if you find someone who can just do a session and give you advice. Then you’ll know the next step to take! Also, It sounds like you voice is super deep which is totally fine and your director didn’t know what to do with you!!
@@TamaraNozik Thank you for the feedback and advice. I will seek a speech pathologist. I really want to make my vocal cords healthy and happy. Thanks again and have a great day/evening!
toni is a lyric mezzo soprano. her timber is feminine and brighter as she ascends unlike true contraltos like nina simone anne lennox and tracy chapman
@Kevin Innocent I've heard Toni sing live. She is a Contralto. Toni's only sings in those upper ranges for special performances like the grammys or in studio. Otherwise she sings in her lower range for live performances. Watch her song Mary did you know on The Real. A Mezzo would have a very hard time hitting those notes and if they wouldn't be that full.
@Kevin Innocent. I don't think that Toni even sings high enough to be considered a coloratura contralto. Maybe a lyric Contralto. For me there is a difference between being able to hit a note and being able to sing notes (not just in rifts) that sound pleasing. Adele is a Mezzo who sounds very good when singing in a low range.
Contralto here skidding in two years late! I grew up on Peter, Paul & Mary, so Mary Travers was my contemporary contralto icon. In regards to musical theatre, Hadestown has INCREDIBLE rep for contralto (the Third Fate, and Persephone can be played by a Contralto) as well as counter-tenor (Orpheus) and bass (Hades)! Love this video, and thanks for recognizing our existence, lol.
Me 😊 I can sing alone with Nina Simone just fine and most men vocals (I don’t sound good yet lol). I can start at D3. But I was forced to sing soprano as a kid so I have a strong head voice and I can actually go up pretty high. It’s just all so nasally 😖 trying to strengthen my chest voice and fix my vowel pronunciation. I just want to know what my true singing voice sounds like. I’m leaning more towards a Jazz sound right now though. It’s just hard because not many women sing this low so I don’t have that many examples.
Wow I bet you have an incredible voice and you are just being super hard on yourself! It’s actually good you have a strong head voice - the challenge will just be connecting your head and chest register (mix voice). The nasality can be caused by a number of things - tightness in jaw and neck. This can cause the larynx to be unable to move as it needs. Also soft palate might just not want to raise. Warm up with lots of dark open vowels, keep it quiet, and yawning and sighing which will train the soft palate to raise when singing 👍👍👍👍 I would also check out any male jazz tenor singer and find a karaoke (mostly all of them are tenor!!) that way you’ll hit those notes and not have to keep searching. It’s a unique voice type for sure! Hope that helps!!!
The contralto chest voice begins at D3! I know that l am one myself and was in the same boat for years. The lowest notes and highest notes are the easiest, but in-between ohh yuck. I avoided using my chest voice for years, it felt heavy, tiring and unwieldy. Age literally forced me to change my way of singing, it got even lower, darker and smokier, androgynous even. I swear l hear my brother's voice in me at times (omg!!!) Now the pitch of my voice dropped quite a bit than it was before previous to working more extensively with the low register. I feel like a freakin teenage boy complete voice cracks lol. So just like a changeling l have to learn my new instrument. It's still frustrating but I'm finally getting more control as well. I think l gained new muscle learning to support this sound.
I have a different story than most. I was born a second soprano "churchy" ... that wasn't very useful because I write music and couldn't really even sing effective demos for own songs. About 6 1/2 years ago give or take I started losing my voice... turns out my right vocal chord was paralyzed from a neck injury. I couldn't sing at all for 4 years and then I decided to try vocal therapy starting at 15 hours a day now down to between 3-5 (seven days a week). Any less singing than that causes me weeks of setback so I keep it up. It took me 1 1/2 years to be able to sing well enough to record my own music -- with pitch correction... another 3 months to stay on key all the time and the last six developing a "new" style for my "new voice" which is a "raspy contralto"... my range is currently Bb2 to Bb5 but I'm much more comfortable singing in the low register. The one thing I really can't sing now is "churchy" not that I really wanted to. My most difficult notes are regular alto oddly. The most recent music I have posted is from several months ago but in the next few months I'm going to post some of my songs that give a good example of my range and style versatility. I actually like my voice much better now and it's far more useful for my purposes but it's way more upkeep. I wonder how much better my voice would have been prior to the paralysis if I had been as committed. Some of the stuff I currently have up I would really like to re-record because my voice is so much better than it was but... I'm already about 45 songs behind in recording so I think forward is the way to go.
Firstly, I am SO sorry that you experienced a voice paralysis, it must have been very scary and difficult to move on from such an experience. Wonderful to hear that you are still inspired to keep working and making goals in your composing and singing practice. Do you work with a voice therapist or speech pathologist?
@@TamaraNozik No. I don't think there's anyone in this area. I had to go well over 100 miles just to see a spinal surgeon. He said that he didn't think surgery was an option and it was unlikely that it would help having been compressed for so long. It takes me about 30-60 minutes to warm up again every time I lay down and put any pressure on my neck. I use my diaphragm a lot more than with my old voice because otherwise I don't have much vocal control. The first year I spent a lot of time laying on my back while singing in order to figure out how to engage my diaphragm at such a low register.
Wow! Thank you so much for this really kind comment. I spend a great deal of time editing and making sure it’s the best it can be. Just got a new light so hopefully lighting is better in the next video. Thank you for your kindness xxx
My choir director was great and put me as alto 2 in our SSAA choir. She picked up on my low range so now I sing tenor. We actually have quite a few female tenors -- I feel like it might be more common than we think but most people don't give them a chance. ( My range goes an octave below middle C, and a little lower although that's not so comfortable)
I'm a contralto too and I always got so jealous of the sopranos for having higher voices than mine (my vocal range goes from D3 to D6), but I never really understood how rare it was to actually find a contralto singer and now I'm owning the fact that I have something that's very rare! Contraltos unite! ❤
Didn't know there was a voice type for my range!!!! I typically find it easier to sing the tenor parts. I've even sung the bassline in an old hymnal years ago.
I'm definitely a contralto. My singing voice is characterized by a warm timbre and smokey deepness reminiscent of Karen Carpenter, whose music I absolutely love. I've always sang low as a child growing up. In youth choir I hardly ever got any singing parts because I couldn't sing as high as the other girls. Over the years I've learned to embrace my voice.
@@TamaraNozik Thank you, Tamara. I would send you a short video of me singing This Masquerade by Karen Carpenter. But I don't know how to do that. Email perhaps?
I few weeks ago I started trying to sing past the "Happy Birthday" singing most of us non-singers do. I have never been able to sing, so I tried to figure out my range, just to see if I had even enough to build on. I can go from A2 to A5, at any moment. I have hit a F2 once or twice(😂 it's funny bc I'm a 5'1 little woman). The highest Ive ever hit was C6. I guess I'm a legit Contralto. It explains a lot. I sound best singing songs by men...mostly tenors! Thank you for the video!❤
I've recently discovered that my voice belongs to the "contralto" range! It came as a real surprise. I used to think my voice sounded deeper compared to other girls my age, and I worried that something might be wrong with my voice. I also shared some experiences I've read here in the comments and felt a sudden relief that there are also girls and women just like me who had similar experiences: like my sister and my dad telling me not to sing, and that I was a "bad" singer-how wrong they were! But now, I realize it's a rare variation of my vocal tone, and I couldn't be prouder. :)
I am contralto, but did not knew before and was thinking i could not sing as 99 % of female songs are too high for me , but men' s parts are easy.
Wow!! How cool you know understand your voice now. Hurray!!! 🥰
i have the same thing! i am good at singing when i sing sam smith songs and some deeper sections of beyoncé and adele but whenever i try and sing any female ‘easy’ songs i really felt like i was straining to hit even the easy notes
Sorry to jump on this from months ago but this definitely sounds like me too! I'm having a little trouble in the choir I'm in at the moment because they just have soprano, alto.... and the guys but I find it much more comfortable singing the guys bit. :/
same..hahah... I realized that I can sing tenor...hahahaha
The same happens to me. The lower parts or sometimds men's part are easier for me than a high tone in songs.
Both of my parents were singers and musicians. My mom tested me as a contralto when I was around age 16. She was impressed. She did tell me it was a rare vocal range. But then I never trained. Just sang a lot. Now, at 60, I want to develop my voice for my own enjoyment. Always had stage fright, anyway.
Wow! Thank you for sharing, I’m happy you are rediscovering you voice !! I’m so jealous you had musical parents. My parents didn’t think singing was a real instrument and I took me to get my degree until I convinced them!!! I hope you learn to overcome your stage fright, it is common to have it thought xxx
I too have always felt more comfortable singing lower keys (I’m sure I’m a contra alto). I always felt like something was wrong with me because most pop songs I enjoy ‘singing’ are challenging- (now Karen Carpenter low notes are a breeze for me). I realize now that they are just not in my range. I too would love to also have voice lessons ( almost 60 myself). Something to do for ‘me.’ But how to find the right teacher has been the challenge.
I started singing bluegrass. You don't need to audition. You just show up to a jam. The expectation is you play an instrument used in bluegrass. You don't need to sing. You do need to play. Still one way to get out there. If you sing well, playing will be the problem. And I have stage fright too but it's amazing how well you might sing if you embarrass yourself at the get go. Then you're free. The problem is, though, you still have to play.
Oh honey, I wish we lived nearby, and we could see it together. I am 60 as well and desperate for singing partners.
Me too would love voice lessons at 63. I always sang Alto, 2nd alto or Tenor in junior high school, high school, college and church choirs. I was never labled contraalto.@@kuvasz93
That explains a lot. My vocal teacher kept insisting I was an alto but I've always been able to sing a lot lower and could never get to the higher range that altos should be able to sing. Thank you.
I'm just so happy that this video is helping people! Good luck in your singing ventures!
This is the issue I had in school lol and the one time in musical theatre that I was able to get a higher note than normal I actually lost my voice for almost 24hrs and since then I haven't been able to get "high notes" except in some random songs for example Pink's who knew and Dolly Parton's chorus on Hard Candy Christmas idk if they actually are high they just sound high so I was surprised I could get those notes especially the dolly one coz she has said in numerous interviews that she's a soprano singer xxx
Same
I always found alto an awkard range to sing in, but could sing soprano fairly well. However, when in choir at University, there were enough sopranos and altos and only two male tenors. So, knowing my vocal range, I offered to fill out their section, and it worked out fine ':D Guess that makes me a contralto. I still sing songs an octave lower to make it more comfortable for me, though I can get up in the higher mezzo range if I cared to.
@@Tyler_Mills26exactly each time i try to sing like an alto i end up loosing my voice for sometime. My music teacher always said i should sing make part cause it would spoil my voice he never knew i was contralto. I was always forced to sing alto but i was never feeling comfortable at it
I've always assumed I was an alto but I couldn't reach the higher ends of the spectrum; I just assumed I wasn't practicing enough? Thanks
The worst! I hope this helped your singing journey x
@@TamaraNozik Yes, thank you . Just today furst time in my life i went to sing and they gave me a paer of tenors. To sing with men was so easy. I love singing and have a strong and deep voice , i was always trying to sing high notes and was not able to, so I was shy of it and did not sing at all. Please , advice us good songs for low female voices. And thank you again for such helpful video. I was almost crying that all my life i was shy to sing.
@@avonalim3617 I'm so happy to hear that you love to sing and how wonderful to have a strong deep voice. I will have to make a video of repertoire for low female singers! I'm so happy that you are starting to become more confident singing. How wonderful!
That only means that you have worked too much on the chest register and you will need a teacher to develop the head register. If you really want to sing, try to work slowly with someone who teaches you, for you won't be able to do it yourself; your higher notes might get lost for good if you don't work on it. But you don't have to worry; it also depends on the repertoire that you want to sing.
Italian technique proves to be one of the best; it will keep your chest voice, and since there is a parallelism between high and low notes, as soon as you work on the high ones, the low notes will get even bigger!!
What is your lower end like?
I'm definitely a contralto. I've always found the "male" notes to be far more comfortable. Which is why I'm typically disappointed with most of the vocal lessons I've come across. They tend to split things into "male" and "female" notes with the assumption that women sing high and men sing low. As a result it took unnecessarily long for me to find my comfortable range. I wish instead of the "male" / " female" distinction it was a high and low notes distinction. I'm sure this is something which troubles countertenor men too.
That is such an interesting perspective! I'm sure many who have commented here can relate. The genderizing of the voice type labels is something I think which hasn't quite kept up with the times and might need review to a degree.
Another important aspect of a contralto is the heaviness, darkness, and warmth of her tone, especially in classical singing.
I discovered I'm a contralto a year ago, but I can sing mezzo-soprano and soprano parts as well, and I can sing countertenor.
Recently I've come upon subharmonic singing that bass singers use and I'm learning it so I can sing baritone and bass.
Sorry for this late reply! Thank you for adding this thought to the conversation! Wow you have amazing vocal abilities to sing so many parts!
Mmm so even if I feel comfortable singing in that register it doesn't mean I'm a contralto?
I am so confused 😵😵😵😵
I've also heard that the voice being androgynous is important
@@xelestial_sky Not exactly sure what 'androgynous' necessarily even sounds like. A lot of what makes someone sound 'feminine' or 'masculine' is in how they form their words, not necessarily how high or low their voices are. I mean, I can sound like a man or a woman depending on how I form my vowels, even though I'm singing the exact same notes. I mean, there are a lot of contraltos out there you would never mistake or men when you heard them.
@user-on8lv3tz3x Contralto here: in my experience, it's about where the tessitura is. So for me, I'm most comfortable WAY down in the low notes, but I can't really belt the way a "true" alto can and my passagio is also pretty low. But YMMV.
I'm definitely a contralto and only got interested in singing in high school when I started going to a music focused school started learning about different voice types and harmonising with people who appreciated different types of voices. My sister always told me not to sing in the car, because I was "bad" and I never sung when I was in elementary/middle school even though I went to instrument lessons. Well, turns out I'm not bad I'm just not a soprano like Ariana Grande and that's why I sounded awful in the car when I tried to sing with my sister. My range is about D#3/E3 to E5/F5, though I'm most comfortable at F3 to B4/C5 ish. I'm trying to start singing lessons, I think it's cool that I have a rare voice type and it would be a shame to let it go to waste. I was hanging out with my male friend who is a baritone/tenor (we're not sure) and it was weird to realize his lowest note is only a D3, which I have been able to reach previously when I mostly sang only lower male songs and talked at a lower pitch daily to seem more cool when I was like 16, I don't do that anymore though haha.
You have made several excellent points Sib666! I truly believe a lot of people give up and refuse to sing in public because at one point a family member or someone close told them they were horrible. Singing along with a song that doesn’t fit in your range can be fun (karaoke) but shouldn’t be compared to what your instrument can achieve! I think if you start lessons and find someone who can help you explore your voice further there is no stopping you. Your voice is unique and should be celebrated 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
I remember my voice teacher going jeez you have a low voice.
Takes a real woman to sing like a man!😄
You know it!!! ❤️
My daughter is 6'2" and sings tenor, interesting enough. But can also reach to G#2 on the low end -- well into baritone range.
Amen!!
hahaha. I'm right there too. I have a good ear for music, though no training. I can't sing the high women's parts, but boy, can I belt out some of the hardest songs for men, which most untrained men won't even touch.
gurl that is my LIFE
My comfortable vocal range was C3 to D5, and i was a bit sad that i couldn't sing really high or really low, but thanks, you helped me a lot
I’m glad I could have helped!! ❤️
Like so many here, for years I thought I couldn't sing. After years of people saying "you're a girl! you can sing higher!" a community choir director picked up on my being contralto and sat me with the tenors. It was fantastic! So for fun I took voice lessons and the teacher was like naaaah you're a girl, you can sing soprano! Sing higher! Ended up straining my voice for a week and my choir director had words with the voice teacher XD
I always thought I was just outta place I would sing with altos one week and then tenors the next. It kinda made me give up on music for a while😔.
That’s awful. I’m so glad you know why now! You can belong to both depending on the repertoire!!
I have a high speaking voice so my chorus teacher always put me in soprano but a could barely hit any of the notes so I only recently realized I was a contralto so this helped me reassure myself. thanks
Wow!! soprano part for a contralto is rough!! I'm glad you worked this out!
Thank you for this video, I’ve always felt like there was something wrong with me because I couldn’t sing higher notes and therefore, I should just give up on singing all together so, I am very grateful for this video!
Oh I’m so happy it has been useful for some people!! Woo hoo!! Go out into the world now and sing without questioning yourself 💕💕💕💕💕
thank you for this video ❤️ I definitely think I'm a contralto. At the moment my vocal range is: B2 to E5. It's so annoying when people tell me to sing higher or that I'm singing to low :( it needs to be more recognised because in the past I've had singing teachers who would force me to sing higher and it hurt so bad. (I know they were just trying to expand my range but it felt like they didn't want me to sing low which sucked)
I'm sorry this is a late reply, I'm still learning how to use RUclips and this comment went into my review section! That would be so frustrating to be told to change when THAT is your range and how you sing. Gently just remind people that you are unique and your voice has it's own quality. It's not about how high you can sing - it's how well!!!
@@TamaraNozik that's okay, and thank you so much ❤️
@@mossygrub Same problem but I'm not sure I'm contralto
@@mossygrub I can't sing high and low ismost comfortable for me Can you suggest me sny 20s song which is contralto
I am told the same by friends. I make an effort, but end up cracking and sounding unstable, so surely I sound like a bad singer. :( I tried to explain to them that I believe I'm a contralto and that I have a naturally low range, but they keep cheering me up with positive remarks such as "it's just practice, you can do it" which is so demoralising and makes me hate my voice. :(
I have a really low voice. I usually struggle to keep up with singing female parts and are way more comfortable singing songs sung by male and don't struggle with low notes. Still figuring out my voice type, I am gonna have a listen to the examples you gave.
Finding comfort when singing along to male repertiore can be a sign you are contralto. Perhaps try checking out the examples I listed (also some people have shared some great examples in the comments) and see if it sounds similar to your sound :)
After reading the comment section I'm happy to know I'm not the only alto who can't sing as high as the other altos. 😂
My comfortable range is A2 to D5
Yes! It's common for an alto to have limited high range. I can sing pretty high but I prefer not to go over D5 truly for comfort.
I just hit A2 yesterday for the first time in months. I was pretty happy bc I thought I'd never hit it again since I couldn't seem to go below A#
I recently realized that I am a contralto and after testing out my range I fit pretty well within the tenor range. I can hit pretty low for a female and can't go high enough for most of my favourite songs which sucks but it is nice to know that there is a name for my voice type and it's not just what I've been referring to as a screwed up voice. I always felt off singing with my family because all of the females who liked singing have mezzo or soprano voices and I always felt more comfortable singing in the male range.
I’m so sorry that you felt unappreciated, but so happy that you now know why!! Hopefully you can go an find repertoire (fancy word for songs you study) that you can sing with confidence and joy. You deserve to know your voice is unique and awesome exactly how it is! Plus you get the fun of singing both low female and tenor songs ! Woo
Same! I’m glad that I found my voice type as well!! (I love your pfp btw!)
@@ImLexiRomero thanks!
@@ArcaneSnowflake no problem! 😊
Im nearly 40 and only now am I really embracing my contralto voice and realising why I always had to transpose songs and sing make parts! Thank you for your video!! I'm a full time singer now and looking for more and more song suggestions for a contralto voice ❤
Im a "female" i can reach bass and soprano notes easily😭
Wow!!! 😮😮😮😎😎😎
Mee, too. With ease. Barry White to Mariah whistle tones
me too, that’s why i’m not really sure of my voice type.
@@ladyaltovise2294 wow bitch that's crazy
I can sing bass to soprano notes but had to either sing really high notes at falsetto. God i can't do the whistle ahhahaha
I sang alto in choirs for two decades, finally switched down to tenor a couple of years ago. I can now use the lower, richer part of my voice rather than straining it trying to hit notes that are just too high for me. Would recommend!
I think I will try that too, as I am struggling too much with some of the Alto parts. Tired of feeling I’m not getting to use the best parts of my voice, I can sing Johnny Cash and Leonard Cohen but not so much ladies songs 😂
I’m a contralto with my lowest ever note being a G2!
I could sing high vocals before, but after I grew up (puberty mainly) I couldn't hit the notes, I was getting so worried and scared lol. But after then I could easily sing male songs, even with most deep vocals in the songs. I was confused, so I decided to check it out. And your video confirmed it for me that I am an contralto~
I'm so glad that it helped! Yes the voice can go through great change during puberty, but it'll stablize and balance out. Enjoy singing 🎤
I relate. Used to sing very high notes some guys used to call me Mariah cause it was also very agile could do the riffs too Now everyone says I sound like Tony Braxton we have the same tone but I wanna be myself lol not a sound alike. Can’t sing high notes like before anymore!
I’m definitely a contralto, I sing all the 90’s RnB boy groups songs with ease.
my teacher today told me today im a contralto and i am the loudest voice in my class muahahhaa i have so much power... to do my best! I love my choir class and tend to overthrow the sopranos and the other altos >:).
I just started with a new piano teacher last night who also teaches voice. I admitted I couldn’t sing a lick - so she said - let’s give that a try. She played some scales I’ve never heard before, almost all #&b and had me do a chee-hum thing. After this exercise she said, “You’re a contralto - definitely.” I had never even heard of this before! I have no idea what to do next (so naturally I go to RUclips) but seeing that you suggest Tracy Chapman as a model absolutely thrills me to pieces. I feel like a huge door just opened for me and this bright light is shining but I am still baffled...in a really exciting way. The new teach and I are going to mix voice training with the piano lessons....so...here we go. I love new adventures. Thanks for this video.
Sorry for this late reply! That is wonderful that the video has helped you and exciting that there are so many opportunities to find songs now you know more about your voice!! Wonderful! Keep practicing!
I'm definitely not a contralto, as I am a guy. I'm just watching videos on all of the voice types and this was next in line. Great video. Very well explained.
How wonderful that you found it at least interesting! Thank you for your kind words 🤩🤩🤩🤩
I am a contralto. Whole my life I tried to reach high note and thought theres something wrong with me. If people have brief talks to me on phone they always thought i was a male.. I never had any examples of contralto in my asian culture, singing class always tried pushing me to higher range and I felt like Im not good enough.
Thank you.
I'm sorry that you had a struggle, but I'm so glad there are more examples of the wonderful contralto voice to listen to!
Another modern singer whose more pop is Faouzia! I love singing along to her while I drive to school
For sure and it's a struggle. My comfortable range is B2-B4 but I can sing an A2 and go up to around an A5 (and a tad higher but everything above an F5 is not reliable at all). Glad to know there are voice teachers out there for us low ladies! So many of my choir directors assume I just was singing improperly or not trying hard enough when I struggle to sing female parts!
Thanks for helping me figure this out! I’m a contralto! No wonder I always loved singing along to Tracy Chapman. 😍
I am so proud to have this voice type and say I have a range of C#3-E6
Woo !!! 🥳🥳🥳
Took a range test and mistook myself for a countertenor after being able to sing from C3 to A5. Yeah, this is me XD
Woo hoo! Now you know! 😍😍😍
@@TamaraNozik : D Yep. Though I suppose it's not a bad thing that I called myself a Counter at first since most Countertenors do fall within the same range of notes. Countertenor/Contralto is the true midrange.
Strangely the two terms are considered extremes of each gender. Countertenors are the highest male singers and contraltos are the lowest. Put them next to each other comparatively with all the other ranges and I can see why you said mid range! Crazy!
I never heard my grandma sing but I read in a news article that she was the contra alto in her church choir. I would do anything to hear her
Ohhhh that would have been so special to hear her voice!
Here to learn about the contralto range because I love Julie London's voice and struggle to describe it to others. Thanks for the crash course!
Wow this is seriously blowing my mind right now. Im definitely a contralto. I can go as low as D3, C3 if I really push it, and alto always was just a bit too high for me but male singers like tenors were a bit too low. My natural range is in between F3-F4. In highschool choir we didnt have enough tenors so I was put in tenor because I definitely had the lowest range of all the altos lol. Really wild!!! I also remember noticing that when I was about 13 or 14 or so my voice began to change and got deeper over the years and I have found out from a blood test I have slightly elevated testosterone. Maybe that is the cause? I dont know, its all super interesting to me. I’m also nonbinary so its kind of cool to feel so in the middle and fluid with my voice type.
I have always called myself a female bass... I didnt know the word contralto existed until i turned 40. From the age of 13, I was always with the boys in choir and sang deeper than most of them.
Very common! I Think if you use the terminology female Bass people still understand what you mean. 🎶
B2-B4... I've always felt kinda stuck since it's so difficult to sing so many songs in the original key unless it's by a male singer haha. Definitely need more training. Thanks for the video!
Glad you found it helpful 🌟 Have a great week!! also, there are many contraltos who have the same issue with transposing songs.
I am testing at exactly E3-E5. I have always known I have had a lower voice but its cool to find out I have a more rare voice type! Some of my favorite artists to sing are: Amy Winehouse, Etta James, Fiona Apple...and many more. Thank you for this!
I'm a soprano but I've always loved listening to alto/contralto voices. Eabha McMahon (from Celtic Woman) is a great example. Their voices are so beautiful and calming.
I am a contralto, but I’ve not always been one. I had surgery on the front of my neck to correct a C7 vertebra, but it did not take and I ended up with yet another surgery on my neck and spinal cord injury to boot. All of that gave me a wonderfully low voice with a nice resonance. A voice that I am still trying to learn to use!
Thank you for a very interesting video! I'm slowly starting to understand my real singing voice. As many people in this comment section, I have been taught classical singing right on the upper edge of my register - I never really liked it, it never sounded right in my ears, it was too sharp and ringing and unnatural (and my throat kinda hurt), but I didn't know anything else. I was somehow stuck in my nasal resonance and I couldn't even sing below E4... Today I would say my range starts at C3, but I can get to A2 when my voicebox is truly relaxed, and it stops at about F5 on most days. Finally, my voice has some weight and colour... I'm finally comfortable with improvising now or singing along with Sinatra or Billie Holiday, which I couldn't do when I was younger (maybe also because my voice naturally got deeper but who knows). Once again, thank you!
Wow! What a journey you have been on! Thank you for sharing. When I was young my mother could not find a CCM teacher, or really anyone would would not just teach classical. I had some of the weirdest training. It was not the teachers fault, they didn’t know any better. Luckily over the years I was able to study and also find incredible teachers who teach contemporary music. You rock!!!
@@TamaraNozik How does the technique for contemporary music differ from classical music?
Thanks for this video
I now understand better my voice type and I believe that I am in the Contralto range for I choose songs that are sang by male singers, and my speaking voice sounds like that of a male even though I am a woman.
Thank you so much for the video, Tamara!
I wondered why it felt so natural signing to queens like Nina Simone and Toni Braxton! Never thought I had it in me but recently have been exploring my voice - E4 C5
How wonderful Emerald!!! I'm so glad you find this video useful. Sending love to you 🎶 Good luck with all your singing ventures xx
D# to E/F range. My singing teacher once estimated me as a mezzo-soprano and I recall feeling like I was stretching my vocal range. We never really tested my vocal scale. Only now I'm realising I've probably always been a contralto and that's why I never felt right singing mainstream songs. Now I've started making my own music, and am embracing my lower range! Thanks for the vid!
Wow! That's so awesome to have that realization! I'm so glad that it helped you discover more about your voice. Hurray!!! 🌟
That’s amazing! Best of luck from a fellow Contralto!
I took vocal lessons from a woman who had performed on Broadway. She was a great instructor, but unfortunately I was taught to spend years making my voice higher instead of trying to strengthen what I already have. I’m glad I’m not just awkward as I always thought!
There are some incredible artists who have a lot of training, but sometimes (not always) they aren't quite equip to train other voices. They sometimes work on the things their voice needs, not the voice they are training. Sounds like this happened to you!!
I am a contra alto and can almost cover the entire piano in vocal range. I practice my head register with a classical coach and my chest register I use a vocal straw. Also reading Money Notes and practicing the exercises really helps the range of the contra alto ❤
YES. Finally! Ive sang with the tenors countless times in choir comfortably. But my teacher would put me all over the place up to soprano so Ive got a huge voice range but I have to force higher notes.
YAy! Now you know!!! You can probably now communicate with your choir master to keep you with the gents. A lot of contraltos like to sing tenor or at very least alto.
Sometimes singers can temporarily sing some notes of songs in a key that is not in their regular range. So, a mezzo-soprano (mid-range) could sing some notes that are in the lower range (contralto), or sing some higher-pitched [but in the lower] soprano range notes that are not in their regular voice, in straining to reach either extreme from their regular mezzo-soprano range.
I can sing C3 to D5 which I guess would be a contralto thanks for simplifying it for me. I was recently in a musical theater production my song was in the mezzo soprano range I hurt my voice pretty badly trying to hit the high notes Contraltos should be recognized more in theater!
I have been there! It's hard because a lot of the MT repertoire is written for mezzos and sopranos. You could probably even consider tenor parts!! 😀
My gosh the color of your hair is GORGEOUS
i’m a contralto and i’ve never been all that much into singing although i’m not bad at it. One time i decided to join a chorus, BAD MISTAKE, turns out there aren’t many contraltos and for years i had different choruses and music schools reaching out to me wanting me to join them and trying to book me for plays! As I said this is NOT my thing so i politely declined but when the offers kept coming I had to lie and said i was moving to france 😂 no more requests since
This explains everything. I fit the contralto range. Now I know why I always had difficulty cracking at the higher c and d in choir where I was recognized as an alto, yet had no trouble singing most tenor parts.
I didn't realize how much I was beating myself up for not having a high range until I stopped doing it. My lowest note is a D3 and I'm proud of it now! 💛💛💛
Yay!! That makes me happy that you now can enjoy and appreciate your voice exactly how it is!
My lowest note is D3 too!
we should form a club lol
Was encouraged by a teacher as a kid...alto...parents never encouraged and ex husband mocked...so i shut down...im alone and enjoy singing...where would one practice and improve upon that as a hobby....thank you❤❤
Contralto for sure. I filled in for tenor/baritone years ago in choir to help out. :) I had a higher range then, too, mezzo-sop, basically Madonna's range, but can't do it now.
Awesome to know what your voice type is then, it must be really interesting to be able to sing tenor/baritone repertoire!
I have always wondered why i could sing the men's part so easily and not the women's? I couldn't and I'd get so sad but now i am finally accepting the voice i am born with. I am an theatre actor and wanna be a singer as well so i definitely should be proud of myself and keep practicing and thanks for the video.
Lisa Gerrard has a very unique vocal range. She can go from a deep masculine operatic contralto chest vocal to a higher mezzo-soprano head voice. When you listen to her sing it’s almost like your hearing two or three different singers singing. ❤
Ever since about 9 and 10 years old I was never able to any popular female songs at all because I had a very deep and big voice. I always used to be super ashamed of it because I had a “man voice”. After doing some research and watching this video, I found out some of my faves like Cher, Tracy Chapman and Amy Whitehouse also fall into this contralto voice type. I find much more confidence in my range now. Thanks for this video 💕
That is wonderful it could be helpful!!! YAY!!!
Thank you for this - I’m G2-G5 and I’ve found I usually can only sing male parts.
I get quite a few ladies writing in with a similar response. It’s much better when you know your voice type etc
I'm a contralto. When I sing, I'm mistaken for a male pretty often (by the listeners, without seeing my face of course). Back in the day, I did feel bad for not being able to hit high Soprano notes (without sounding like a cooked chicken 🤣). But eventually I learned to appreciate it, especially when my Soprano friends struggled to hit low & I kinda faked the tenor to troll them 🤣
Hi I am a D#3 - D5!I think it is easier for me to pick songs that tenors sing, otherwise it is difficult to find my tune!
Nice 2 octaves ! 😎😎😎😎
Yes look at songs sung by counter tenors :)
Check out counter tenor singers :)!
Thank you@@TamaraNozik you are amazing ❤️
@@3Va.official Thank you for visiting my channel. You are very kind x
Your accent fascinates me, you sound like an Australian that's spent a lot of time in Jersey. Great video, thanks for the clarity with your explanation.
I have a daughter who has a tenor voice, with a baritone extension to G#2. But, with my vocal range being A1-C5 and my wife being a contralto, this wouldn't be so odd, I suppose.
Wow!!! That’s so incredible she can go so low, must run in the family. Musical genes !
I’ve always wondered where I fit - now I understand that I’m a contralto! The hardest part in singing hymns - never quite sure whether to sing with the females or join the men. Struggle with the extremes of both.
Ohh this is so cool! Thanks ♥️
You are very welcome !! ❤️❤️❤️
The first contralto I discovered was Mahalia Jackson when I was a little girl in the 1960s, and lately I've discovered recordings of Nina Simone. I found my own contralto voice about 10 years ago, but I struggled to sing the higher alto notes in my church choir. So I'm joining the tenors, where my voice is quite comfortable - but I find reading the notes difficult with the various clefs tenors use, like the treble octave for their own line in one song and then in bass clef with the basses in the next.
I must say that, at age 68, I can truly express myself and sing my heart out in the contralto range!
Hi, informative video! I love that you’re bringing awareness to contralto voice in contemporary music because it’s definitely not a label that is often used apart from classic.
I’m not a professionally trained musician or anything, but I enjoy singing and playing music. I’m hoping you could help me decide if I have a Mezzo or Contralto voice. When I first heard about Contralto voice, I thought yes that's me, and a classical/operatic singer (not a professional coach) did tell me I have a "very rare voice type", but there's lots of conflicting information on it so I am unsure.
My range if you count every note I can possibly squeak out is C3 to E5. My comfortable range is F3 to G4. I find that I start to rely on “head voice” (idk if I’m using the term right) more around the F4 note, basically I can’t sing that note the same way I do an A3. I definitely find tenor male songs much more comfortable to sing, and avoided singing songs by contemporary female singers. Even Adele who has a lower mezzo-soprano voice is difficult for me even if I just try to match the notes/style without belting. I’ve been branching out a little more though, and I’m capable of singing most songs that stick with an E3 to B4 range, as long as most of the notes fall below G4.
My actual voice is what makes me confused. People online say a contralto voice should be "androgynous" and I'm not sure what that means, but I wouldn't call my voice androgynous. I like listening to contralto singers like Nina Simone, Karen Carpenter, Allison Moyet and they don't sound androgynous to me, either? While I definitely sing better in my lower range, I can hit higher notes (like, that high note from Take On Me by a-ha) but if I were to consistently sing a song with an upper range (with many notes above G4) I feel it sounds flat (as in monotonous) and not very colorful. I know this could either be a mezzo-soprano in need of more head/mixed voice training or a contralto, but I’m struggling to tell the difference. Perhaps your experience could help distinguish the two? Or perhaps since I’m not technically trained maybe I just need more experience to figure it out.
I experience the exact same thing and people tell me that I have "2 voices" when I sing, but no one including different vocal coaches has been able to help me with this. They tell me that I need to gain self confidence, or that it is puberty and it will pass in time (I am 17) or that it is all in my head (bc I believe I can't achieve that range idk?). For the longest time I couldn't understand what was wrong with me and no one can help me either. You have explained it perfectly.
This is exactly what i'm trying to find out in this deep internet dive i'm doing rn now..what i've been gathering from voice coaches is that
I think what is different between them is where your voice's sweet spot (range wise) *where the "prima voce" of your voice lies*...and then like if the timbre is has more girth and depth to it in the lower register and is thinner more Falsetto like in the higher register because I think mezzo is more able to use chest voice for higher notes and they don't have to go into their Falsetto so soon and when they go don't to their lowest notes (which may be easy for contralto) they struggle to maintain great tone and don't have a round booming sound down there.
This app called Voice Range Voiceberry allowed me to sing to my lowest note and highest note and then estimated the type of singer I am (then it gave me an artist that i'm similar to....there was also a way to manually adjust the range and I noticed that depending on where I put it the voice type would change so that something..all that was offered in the free version and I think there's even more stuff in the pro version)
But yea i'm definitely trying to find examples of ppl singing bc I don't get what they mean yet when talking about the qualities of one's singing voice is a better testament to voice type then range alone
@@phoebeats Another thing important for determining voice type I found in my deep dive is the "passagio"-- where your voice transitions into chest, mixed, head voice naturally. Opera terms, yes, but it is the basis for vocal type classification. It takes a lot of training to figure out where these actually are because a lot of people with no musical knowledge do not know how to get into head voice, let alone mixed voice.
I think there's no need to rush in classifying your voice in such serious terms if you are just singing as a hobby, but it definitely helps to know your comfort range to avoid damaging your voice. And I certainly understand the curiosity hence why I'm here lol
@@mayam2904 on
I really like the sound of Contralto ladies! Smooth rich full and gorgeous! But then, I am biased because I sing Oktavist range at bass minus an octave or more. My range is A0 Bb0 B0 up to about G3. The E2/F2 at the bottom end of operatic bass is midrange as far as I am concerned. I start descending scales at C2 and go waaaaay down. My speaking voice is around G1 to D2 but I can speak lower when I want to catch your attention. Happy day to you and thanks for posting!
Happy day to your Brian. Wow that is so cool you sing Oktavist range. I love the contralto voice and also the bass gents sound!!
Great video. Just one thing: Alto is not a voice type, it's a part of the choir, because usually there are no mezzo-soprano part in choral music, just the "alto" which contains mezzo-soprano and contralto singers. :) Toni Braxton, she sounds like a low mezzo to me, or a hybrid voice type like a "mezzo-contralto", her higher notes are pretty feminine and light compared to Tracy Chapman or Nina Simone who are truly real contraltos. I think Cher, Annie Lennox or late Sarah Vaughan would be also great examples. Thank you for your informative videos! :)
Thank you so much David!!
Also, HAPPY NEW YEAR 🥳🥳🥳🥳
@@TamaraNozik Happy New Year Rich In Music!:))
I sing doing Alison Moyet the first day I sounded good but was a bit stuck with the words. But today I got even better with singing.
Practice makes perfect! I find lyrics very hard to remember!
@@TamaraNozik yeah and today I practiced for 30 minutes and did vocal exercises that increases your vocal range and power like crazy and plus I sang for an hour to build stanima
@@emmablyth375Wow! You are so dedicated!! Fantastic. Consistency is key :) Goodluck!
Funny that the range of the contralto is E3 to E5 since, despite that being vaguely my range, I struggle to hit those E's 😆 I tend to slip up and go half a tone below or over those two always
Yes, they are the general parameters! Some won't/will be able to extend beyond the listed notes. Everyone's voice is unique!
Im pretty sure this is my singing type, I just thought I was defected cause I can sing so low and when I try to sing high notes I physically cant so it's nice to know I'm not alone! Thank you for the vid it helped!
Yes!! You are rare and special!! Contraltos are wonderful singers!
I was classified as a soprano.I hit a B5 when going on higher notes. I'm now untrained, so I don't know if I could do better then. But I have a deep low speaking voice and this always confused a lot of people, including me... The last note I can hit is a B2. I guess this classification depends most on the passage notes? My middle notes are terrible, so I know for sure I'm not a Mezzo hahahahah
This is a very interesting conversation Alexia. Your voice sounds very unique. I know when I don't train I loose my head voice completely and my range diminishes significantly. I'm curious about your point about your middle voice when you have a strong head and chest voice. Have you ever thought to get a vocal check up from a local speech pathologist for peace of mind? It doesn't necessarily mean somethings wrong, but it's unusual for the middle to be unbalanced in your voice when you have a strong upper and lower voice.
:)
@@TamaraNozik Thanks a lot for the reply! It really hit something... This issue with my middle notes bugs me a lot and obviously I would like to fix it, since most popular songs are in middle register. It has always been like this since I started to sing. I don't know if the fact that I speak too low for my actual register can damage my voice, but I have a low voice for a girl since I was a kid hahaha. I speak mostly around D3. I will take your advice for getting a check! Thanks =D
Great! I hate to have to send you elsewhere but if you have issues in the middle but strong in top and bottom it can be a range of things, which can be solved! I’ve even had students with tension which they didn’t know they had, once tension was addressed by a professional BAM issue gone! Please let me know how you go, I would love to know 💕
hi alexia, I have been experiencing the same thing and nobody has been able to help me. did you get it checked out?
I've noticed my voice has changed over the years and I'm now comfortably a contralto with a B2-B5 range.😌
I always thought I was an alto, until my vocal teacher checked that my range is exactly E3 to E5
Hey Suzana, Where does your tessitura (place of comfort) sit? high in the range, middle or down low?
@@TamaraNozik I think it's down low to middle? I'm comfortable from about F3 to A#4
Yeah, so you’re down in contralto territory.
@@TamaraNozik Figured that's why I always enjoyed singing Annie Lennox and Cher. Btw, I'm really glad I found your channel, it's very informative! Cheers from Poland :)
I'm a contralto. My mom is a soprano. She and I would sing together as I played the piano. I miss those days!! ❤
My range goes from C3 to C5 :) E5 is so hard for me. It just sound super sqeeky🙈
Don’t worry! It’s just a parameter! It doesn’t necessarily mean that you will be able to sing the range exactly. Depends on age, health, your physiology and also if you are working with a teacher able to work with you. C5 is great!!
You also might not be using your head voice yet or have access to that vocal register at this point. :)
@@TamaraNozik thank you for the feedback :) yes my head voice is my problem cause my voice always breaks or it sounds too airy or nothing but air comes out :/
i've always been told i have potential to be a great singer, but i became discouraged growing up seeing how singers were primarily praised for high notes i physically couldn't hit. after discovering i'm a contralto, i feel like i've finally unlocked the key to being able to sing at my best!!!
Check out Diana Ankudinova!
Singing : wicked games, rechenka, human...
She is 14-15 in those exhibitions!
She is a true contralto and is a unique singer !!
Cheers !!
Hello Dr. Crimp! I just listened to her Wicked Games audition and John in a comment below also suggested her. Thank you so much! A perfect example of contralto. Her range in the song I just listened to was F3 - C#5. Thank you so much for sharing!
This makes sense; I always said I was a tenor. Hitting E3 -E5 is just about my limit. Nice research.
I have a really powerful voice, and a dark voice tone, my range is C3 - C6 but I can go higher til D7 with whistle tone. I prefer singing in chest voice and I’m comfortable in higher notes then in low notes. I can belt all the fifth octave. A friend of mine, a musician, says that I’m a contralto with a wide range but I’m confused ‘cause I’m not comfortable in low Notes even if I can reach them. She says that ‘cause of my dark and full voice but I think I’m a mezzo I don’t know :(
This is a great conversation! Lots of people can get confused and I do not blame them. I think there are a few things to consider here. Having a dark tone doesn't necessarily mean you are automatically contralto. Look at Adele - warm tone, but a mezzo-soprano. The tessitura (I'm bringing a video out on this next!) is something to consider when you are working out range. Where does the voice sit comfortably. Just because you have a large range doesn't mean it's your go to area. This has to be considered when working out voice type. You say you are much more comfortable in those higher notes and mid area. Typically a contralto will feel at home in those lower tones. My gut is you are a mezzo-soprano, but I haven't heard you and others might differ. I hope that helps you ❤️
@@TamaraNozik thank you! This really helps me! Once a vocal coach told me that even if I have a nice low notes, my true power is my high range. I really feel into mezzo-soprano, I’m also comfortable singing Adele, Gaga And demi lovato songs! I hope to discover more over my voice! Thank you again ❤️❤️
coool! i'm a contralto.. my comfortable range is F3-D5
Hi! I found your video and liked intresting. I would like tô suggest foi tô listen to Brazilian singers Ana Carolina, Paula Fernandes and Ivete Sangalo. I think they seem to be contralto. Ivete Sangalo has been one of the most popular singers um Brazil for nearly 30 years and Paula Fernandes has won 2 grammys.
Thank you so much Tiago!! They are excellent suggestions and provide great examples. I can’t wait to listen to them !!!! 🙏🙏🙏🌈🌈
I had laryngitis for 5 weeks & I think it changed my voice. I can now practically match Elvis's lowest range. I am a woman.
I think I'm lower than contralto, is there a name for this range?
You would just consider yourself a low contralto ! It’s kind of like Bass for men, there is nothing lower. So amazing that you can sing lower, incredible !!!
Tenor?
This was a great video! I really don't know what my range is. When I was in a musical, the music director asked what I was, I told him that I've never sung before, so I didn't know what it was. He tested me but didn't tell me. He stuck me in Soprano to start with, I couldn't reach some of those notes. He then moved me to Alto. Then when he realized that he didn't have enough male tenor voices, he moved me and one other woman to Tenor. Then for the big number (male dominated) he told me to sing some parts of the song with the Baritones. When I checked my range about a year ago the keys were B2 or 3 - G5. However, I have a feeling I may have done it wrong. I thought it said B2, but maybe I read it wrong? I don't know, but I can go pretty low since I damaged my vocal cords when I was 19. I wish I knew what exercises to do to strengthen my vocal cords so that I don't hurt them anymore and make myself have laryngitis. I'm outgoing so I love to talk to people, I also love to sing along with my favs, and I'm trying to get work as a voice actor- which is my dream job (I love to mimic people singing and sounds of things)... but I always end up straining something, even when I'm trying to be careful and not strain anything. Oh well, maybe someday I'll find out what I can do to save my voice and figure out what my range really is.
This is SUCH an interesting conversation. Tani if there is any possible way I highly suggest you connect with a speech pathologist in your area. They can take a very in-depth listen and look at your voice and refer you or give you exercises to help your speaking voice and give you peace of mind that everything is ok!!! The first time I went, I just wanted to make sure everything was healthy and I’m so grateful I went. Especially if you find someone who can just do a session and give you advice. Then you’ll know the next step to take!
Also, It sounds like you voice is super deep which is totally fine and your director didn’t know what to do with you!!
@@TamaraNozik Thank you for the feedback and advice. I will seek a speech pathologist. I really want to make my vocal cords healthy and happy. Thanks again and have a great day/evening!
Let me know how you go!!! Even if you just have one session for peace of minds, it will really help you 💕💕💕💕💕
I would say if you can sing man enough for me by Toni Braxton comfortably then you are a Contralto.
Love that tune!
I can sing toni comfortably!! Love it🙌🏾🙌🏾
toni is a lyric mezzo soprano. her timber is feminine and brighter as she ascends unlike true contraltos like nina simone anne lennox and tracy chapman
@Kevin Innocent I've heard Toni sing live. She is a Contralto. Toni's only sings in those upper ranges for special performances like the grammys or in studio. Otherwise she sings in her lower range for live performances. Watch her song Mary did you know on The Real. A Mezzo would have a very hard time hitting those notes and if they wouldn't be that full.
@Kevin Innocent. I don't think that Toni even sings high enough to be considered a coloratura contralto. Maybe a lyric Contralto. For me there is a difference between being able to hit a note and being able to sing notes (not just in rifts) that sound pleasing. Adele is a Mezzo who sounds very good when singing in a low range.
Contralto here skidding in two years late! I grew up on Peter, Paul & Mary, so Mary Travers was my contemporary contralto icon. In regards to musical theatre, Hadestown has INCREDIBLE rep for contralto (the Third Fate, and Persephone can be played by a Contralto) as well as counter-tenor (Orpheus) and bass (Hades)! Love this video, and thanks for recognizing our existence, lol.
Me 😊 I can sing alone with Nina Simone just fine and most men vocals (I don’t sound good yet lol). I can start at D3. But I was forced to sing soprano as a kid so I have a strong head voice and I can actually go up pretty high. It’s just all so nasally 😖 trying to strengthen my chest voice and fix my vowel pronunciation. I just want to know what my true singing voice sounds like. I’m leaning more towards a Jazz sound right now though. It’s just hard because not many women sing this low so I don’t have that many examples.
Wow I bet you have an incredible voice and you are just being super hard on yourself! It’s actually good you have a strong head voice - the challenge will just be connecting your head and chest register (mix voice). The nasality can be caused by a number of things - tightness in jaw and neck. This can cause the larynx to be unable to move as it needs. Also soft palate might just not want to raise. Warm up with lots of dark open vowels, keep it quiet, and yawning and sighing which will train the soft palate to raise when singing 👍👍👍👍 I would also check out any male jazz tenor singer and find a karaoke (mostly all of them are tenor!!) that way you’ll hit those notes and not have to keep searching. It’s a unique voice type for sure! Hope that helps!!!
The contralto chest voice begins at D3! I know that l am one myself and was in the same boat for years. The lowest notes and highest notes are the easiest, but in-between ohh yuck. I avoided using my chest voice for years, it felt heavy, tiring and unwieldy. Age literally forced me to change my way of singing, it got even lower, darker and smokier, androgynous even. I swear l hear my brother's voice in me at times (omg!!!)
Now the pitch of my voice dropped quite a bit than it was before previous to working more extensively with the low register. I feel like a freakin teenage boy complete voice cracks lol. So just like a changeling l have to learn my new instrument. It's still frustrating but I'm finally getting more control as well. I think l gained new muscle learning to support this sound.
Great explainer. One of the best contralto singers today in contemporary music is Hannah Reid of London Grammar.
Thank you Steve! Ooooo I shall check out Hannah Reid, thank you for this suggestion!
I have no idea what I am. I know I can be mistaken for a guy on the phone if I’m not careful 😂🤷🏽♀️😂
Wow you must have a deep voice!
I have a different story than most. I was born a second soprano "churchy" ... that wasn't very useful because I write music and couldn't really even sing effective demos for own songs. About 6 1/2 years ago give or take I started losing my voice... turns out my right vocal chord was paralyzed from a neck injury. I couldn't sing at all for 4 years and then I decided to try vocal therapy starting at 15 hours a day now down to between 3-5 (seven days a week). Any less singing than that causes me weeks of setback so I keep it up. It took me 1 1/2 years to be able to sing well enough to record my own music -- with pitch correction... another 3 months to stay on key all the time and the last six developing a "new" style for my "new voice" which is a "raspy contralto"... my range is currently Bb2 to Bb5 but I'm much more comfortable singing in the low register. The one thing I really can't sing now is "churchy" not that I really wanted to. My most difficult notes are regular alto oddly. The most recent music I have posted is from several months ago but in the next few months I'm going to post some of my songs that give a good example of my range and style versatility. I actually like my voice much better now and it's far more useful for my purposes but it's way more upkeep. I wonder how much better my voice would have been prior to the paralysis if I had been as committed. Some of the stuff I currently have up I would really like to re-record because my voice is so much better than it was but... I'm already about 45 songs behind in recording so I think forward is the way to go.
Firstly, I am SO sorry that you experienced a voice paralysis, it must have been very scary and difficult to move on from such an experience. Wonderful to hear that you are still inspired to keep working and making goals in your composing and singing practice. Do you work with a voice therapist or speech pathologist?
@@TamaraNozik No. I don't think there's anyone in this area. I had to go well over 100 miles just to see a spinal surgeon. He said that he didn't think surgery was an option and it was unlikely that it would help having been compressed for so long. It takes me about 30-60 minutes to warm up again every time I lay down and put any pressure on my neck. I use my diaphragm a lot more than with my old voice because otherwise I don't have much vocal control. The first year I spent a lot of time laying on my back while singing in order to figure out how to engage my diaphragm at such a low register.
Fantastic video! I love how well you explain things, and how you have every portion time stamped. Truly exceptional work☺️
Wow! Thank you so much for this really kind comment. I spend a great deal of time editing and making sure it’s the best it can be. Just got a new light so hopefully lighting is better in the next video. Thank you for your kindness xxx
My choir director was great and put me as alto 2 in our SSAA choir. She picked up on my low range so now I sing tenor. We actually have quite a few female tenors -- I feel like it might be more common than we think but most people don't give them a chance. ( My range goes an octave below middle C, and a little lower although that's not so comfortable)
I'm a contralto too and I always got so jealous of the sopranos for having higher voices than mine (my vocal range goes from D3 to D6), but I never really understood how rare it was to actually find a contralto singer and now I'm owning the fact that I have something that's very rare! Contraltos unite! ❤
I have always been a lower Alto and now I have the name. Thank you!
Didn't know there was a voice type for my range!!!! I typically find it easier to sing the tenor parts. I've even sung the bassline in an old hymnal years ago.
Woah I'm a contralto
I could reach a d3 but sometimes when I warm up I could reach a b2
Oh yes that B2 is very low indeed! Yay contralto!
I'm definitely a contralto. My singing voice is characterized by a warm timbre and smokey deepness reminiscent of Karen Carpenter, whose music I absolutely love. I've always sang low as a child growing up. In youth choir I hardly ever got any singing parts because I couldn't sing as high as the other girls. Over the years I've learned to embrace my voice.
What a lovely story! Thank you for sharing. Love Karen Carpenter, but what a sad story she had 😥
@@TamaraNozik Thank you, Tamara. I would send you a short video of me singing This Masquerade by Karen Carpenter. But I don't know how to do that. Email perhaps?
I few weeks ago I started trying to sing past the "Happy Birthday" singing most of us non-singers do. I have never been able to sing, so I tried to figure out my range, just to see if I had even enough to build on. I can go from A2 to A5, at any moment. I have hit a F2 once or twice(😂 it's funny bc I'm a 5'1 little woman). The highest Ive ever hit was C6. I guess I'm a legit Contralto. It explains a lot. I sound best singing songs by men...mostly tenors! Thank you for the video!❤
I've recently discovered that my voice belongs to the "contralto" range! It came as a real surprise. I used to think my voice sounded deeper compared to other girls my age, and I worried that something might be wrong with my voice. I also shared some experiences I've read here in the comments and felt a sudden relief that there are also girls and women just like me who had similar experiences: like my sister and my dad telling me not to sing, and that I was a "bad" singer-how wrong they were! But now, I realize it's a rare variation of my vocal tone, and I couldn't be prouder. :)