The
Diversity of
Voices in A
Choir
BY JO-MICHAEL SCHEIBE

If you’ve never been a part of a choir, you may not be aware of the fact
that not every choir is built from the same components.
There are choirs categorized by the institutions they represent (church,
collegiate, community), and those are further separated into all-female,
mixed, all-male groups.
But there are more divisions once you’re in your specific choir to best
suit the vocal instrument!

Soprano
The soprano voice type is the highest
vocal range that humans can sing in.
The range of a soprano voice falls
between A3 or B♭3 (just below
middle C) and “soprano C” (C6 two
octaves above middle C). Sopranos are
typically women, but men can
occasionally be sopranos, and are
referred to as “sopranists”

Alto
Alto voices are the second highest
vocal range in choral arrangements.
Again, it’s typically a female type,
but it can sometimes be used to
describe the highest male voices
(aka countertenors). The range for
an alto falls between G3 (the G
below middle C) to F5 (the F in the
second octave above middle C).

Tenor
The tenor range is the range where we
typically see a high concentration of
the “higher” male voices. Tenor voices
start (at its highest) at D5 range to as
low as A♭2 . Tenors can be broken
down into several subcategories,
depending on range: leggero, lyric,
spint, dramatic, heldentenro, Mozart,
and tenor buffo.

Bass
The deepest and lowest voice in the
choral vocal range, bass voice types
are almost always males (although
there is the occasional female bass
singer, like Juliana Strangelove). The
Bass voice can range from as low as
C2 to as high as high F♯ or G

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