In Part 1, we talked about the different singing voice types in the female range, and in this article, we’ll be covering the male voices.

While there are three categories for women, when it comes to male singing voice types, there are four. In fact, there are several quartet groups which are formed from one man in each category. Here are the categories below:

Countertenor
The highest voice group for males is the countertenor, typically ranging from E3 (E below Middle C) to E5 (two octaves higher). Most countertenors (with very few exceptions) generally sing in their falsetto register, using their modal voice for lower notes. Just like the female singing voice types, males also have subcategories in each voice group. Countertenors are divided into sopranist, haute-contre, and castrato.

Some examples of well-known countertenors include Adam Levine, Nick Pitera, Chris Kirkpatrick (NSYNC), Howie D (Backstreet Boys), Barry Gibb (Bee Gees), Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin), and Mitch Grassi (Pentatonix).

Tenor
The tenor range is the highest male voice within the modal register and typically ranges from C3 (one octave below Middle C) and C5. There are seven subcategories for tenors; tenore contralino, leggero tenor, lyric tenor, spinto tenor, dramatic tenor, heldentenor, and baritenor.

Some famous tenors include Luciano Pavarotti, Andrea Bocelli, Freddie Mercury, Bon Joni, Steven Tyler, Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Elton John, Ed Sheeran, and Bruno Mars.

Baritone
The baritone range lies between tenor and bass, typically ranging between A2 and A4. There are nine subcategories for baritones; baryton-martin, lyric baritone, bel canto, kavalierbariton, heldenbaritone, verdi baritone, dramatic baritone, baryton-noble, and bass-baritone.

Some famous baritones include Tom Jones, Elvis Presley, David Bowie, Prince, Frank Sinatra, and Josh Groban.

Bass
The fourth and last of the male singing voice types is bass, which is the lowest voice, ranging approximately between E2 and E4. The bass range has six subcategories which are basso profondo, basso buffo, bel canto bass, basso cantante, dramatic bass, and bass-baritone.

Some famous bass singers include Roger Waters, Avi Kaplan (Pentatonix), Paul McCartney, Sting, Bing Crosby, and Barry White.

If you have a passion for singing and would love to learn more, get in touch with the School of Popular Music in Guernsey today to find out about the singing and music lessons we offer.

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