One of the defining features of voice types are the typical ranges and while not the deciding factor, is a good indicator of what voice type a person is.

So what are the typical ranges of the main voice types including Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Bass?


An important distinction to be made here is the difference between range and tessitura. According to The Complete Musician by Steve Laitz,

range is the total span of pitches that a voice can sing; this covers roughly the interval of a twelfth. ... a more comfortable register [is] referred to as its tessitura.

Laitz then provides a chart of SATB ranges and tessituras, reproduced below. "R" indicates range, while "T" indicates tessitura.

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Most theory textbooks agree, but there are occasional differences. Note that these textbooks all only discuss the range, not the tessitura:

  • Tonal Harmony by Kostka and Payne only has one difference: the lowest pitch of the bass is listed as E, not D. The same is true for Harmony in Context by Roig-Francolí.
  • The Complete Musician by Clendinning and Marvin has the entire bass range moved up a step, from E to D instead of Laitz's D to C.
  • Harmony and Voice Leading by Aldwell and Schachter has a few differences: the soprano can be extended by one step in both directions; the alto is listed as G to C, with the D an allowable extension; the tenor has a high A as an allowable extension; and the bass is listed as E to C, with both the lower and upper Ds allowed as extensions.
  • Harmonic Practice in Tonal Music by Gauldin prefers D to F for the soprano, A to C for the alto, D to F for the tenor, and G to C for the bass. He lists one pitch above and below each range as an allowable extension.
  • I thought that tessitura was more applicable to the range of notes in a piece. Or maybe excessive number of notes at the extremes of the range. Thus, a piece with a high tessitura would contain quite a few high notes - thus making it not easily sung by someone from that category. Obviously, some singers will vary slightly, so that some tenors, for example, would be able to comfortably sing a tenor piece with a low tessitura,which other tenors might not. Is Laitz stating tessitura is more a reference to voices (satb) than to the excessive number of high/middle/low notes that feature... – Tim Jan 22 '18 at 8:46
  • ...in a particular song? This may explain why in a/t/b/ the 'tessitura' is smaller than the range, but not so for top end sopranos. I'd have considered that tessitura refers to the song not the singer, and gives a better understanding to the poor soul who's about to sing. As in a bass may be quite capable and happy singing a song for tenor, providing it had a low tessitura, rather than him 'having a high tessitura'. – Tim Jan 22 '18 at 9:00
  • @Tim In my experience, the range of notes in a piece is typically referred to as the ambitus. But perhaps that's a US/UK distinction? – Richard Jan 22 '18 at 18:18
  • In a vague sort of way, tessitura can be construed as ambitus - which is a new one on me. Question time? – Tim Jan 22 '18 at 18:55

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