By Mayer · Last updated 2026-09-28
Vocal ranges are the spans of notes each voice type sings well: soprano C4–C6, mezzo-soprano A3–A5, alto F3–F5, tenor C3–C5, baritone A2–A4 and bass E2–E4. Measure yours with the free vocal range test, pick the key that fits, then shift any song into it.
- Find your range: sing your lowest and highest comfortable notes into the range test, or let the voice type test name your voice type.
- Pick your key: work out what key you should sing in. Is the song too high or too low? Swapping a man’s song for a woman’s voice? Use the male to female key change table.
- Shift the song: move it by semitones with the online key changer, or use the karaoke pitch changer for backing tracks. The tempo stays the same.
Vocal range chart: every voice type with notes and Hz
| Voice type | Range | Frequency | Middle note | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soprano | C4–C6 | 262 Hz – 1,047 Hz | C5 | Highest female voice |
| Mezzo-soprano | A3–A5 | 220 Hz – 880 Hz | A4 | Middle female voice |
| Contralto (alto) | F3–F5 | 175 Hz – 698 Hz | F4 | Lowest female voice |
| Countertenor | E3–E5 | 165 Hz – 659 Hz | E4 | Male voice in the alto range |
| Tenor | C3–C5 | 131 Hz – 523 Hz | C4 | Highest usual male voice |
| Baritone | A2–A4 | 110 Hz – 440 Hz | A3 | Middle male voice |
| Bass | E2–E4 | 82.4 Hz – 330 Hz | E3 | Lowest male voice |
These are the textbook two-octave ranges that choir and voice-type charts use, and our voice type test uses the same ones. They describe comfortable singing, not a singer’s extreme notes. Sources differ by a tone or two: our contralto and baritone guides use E3–E5 and G2–G4. Together the six main types run from E2 (82.4 Hz) to C6 (1,047 Hz), which is 3 octaves and 8 semitones.
Range alone does not decide a voice type. Teachers also look at where the voice sits most comfortably (tessitura), where it changes register (head voice vs chest voice), and at its weight and colour. Opera goes further and splits each type into subtypes with the Fach system.
Female vocal ranges
From highest to lowest, the female voice types are soprano, mezzo-soprano and alto (contralto). The female voice types compared guide puts them side by side. Choir “alto” is a part, while contralto is a voice type, as explained in alto vs contralto. Two more guides separate the neighbours: alto vs mezzo-soprano and mezzo-soprano vs contralto.
Male vocal ranges
From highest to lowest, the male voice types are countertenor, tenor, baritone and bass. See male voice types compared, tenor vs baritone, tenor vs bass and baritone vs bass. In a choir, the parts are shortened to SATB (soprano, alto, tenor, bass). The choral vocal ranges guide covers SATB parts and soprano 1 vs soprano 2.
Most common, highest, lowest and rarest voice types
- Most common: no census of voices exists. Most voice teachers name mezzo-soprano as the most common female voice and baritone as the most common male voice.
- Highest: soprano. The lightest subtype, coloratura soprano, reaches above C6, and notes up there use the whistle register (see how to do whistle tones). No standard voice type sits above soprano.
- Lowest: bass for men and contralto for women. Contralto is a female voice. Tenor is about an octave below soprano, not above it.
- Rarest: true contralto (female) and very low bass, also called basso profundo (male), are usually named as the rarest.
How many octaves is a good vocal range?
| Range | Semitones | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| About 1.5 octaves | 18 | Enough for many pop melodies |
| 2 octaves | 24 | One full textbook voice type, e.g. tenor C3–C5 |
| 3 octaves | 36 | Wide: usually includes falsetto or head voice |
| 4 octaves | 48 | Rare: e.g. Adam Levine, B1–B5 in our analysis |
| 5 octaves or more | 60+ | Exceptional, with whistle notes: Mariah Carey F2–G7 is 5 octaves + 2 semitones |
For most singers, a comfortable two octaves matters more than the total. It means you can sing most songs once they are in the right key. Ranges of 3 or more octaves nearly always count falsetto, whistle or vocal-fry notes. A piano spans 7¼ octaves (A0–C8), so treat claims of 7 or 8 vocal octaves with care unless the notes are shown. Training adds usable notes, most often at the top. The guide to extending your vocal range explains how.
Common note spans in octaves
| Span | Semitones | Octaves | Fits inside the textbook range of |
|---|---|---|---|
| C3 to C5 | 24 | 2 octaves | Tenor |
| C3 to C6 | 36 | 3 octaves | none: wider than one voice type |
| G2 to C5 | 29 | 2 octaves + 5 semitones | none: wider than one voice type |
| C2 to C4 | 24 | 2 octaves | none: goes below the bass range (E2) |
| C3 to E5 | 28 | 2 octaves + 4 semitones | none: wider than one voice type |
| F3 to C5 | 19 | 1 octave + 7 semitones | Contralto, Countertenor, Tenor |
| E3 to E5 | 24 | 2 octaves | Countertenor |
| F2 to G4 | 26 | 2 octaves + 2 semitones | none: wider than one voice type |
| C4 to C6 | 24 | 2 octaves | Soprano |
| B2 to F5 | 30 | 2 octaves + 6 semitones | none: wider than one voice type |
C3 to C5 is exactly two octaves. It matches the tenor chart, and in a woman it points to a low alto voice. C5 is the top of the textbook tenor range but only the middle of a soprano’s range. For women, D5 and E5 are strong upper belt notes. C2 is below the textbook bass range, and C7 is whistle register.
Same song, another voice type: how many semitones to shift
| Written for ↓ / you are → | Soprano | Mezzo | Alto | Tenor | Baritone | Bass |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soprano song | — | −3 | −7 | 0 (an octave lower) | −3 (an octave lower) | +4 (2 octaves lower) |
| Mezzo song | +3 | — | −4 | +3 (an octave lower) | 0 (an octave lower) | −5 (an octave lower) |
| Alto song | +7 | +4 | — | −5 | +4 (an octave lower) | −1 (an octave lower) |
| Tenor song | 0 (an octave higher) | −3 (an octave higher) | +5 | — | −3 | −8 |
| Baritone song | +3 (an octave higher) | 0 (an octave higher) | −4 (an octave higher) | +3 | — | −5 |
| Bass song | −4 (2 octaves higher) | +5 (an octave higher) | +1 (an octave higher) | +8 | +5 | — |
The table compares the centres of the textbook ranges. A song written for a soprano sits one octave above a tenor, so a tenor sings it in the same key, an octave lower (0). A mezzo song gives a tenor +3: an octave lower, then three semitones up. That is why swapping between men’s and women’s songs usually takes a few semitones, not 12. Use the number as a starting point, then check the song’s own highest and lowest notes. The semitones to change key chart turns the number into key names, and what are semitones explains the unit.
Famous singers by voice type
Each singer below has a full breakdown on our site: range, voice type, tessitura and signature songs. The voice type is the one each post argues for. Pop singers are rarely classified officially, and ranges include falsetto and whistle notes.
| Voice type | Singers (range in our analysis) |
|---|---|
| Soprano | Mariah Carey (F2–G7) · Whitney Houston (C♯3–D♯6, spinto soprano or mezzo) · Brandy (C3–G6) · Amy Lee (D3–E6) · Barbra Streisand (B2–E6) |
| Mezzo-soprano | Beyoncé (G2–G♯5, head voice to F6) · Adele (C3–E5) · Aretha Franklin (G2–E6) · Alicia Keys (A2–G5) · Taylor Swift (A2–G5) · SZA (Eâ™3–Bâ™5) · Billie Eilish (A2–G5) · Lady Gaga (F2–G5) |
| Contralto | Amy Winehouse (contralto or mezzo) |
| Tenor | Adam Levine (B1–B5) · Benson Boone (B2–C6+) · Prince (E2–B6) · Michael Jackson (A2–F6) · Bruno Mars (D2–Bâ™5) · Ed Sheeran (G2–B5) |
| Countertenor | Adam Lambert (A2–C6) · Sam Smith (A2–C6) |
| Baritone | Barry Gibb (E2–G5 with falsetto) · Bob Dylan (G2–C5) · Billy Joel (C2–Bâ™4) · Harry Styles (D2–B5) · Axl Rose (F1–B6, baritone core) |
Is Billie Eilish a soprano or an alto? Our post calls her a lower mezzo-soprano. Our posts also class SZA, Alicia Keys and Taylor Swift as mezzo-sopranos. Harry Styles is a lyric baritone and Ed Sheeran a light lyric tenor. Celine Dion, Freddie Mercury, The Weeknd, Dua Lipa, Ariana Grande, Elton John, Brendon Urie and more are in our guide library.
Find your own range, then move songs into it
- Warm up for a few minutes with humming or lip trills.
- Slide down to your lowest clear note and up to your highest clear note, without straining or cracking. The range test holds each note for half a second before it counts it.
- Test twice, on different days, and keep the notes you can repeat. The step-by-step vocal range guide covers the piano method too.
- Compare your notes with the chart above, then with the song, and shift the song by the difference.
In our tests, the range test’s pitch detector stayed within 1.25 cents on 45 notes from E2 to C6, with no octave errors. The voice type test placed 810 of 810 test tones within ±10 cents (how we test our tools). The shifting happens in your browser with the online pitch changer, which uploads nothing. For a vocal-only file, try the vocal pitch changer. For everything else, see all pitch tools. Singing off-key rather than out of range? Read common pitch problems for singers.
Frequently asked questions
What are the vocal ranges from highest to lowest?
Soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto (contralto), tenor, baritone and bass, with countertenor as a male voice in the alto range. Contralto is the lowest female voice, not a male one. Soprano is the highest, so it does not lie between alto and tenor.
Is there a vocal range higher than soprano?
No standard voice type is higher. Coloratura sopranos sing the highest parts, and notes above about C6 use the whistle register, which a few singers, including some men, can reach.
What vocal range is C3 to C5?
C3 to C5 is exactly two octaves (24 semitones), the textbook tenor range. For a woman it is a low range, typical of an alto or contralto. Comfort and tone decide the type more than the two end notes.
What is the human vocal range in Hz?
The six main voice types together span about 82 Hz (E2, low bass) to 1,047 Hz (C6, high soprano). These are fundamental frequencies. The overtones that give a voice its tone reach several thousand hertz.
Can a man sing soprano?
Yes, in falsetto or head voice. A countertenor sings roughly the alto range, E3–E5. Male sopranos are rarer and use the same technique higher up. Adam Lambert and Sam Smith are countertenors in our analysis.