What is your Voice Classification? | Soprano Alto Tenor Bass | #DrDan 🎤

Contemporary voice classification can help singers choose the right songs to sing! We all want to know who we are and what sets us apart as individual voices. Part of this discovery process is determining what voice classification you fall into. In contemporary singing 'voice classification’ has limited use, but it can be helpful when learning what to expect from your God-given anatomy.

Voice classification is a helpful tool when seeking to identify yours, or someone else’s, general voice type. Most people typically think of voice types as falling into one of four categories: Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Bass. These four basic types are derived from choral compositions, and sometimes you’ll hear these referred to as SATB.

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And a small side note (because I'm asked a lot): It is important to note that while I hold a doctorate (thus I am Dr Dan), I am not a medical doctor, and the advice provided in this video is generalised information only. Therefore you should always consult with your licensed health care professional for personalised advice about your vocal health and well-being. #DrDan

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[katdenning]

Chorus Teacher: Alto or Soprano?
Me (7th grade): I don’t know. Soprano, maybe?
Teacher: Ok, you’ll be a Soprano.

[SuperPatryQQ]

True basses are ultra rare... even more than tenors. :D I totally love bass voice.

[heatherhudson]

Dr. Dan: “misclasification is a problem when singers insist on singing outside their range”

Me, a “lady tenor”: I wanna sing soprano and you can’t stop me.

[anduarto]

Very informative. Watching this I'm going to say I am a tenor but my fach is in the lower range. Not sure though. I'll have to go fach myself.

[JakobRobert]

3:15 I'd rather say most female pop songs are written for the Alto range. They rarely go above a D#5 or E5 and if, it's usually strongly belted. And they also go really low, like to a G3 or F3. Male pop songs are mostly written in tenor range and the singers use falsetto often, so when men and women sing in a duet they often even sing in the same range.

[alexanderhamilton]

In my school choir, I can sing soprano I, soprano II, and alto all pretty comfortably. What would that make me?

[HIBYROSE]

Ironically there are very less Baritone singers in Pop music. So it gets so saturating listening to all these high voices all the time. How do I find where my Fach is? whereas many legendary female singers are mezzo-sopranos. Whiney Houston for example. Even pop diva Beyonce is a mezzo, then there is Adele with her gorgeous Alto voice. why this discrepancy?

[nils]

You're the first voice teacher i've heard who's saying "Fach" right! 😄

[telegramsam]

Definitely deserve the title Doctor you do! Me singing teacher hear's the improvements in my voice because of your free tip's! Cheer's Dan.

I think the key to me finding out my vocal classification, was realising how awful and forced my voice sounded while trying to sing like Elvis Presley back when I was starting me singing journey back around 2010. After year's of 'trying' to sound like a Baritone as well desiring to find out what on earth I truly was, my singing teacher freed up my voice and discovered I am in fact a Tenor, which i'm very pleased to be!

Now instead of imitating Elvis, I can actually sing his song my way and give it a whole new texture and ring to it.

Thank you for being a part of my vocal journey brother Dan! Merry Christmas, hope it's a groove!

[TheJanooby]

SATB sounds like something you get after a one night stand

[forleb]

A lot of people don't take in to consideration the adult status requirement for SATB to be accurate. So many kids in choir classes get confused and sometimes focus on the wrong end of their natural, yet still developing true voice type. When I was 14 I was probably tenor material, then right before I turned 15 I went total bass for my age. C♯2 can easily be considered baritone territory for an adult, but for someone my age it shifts down a notch. Our voices get deeper as we grow older, it's a simple fact; a lot of people don't realize that sometimes. In my opinion the best way to categorize young voices using SATB and its 7 part system would be to shift everything down one notch from the adult classification. Keep in mind this really only works if your voice matures at a steady pace, unlike mine. My friend was a total tenor until he hit 16, where over the course of just 2 months his lowest note dropped from F2 to B1. If that happens to you, it usually means you'll keep spiking downwards, and typically nullifies my method of classification because it means you're going to be a total bass.

Hope this was helpful to some of the teen viewers :D

[ПавелНедев-рч]

Analyzed Freddie Mercury's voice.

[nunosilva]

I would like to know my voice type: my lowest chest voice is f2 and my highest chest is c5.
My highest mixed voice is e5
My highest head voice is d#6
I can do whistle up to g7.
Can someone tell my voice type?

[KanoajbMC]

My voice dropped a year or two before most of my classmates did. I was always referred to as the “low bass” in choir, and it took me quite awhile to realize my voice sat in between bass and baritone. Individual voices and ranges fascinate me and I’m really curious to see where mine goes since I’ve only just turned 16. The energy and passion you bring to your videos engages me and makes me want to watch more.

[CutieRingoJoy]

I was told i was alto when i went for choir audition, I’m surprised, my voice is quite medium high, i Guess I wasn’t so confident so i went lower so i can reach the higher notes

[GingiviticCinemaMaya]

Alto and proud of it (but also eager to expand my voice range). I sing in my university choir.

[eroticmanhole]

I'm actually an alto! It's really nice to be so well informed.

[arxsyn]

I have to humbly disagree Dan. Vocal classification is very important. I was always dissatisfied with my singing. I imitated other female singers and damaged my voice. I had signs l have a lower voice, but l disregarded it, believing the Contralto voice to be rare as l had trouble accessing my cumbersome low register and l preferred singing in the high register mode.

In the time that l injured my voice, on strict vocal rest, l felt something was changing within me. At the end of it, l was left with a very weak voice, but with some experimentation l was shocked at the sounds l was making. Extremely low, dark and smoky--androgynous, even. It was completely foreign to me. I was wondering if l was doing something wrong, scared to lose my voice again. I came to the conclusion that I'm not just any Alto (quasi Mezzo) but a true Contralto. I still wasn't sure though. So l had to educate myself about this rare voice and how it works, how it sounds, how other contraltos sing, the Contralto passagi and tessitura. This knowledge empowered me to sing again. I had to change everything l ever did. It was a huge, painful adjustment (like going through vocal puberty!), but l made more progress/improvement in 6 months than l ever had in 3 years. After re aligning my registers, like some miracle, l increased my range too. Singing lower and higher than l ever did before.

A deep dive of various types of contraltos helped me. For instance, a dramatic contralto voice can sing the highest in pure chest register, Ab4. The standard Contralto passagio is F4, but apparently it is safe for many to delay using head voice at all up to G4. As well, most contraltos don't belt past D5 (in comparison Mezzo-sopranos belt up to E5). Neither does Bruno Mars, a high Tenor who can belt up to that range. Basically armed with all these facts in my head. I know l am not a dramatic voice that can chest voice up that high (potentially very damaging), but l can safely sing high tenor songs, but not imitate the high belts of other higher placed singers. These are safe parameters that my voice operates. Because l don't want to damage voice again, and it's a relief that l don't strain my voice for those high notes other females perform. That's ok. That's not my my thing. My thing is the prodigious powerful, thick chest voice that is often seen in the Contralto. I even have a G4 belt in me that is of similar quality to male singers. I enjoy singing now, having all the knowledge within myself. It's made me a better singer period.

It's also a blessing to have such a voice, because l have always loved this voice and l admire men's voices a lot, and to be able to sing many of the keys they do, what can l say? It's awesome to be able to sing songs as they are written without having to transpose them.

[tavit]

Imma cry if I don't figure this out before I need to submit this damn application for this school

Edit: hi guys... i got into the school i put soprano but im an alto 😂🤷🏽‍♀️❤️ oop

[Bonezr]

3:12 "wear and tear"
Question: Is damage to the vocal chords permanent? If not, what could one can do to undo some of the damage? Are there maybe different kinds of damage with some kinds being reversible and others not?

I'm a little worried that my voice is already too damaged for me to ever be able to sing well.