# What Fach are you?



## Air (Jul 19, 2008)

This is for all of you who sing opera in the shower! 

I've discovered that I'm a sort of Lyric Bass-baritone - somewhere in between that and a Lyric comic bass. The dramatic capabilities of my voice are quite limited (a bit lighter than Terfel and Siepi, even) though once in awhile I will do the Commendatore while doing paperwork and stuff (it's epic when the family is listening). I think the roles that are most suited to me are probably Figaro (in _Le Nozze di Figaro_), Leporello, maybe Baritone roles like Conte Almaviva and Papageno too. I'd love to do the Winterreise too, ala Fischer-Dieskau. Wow, so much Mozart... from all the composers he's probably the one who's the most generous to us non-tenors!

My range is somewhere from an E flat (below low C) to f' (above middle C). I've practiced some falsetto too (I'd like to play Octavian someday, if you get my drift ) and can get to somewhere around high g! It's variable though... sometimes only air comes out. 

How about all of you?


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

Im a basso profundo methinks.

C2 (sometimes even B) up to D4 (above middle C)


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## Air (Jul 19, 2008)

emiellucifuge said:


> Im a basso profundo methinks.
> 
> C2 (sometimes even B) up to D4 (above middle C)


Kurt Moll status!

That sound awesome - we should do the Commendatore some day, and you can show off like Moll did by ending with an epic D2 before all of hell's fire starts pouring out on me.


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

Kurt Moll IS one of my favourites. He makes the lowest notes sound pretty and beautiful.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

I'm in the lamentably and permanently flat mezzo-soprano range. I didn't realise that I was congenitally unable to hit a note in tune until I had to record myself singing some Maori waiata (songs) for a university assignment.


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## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

I'm woefully tuneless, absolutely inadequate, but I gamely step up to the "shower challenge" and whilst soaping my head I bellow a mangle of Don Giovanni and Masetto, or Figaro and the Count, in pigeon Italian, like Mozart channelled through Shane McGowan.

So if you're doing an audition for a TC choir here, count me out! I'm beyond buffo! :trp:


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

I think I'm a lyric baritone, but I prefer singing
My range is from an F (sometimes Eb or somewhere around there) below low C up to a G# (an A on a good day) above middle C.
But I prefer singing as a countertenor, and I have a range from about an Eb below middle C up to an A (a Bb on a good day) above high C. But my high notes are awfully squeaky.


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## World Violist (May 31, 2007)

I'm some sort of high-ish-voiced baritone... I can sing from a low A (sometimes a G or F#) to about a high E (sometimes F# or even G on occasion). Of course, my voice hasn't settled into any specific fach, but my voice has stopped changing and it's baritone.


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

I'd say I'm a kavalierbariton.

_Description: A metallic voice, that can sing both lyric and dramatic phrases, a manly noble baritonal color, with good looks. Not quite as powerful as the Verdi baritone who is expected to have a powerful appearance on stage, perhaps muscular or physically large._

Well, except for the good looks and physically large part. I'm 5'6" and goofy looking  I do have the metallic tone thing going though.


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## Polednice (Sep 13, 2009)

When singing, my voice can only be heard by dogs.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

Once upon a time, I sang contralto. These days, it's probably more like strangled chicken.


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## tannhaeuser (Nov 7, 2011)

Dramatic Baritone, I belt out Tre Sbirri at the top of my voice in the bathroom. Today I found out my neighbour heard me.


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## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

The best description of _my_ voice requires a pop-music metaphor-

I'm sort of of James Taylor-Cat Stevens tenor-baritone "tweener." Not enough top end to be a true tenor, but not enough bottom to be a real baritone. (Objectively, I've been closer to Tenor than Baritone... but I'm getting older, what top-end I have is starting to go away...)

In personal use, it means that I can sing a fair bit of mezzo stuff an octave down.
[It's less embarrassing if I limit myself to "breeches roles" if I feel I'm at risk of being overheard.:lol:] 
Certainly not a lot of practical application there---


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## CountessAdele (Aug 25, 2011)

Right now I'm a soubrette, but my teacher sees me becoming a coloratura soprano (fingers crossed)! My range is B-flat below middle c to E-flat above high c.


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## Sieglinde (Oct 25, 2009)

It depends. When I'm warmed in well I can do Butterfly, Leonora or Donna Anna, so that would make me a spinto. But I'm most comfortable with heavy dramatic stuff like Turandot, Senta or Isolde, and some mezzo-soprano arias. So I guess I'm a Wagnerian by default. Singing in German and English is easier, it forces me to form words harder and let the sound be more automatic. 

Sometimes I sing tenor arias for fun. Vere? Best thing to belt out and overact!

Also, I can perform One Day More alone, getting all voices, but Javert is really hard. Too low.


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## Festat (Oct 25, 2011)

I'm a tenor, but I can't sing at all. I'm a good whistler, though.
Not that it matters much.


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## AmericanGesamtkunstwerk (May 9, 2011)

I think i was a mean heldentenor in some other life...


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## AnaMendoza (Jul 29, 2011)

I can sing just about anything that doesn't have a range of more than one octave....


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## IsaacH (Nov 23, 2011)

This is an answer to Air....better late than never!
Rule number one is singing what is comfortable. Security in highest and lowest tone comes with technique/requires time. Cultivate your middle range which for you would be somewhere around low A/Bb and c/c#, that is 9,5/10 tones. Keep your high tones light if you want to produce broad low tones. That would give you Leporello, Don Alfonso and eventually Figaro that needs a functional low F in the ensemble and a high f in the aria. Many lighter bass-baritones have sung the Count and Guillermo the young baritone in Cosi Fan Tutte. They both sing a lot of middle range but touch a high f#. Beware of the f# by preparing it mentally before you attack. The same mental preparation is needed when you go below the A. There are many high basso/basso-baritono parts that are light. Scan the arias in order to discover the tessitura. If most of it is in the upper third of your range you might get tired. The higher dramatic bass-baritone sings mostly baritone parts, like Prince Igor. Scarpia, Iago. You can try Mephistofeles (Gounod), Dosifej (Hovantschina), Prince Galitsyn in Prince Igor, Varlaam in Boris. Even Wagner has a number of high bassi. In my opinion you should not lose time with parts like the Commendatore, Sarastro and such parts that require a very dark voice with expansion in the lower third of the register. Voice-typing is the basis for a job on stage. Beware of Verdi. This composer demands a lot both of his baritone and bass singers. 
Mask yes! Only nose No! Chest yes! Only head voice No. Support always.Try to keep every tone round rather that pointy. Round out your lips outwards, especially in the lower tones. Sing scales. When you begin sing bocca chiusa, lips closed not too tight, teeth unclenched. Let the tone roll inside your mouth so you feel the vibrations all the time under your cheeks and eyes. Begin in the middle (f) glide upwards and downwards, an octave each way if you can. Good warming up technique. Train a little every day rather two hours every three days. 
Remember rule number one! Lieder? Why not? Try the Bass versions first. Baritone might come uncomfortable.


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## Alfredoz (Apr 8, 2014)

I suspect I'm a baritone. Here is my vocalization: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151914064119058&l=4312244319604736832


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## BaronScarpia (Apr 2, 2014)

I am far too young to give myself a specific Fach, but I do know that, for my age, my voice is BIG (not to boast!). I am 90% sure I'm a baritone (average range A2-F4). I can sing a G2 about 50% of the time, and F2 once in a blue moon. On the high end of the scale, I once sang up to C5, but usually my highest note is an A4, which I can hit, like G2, about half the time. As for Fach... I have a lyrical sound but there also seems to be a lot of squillo in my voice. My sound also has a metallic 'edge' to it. I think the kavalierbariton is basically the baritone equivalent of a spinto, so I might be one of those. The range given by Wikipedia (G2-A4) is my usual maximum, so as I continue with my training I hope to make that range consistent.


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## Dili (Jun 19, 2014)

Dramatic mezzo. Still struggling a bit in the high notes, but thankfully there is a lot of material that does not require me to "sit" above my passaggio


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## Jobis (Jun 13, 2013)

Budding lyric Bass Baritone/counter-tenor. Wretched at both! :lol:


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

Lyric/coloratura mezzo-soprano


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## atmplayspiano (Apr 12, 2014)

Lyric tenor, but my falsetto is also really good.


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## Donata (Dec 28, 2013)

Light-lyric soprano. Or as a former instructor once told me somewhere between light-lyric soprano and twelve-year-old girl.


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## Badinerie (May 3, 2008)

'Im what the late great Spike Jones would describe as a " Fractured Baritone" 
In the bath I will often have a stab at Pappageno , You Know..

Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja, 
Stets lustig heisa hop-sa-sa! 
Ich Vogelfänger bin bekannt 
Bei alt und jung im ganzen Land.

Except when I have a head cold, when all I can manage is "Old Man River"


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## Philmwri (Apr 8, 2011)

I'm a light lyric tenor with a small voice. If it weren't for squillo what would I do?


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## Forkisking (Jul 3, 2014)

I would say I'm a budding basso profundo. I'm only 18 but I can go from about B2- F4, but I can strohbass to the bottom of the piano


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## Posie (Aug 18, 2013)

I'm either a good soubrette or a lyric awfulatura.


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## sabrina (Apr 26, 2011)

In my dreams I am a soprano...in reality I am able to hit those stratospheric notes above C6 but d# would be my limit. All above that is like scary screech at best. I am not good at coloratura, and I struggle with Rossini arias. Puccini is much easier for me. 
But, not in my wildest dreams I imagine myself singing on a stage, though I did it when I was a young student...Now I guess I could only scream like mad crow. LOL


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## SalieriIsInnocent (Feb 28, 2008)

I'm a baritone. I used to try to sing with the basses, back when I didn't know better, I could for the most part, but I probably did a lot of damage. I think years of smoking didn't do much for me either, hence why my voice wasn't too comfortable in the ranges I sing now. I meet all the requirements to sing bass in a lot of gospel groups I've seen. Heavy bass EQ and a lot of vocal fry go a long way these days, but I could never be proud of myself doing that. 

I haven't had any formal training, but I've gotten a lot of great tips from singers over the years, so I've really added a lot to my voice, and I can sing for hours without any issues, though the music I sing is more jazzy than anything.


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## JohnGerald (Jul 6, 2014)

My singing years are well past, but when I did sing, I was a lyrico-spinto tenor and did quite a bit of amateur opera and operetta stuff. There is nothing like "making music" with like minded and similarly talented folks.


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## SalieriIsInnocent (Feb 28, 2008)

JohnGerald said:


> There is nothing like "making music" with like minded and similarly talented folks.


You said it. It's a great feeling when everybody is together. You feel so connected. When you're with people that aren't so much into it, it's not all that fun.


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## Spectrum (Mar 12, 2009)

If I were to sing classical music, I suspect I would be a bass or bass-baritone. I can sing easily between E2 and E4 with a good volume.

I can sing another octave above that, with technique similar to a metal singer - but not for very long. I tire quickly when singing in this range. I can go up to perhaps D5 comfortably, and G5 for short bursts. In warmup I have managed to squeak out a C6 a select few times.

More recently I have been exploring the oktavist range (below the normal bass range). When I am well warmed up I can sing down to F1 at low volume. My volume wanes quickly when I go below D2. I doubt I could sing in this range with enough power to perform live.

In 2013 I sung as a bass in the choir for an amateur performance of the musical _Jesus Christ Superstar_. As far as I remember my parts ranged from F2 to F4, which fitted me pretty well.


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## AegnorWildcat (Sep 4, 2013)

Dramatic tenor. I have a pretty big voice (which I'm sure my neighbors can attest to). I once had a NATS judge say I was a Heldontenor, but I'm not convinced. I don't think of have the "baratonal" quality that most Heldontenors have. 

As far as range, the lowest note I've ever performed solo is a Bb2. I haven't worked out my lower range as much, so I'm not entirely sure what my limits are there. I've not had any issues hitting low notes in any repertoire I've done.

On the high end I can hit the B4 reliably. With the C5 I can absolutely nail it, performance quality, about 65% of the time. About 30% of the time I can hit it, but it doesn't sound free and flowing. And the last 5% of the time I don't want to talk about. It's improving though. A couple years ago those percentages were reversed. I want to get rid of that last 5% before I actually attempt to perform a C5.


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

Problematic monotone


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Alfredoz said:


> I suspect I'm a baritone. Here is my vocalization: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151914064119058&l=4312244319604736832


^tenor! (maybe even leggiero tenor)

I am 23, so I don't wanna go around being all "I'm dramatic!", but my voice is very booming and dark, so it is likely I will end up as either a bass-baritone or dramatic baritone (my timbre is bass, but my range is more baritone). I'm out of practice now, but when I sang a few years ago, I had from around E2-Bb4 during exercises and a performable range of ~F#2-Ab4.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

just for fun (I know the basic range of my voice, so it's really not that important to know my specific fach until I start to sing more demanding music)
I'm a few years out of practice (so don't let your ears break XD), but here's a clip of me. I think I'm something of a low lyric baritone/dramatic baritone hybrid at this point (is there such thing as a "spinto baritone"?  ), but I could turn out to be a bass baritone)
http://vocaroo.com/i/s09EhfKAAOMP

PS: my high notes used to be way better than this. I know they sound pathetic right now XD


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

When I was first singing in grammar school, I was an alto. Time naturally changed that to an adult lyric baritone, now, decades later, Fach if I know....


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

Something like G2-A4 is my full range (my squeaking out tenor high C is murder to the ears of those around me), but really, I'm a baritone more than a tenor (and certainly not a bass). As a child, I could easily sing soprano.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> just for fun (I know the basic range of my voice, so it's really not that important to know my specific fach until I start to sing more demanding music)
> I'm a few years out of practice (so don't let your ears break XD), but here's a clip of me. I think I'm something of a low lyric baritone/dramatic baritone hybrid at this point (is there such thing as a "spinto baritone"?  ), but I could turn out to be a bass baritone)
> http://vocaroo.com/i/s09EhfKAAOMP
> 
> PS: my high notes used to be way better than this. I know they sound pathetic right now XD


That was terrifying. What was the aria, by the way?

Just kidding.  The real reason I'm responding here is because your basic timbre is _very_ similar to mine when I was still singing (quite a while ago now). I do _not_ hear bass-baritone there. But don't think too much about it. Just sing what feels right and let your voice find its level.


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## Bogdan (Sep 12, 2014)

On a good day somewhere between a basso demento and a soprano di coloratura isterica.


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## omega (Mar 13, 2014)

I can hardly sing an octave on bright sunny days. And I'm a specialist at singing a quarter tone too high or too low. I have all my chances in contemporary music.


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## BaronScarpia (Apr 2, 2014)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> just for fun (I know the basic range of my voice, so it's really not that important to know my specific fach until I start to sing more demanding music)
> I'm a few years out of practice (so don't let your ears break XD), but here's a clip of me. I think I'm something of a low lyric baritone/dramatic baritone hybrid at this point (is there such thing as a "spinto baritone"?  ), but I could turn out to be a bass baritone)
> http://vocaroo.com/i/s09EhfKAAOMP
> 
> PS: my high notes used to be way better than this. I know they sound pathetic right now XD


Definitely a baritone, not a bass-baritone  Although what do I know? I've just been told I'm a tenor  Oh, the humanity...

Interestingly, my voice used to sound very similar to yours. I'm younger than you but I had big, *BIG* voice, like you. But a couple of weeks ago my voice teacher informed me that I am, without a doubt, a tenor. And I realised I'd been 'manufacturing' a vocal timbre which wasn't actually natural. I thought I would become a dramatic baritone... and now I'm a lyric tenor!


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## Musicforawhile (Oct 10, 2014)

I have been told I am a full lyric with a dramatic quality, but not so dramatic as to be a spinto. Others have said maybe mezzo, and that my lower range (below middle C) is very dark and dusky. But the top section (from D5 upwards)can be bright and clear or with an edge of drama and danger...depending on what I want to express. I can also get some harmonics above C6, but they are not full enough notes to actually use yet.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Musicforawhile said:


> I have been told I am a full lyric with a dramatic quality, but not so dramatic as to be a spinto. Others have said maybe mezzo, and that my lower range (below middle C) is very dark and dusky. But the top section (from D5 upwards)can be bright and clear or with an edge of drama and danger...depending on what I want to express. I can also get some harmonics above C6, but they are not full enough notes to actually use yet.


I love lyric voices with a "bite" to them. too many thin, whispy lil voices out there for my taste (just don't let people push you into bigger roles. we have enough mis-fach-ed lyric voices singing the wrong rep)


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## Marie7 (Aug 25, 2021)

Hi! I'm a dramatic soprano


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## Yotam1703 (Apr 26, 2021)

What a charming old thread!
I’m a very, very lyric bass, I would almost call myself a coloratura 
My range goes from low C#2-D2 to about E4 comfortably and about F#4 at the limit. I can also sing coloratura passages with decency but my voice has zero weight. Coupled with my annoyingly low tessitura, this means my voice is perfect for singing coloratura soprano arias two octaves down and not much else -_-


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Yotam1703 said:


> What a charming old thread!
> I'm a very, very lyric bass, I would almost call myself a coloratura
> My range goes from low C#2-D2 to about E4 comfortably and about F#4 at the limit. I can also sing coloratura passages with decency but my voice has zero weight. Coupled with my annoyingly low tessitura, this means my voice is perfect for singing coloratura soprano arias two octaves down and not much else -_-


In that case, you're probably either a baritone or a teenager. You don't really have "lyric basses" in the absolute sense. You have basses who are "lyric"...compared to heavier bass voices like Thurl Ravenscroft or Boris Christoff, but even the lightest bass voice is still a large, weighty voice compared to most other voice types.

Meanwhile, the majority of true baritones tend to start off as basses, because modern culture is afraid of real chest voice singing, and most of the "baritones" around are actually tenors that don't sing like Juan Diego Florez.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

ex: Without going too specifically into fach categorizations, this is a good example of what someone on the more "lyric" side of bass sounds like. As you can hear, it's still a fairly big, dark voice with lots of undertones.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

I squawk in the *soprano drammatico d'agilità * because I "sing along" with Maria Callas! In the shower, I can do anything, but the high E-flats are tough in the mornings! :lol:


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## Ice Berg (Aug 29, 2021)

I believe I'm a dramatic baritone, which sounds a bit like a result from a Buzzfeed personality quiz involving cupcake and pizza topping preferences.


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## Yotam1703 (Apr 26, 2021)

Oh you got me, I am a teenager!
I’ve been waiting for some years for my voice to start going up (I have had my current range for two-ish years). although my tessitura is VERY low (O Isis und Osiris is high for me), my extreme high notes sound much more resonant than my extreme lows. I will say, I can only uncomfortably shout my high notes, but only time will tell if it’s because my technique is bad or because my voice is actually low. 
Currently, my voice has yet to lose its bottom and gain highs so I am very exited to see where my bass voice will go. But if my destiny is to be a baritone (lyric, dramatic, bass- or otherwise) - so be it; I could sing mezzo arias down an octave more easily.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Yotam1703 said:


> *Oh you got me, I am a teenager!*
> I've been waiting for some years for my voice to start going up (I have had my current range for two-ish years). although my tessitura is VERY low (O Isis und Osiris is high for me), my extreme high notes sound much more resonant than my extreme lows. I will say, I can only uncomfortably shout my high notes, but only time will tell if it's because my technique is bad or because my voice is actually low.
> Currently, my voice has yet to lose its bottom and gain highs so I am very exited to see where my bass voice will go. But if my destiny is to be a baritone (lyric, dramatic, bass- or otherwise) - so be it; I could sing mezzo arias down an octave more easily.


#CalledIt 
I had an extremely big, weighty voice since like 14. It caused some problems before I got a good teacher (most teachers today are afraid of big voices, esp big young voices. make sure you shop around for one who knows what he/she is doing and won't encourage bad habits like under-singing. it's basically a pandemic, and unlike covid, there isn't a vaccine)


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I used to sing baritone solos in church but when alone I only sing countertenor. I miss the spectacular G6 range I had at 15 but am glad my ***** dropped eventually. I remember singing Jojotoho at the top of my lungs riding over the Alps with my sister in a Beetle in 1970 and her ears weren't the same for a week.


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## Musicaterina (Apr 5, 2020)

If I really could sing, I probably would be a deep mezzo-soprano. But I cannot sing very well.

When I write arrangements for a choir, they are usually at least for six voices because I know that mezzo-sopranos and baritones are not rare at all. Sometimes there is also a part for a basso profondo in my arrangements - my grandfather is a real basso profondo.


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## Elvira0518 (Mar 1, 2021)

A Tiefer Alt here, not professionally trained, but still. My range is D3-C5. I'm neither able to do coloratura nor have a "dramatic" quality to my sound, the sound quality is more like Lyric Contralto's, but that's definitely too high for me.


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