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About the Contralto Voice

9/5/2013

10 Comments

 
The Contralto is the lowest female voice category, and can be split into five vocal fach: Coloratura Contralto, Lyric Contralto, Dramatic Contralto, Contralto Profondo (Female Tenor) and the Oktavistka (Female Bass). 

Normally, the Dramatic Contralto would tend to have both a heavier and lower voice but, like the Lyric and Dramatic Bass voices, the lighter voiced Lyric Contralto may have a longer chest register extension, and thus a lower range, without having such a dark and powerful sound. An example of a Lyric Contralto is Jeanne Gerville-Réache, while a Dramatic Contralto would be Dame Clara Butt. The Coloratura Contralto can be split into two sub-fach categories, one with a lighter voice, and one with a heavier one: for example Sonia Prina is a Lyric Coloratura Contralto, while Ewa Podles is a Dramatic Coloratura Contralto.

Also, just as the Bass can extend far beyond the D2 mark, like the famous Russian Basses or Oktavists, so many a Contralto can sing comfortably below D3. Polish Contralto Ewa Podleś, for instance, has performed an A#2 in concert. Many women sing in the Tenor range, as my own mother can, and some can even sing down to C2, like the Lady-Bass Margaret Jackson-Roberts from Vivaldi's women. Unfortunately, Contraltos are not encouraged to explore this dark, rich lower register, and consequently have to make do singing in the higher reaches of the voice. They are also allocated voice categories which have to be prefaced by the word "Female": Female-Tenor and Female-Bass. I propose that, instead, we use less male-specific words: Contralto Profondo for Female Tenor, and Oktavistka for the Female bass.

So, the Contralto Profondo (Female Tenor) and the Oktavistka (Female Bass) would be the female equivalents of the Basso Profondo (think Kurt Moll) and the Oktavist (think Vladimir Miller). Here, there would be a very large chest register extension, droping down to Bb2 for the Contralto Profondo (Female Tenor), and between A2-C2 for the Oktavistka (Female Bass). An example of the Contralto Profondo would be Ruby Helder or Bally Prell, and an example of the Oktavistka would be Margaret Jackson-Roberts. I will be writing a fuller post about the Contralto Profondo (Female Tenor) and the Oktavistka (Female Bass) at a later date, but I think it important to introduce the concepts here.

Usually, the Lyric, Dramatic and Coloratura Contraltos should be able to sing, when given an average level of training, the two octaves from E3 to E5. Most Contraltos do not need to sing lower than this, as the prevalent custom is to extend the voice upward, allowing the very lowest notes to atrophy. See the Telegraph article "Where have all the Contralto's gone?" for more about this trend. Many Contraltos could probably easily sing down to D3 or C3 if given proper training in this area of the voice.
In his excellent article, "Training the Contralto Voice: Developing Diagnostic Tools for Understanding a Rare Voice Type", David L. Jones lists the major characteristics of the Contralto voice:
  • A true Contralto experiences similar register changes to a Bass. 
  • They will have a long chest register extension in the low range.
  • There is a need for a larger expansion of the pharyngeal space in the middle register in order to phonate fully.
  • A unique dark smoky color in the middle and chest registers.
  • The Contralto uses the chest register higher in pitch than many other voice types.
  • The middle register is much shorter than the other voices.

He also mentions the fact that the ability to crescendo in the middle register is a quality of the true contralto voice.

Negatively, they may have:
  • An overly bright upper register or disconnected head voice, and 
  • Tongue tension in the middle and chest registers, accompanied by a thicker function of the vocal folds.
 
Jones also lists the ranges of the various registers for the Contralto voice:
  • Chest Register: D3 to F4
  • Middle Register: F4 to Ab4
  • Head Register: A4 to D5
  • Upper Range: Eb5 to Bb5

Many of the arias performed by the Contralto, such as those written by Bach and Handel, were actually written for another voice type: Bach's music, with its average range of B3 to E5, was almost certainly written for falsettists, and his Cantata for lower Alto, "Widerstehe doch der Sünde" was most likely composed for a High Tenor, or Haute-Contre. Many of the "Alto-ranged" Handel and Vivaldi arias were in fact written for the Castrati.

Thus many of the "Alto-ranged" arias were not actually written with the Contralto voice in mind. This is not to say that Handel, Vivaldi and other Baroque composers did not write for the Contralto voice, as they most certainly did, but that perhaps many of the "Alto" ranged arias did not take advantage of the full potential of the Contralto voice. Many Contraltos have taken roles normally associated with Mezzos, such as Carmen, Dalila and Amneris, and sing them to great effect, but here the Contralto is left singing "out of fach". This trend is also lees likely to occur now, as opera houses are less willing to transpose arias down, or to omit troublesome high-notes.

I find it strange that the Contralto voice is so painfully underused, under-admired and under-engaged, given that in the world of popular music, much is made of the lower end of the Contralto spectrum. Singers such as Mariah Carey, Tionne Watkins, Toni Braxton, Beyonce and Alicia Keys all use the lowest area of the Contralto voice, C3 and below, in their music. The roles these women portray in their videos and through their music are varied, ranging from strong to tender, innocent to... well, not so innocent! They are not restricted to the rather limited "witches, bitches and britches" stereotype that operatic contraltos are relegated to.

Perhaps it is time for the new generation of composers to wake up to the potential of this great and beautiful voice.
10 Comments
Micha Goolsby
12/2/2015 09:45:52 am

Thank you so much for posting this! I am a mid-weight contralto (currently studying with Janet Steele and David Jones) whose voice fits very comfortably in the tenor range and will probably dip down to baritone by the time I'm 35. It is really hard to find music for voices like mine, but articles like this validate mine and other's unique experiences and needs and encourage us to keep singing, so thank you again!

Reply
Anne Marie Benoit
23/4/2016 08:34:48 pm

I haven't trained my voice in over a decade and I never trained with a lot of dedication. I can sing E3 to D5 comfortably without warm-up, though obviously my tone is not what it could be without warm-up. A few minutes of warm-up and I can hit E5 and F5 cleanly, though not every time.

Popular contraltos do exist, though I don't doubt you are right about them being under utilized and under recognized. Ani di Franco and Shirley Manson are two of the singers whose vocal range usually matches mine comfortably (they train so obviously they're going to extend beyond my range sometimes), which is part of why I love their music, and there are others. Wikipedia has a "List of contraltos in non-classical music" if anyone is interested; obviously it should be taken with a grain of salt anyone can edit wikipedia, but if you're a contralto looking for music to sing along to, it's a place to start. There are bands with male leads who I can sing along with comfortably most of the time too, though sometimes I transpose octaves to do so.

Reply
Martine Yeo
19/12/2017 02:51:51 pm

Interesting article. I'm also classified as a contralto. I've only been taking lessons for the last 10 months, and I only know my approximate confortable range - C3-G4/A4, although I can hit a bit higher in head voice. I'm definitely more comfortable singing classical pieces from Bach or Handel, but when I'm better trained, I sure would like to try other composers for my type of voice.

Reply
Angie Benedict
14/4/2018 06:26:07 am

Only an irresponsible teacher would classify anyone after 10 months. It takes at least a couple of years to develop the singing apparatus and technique. Until your head voice is developed, you won't know your true passaggio. If you aren't using head voice at G4/A4 then you're probably a higher voice type. The lower the voice, the lower the break.

Reply
Martine Yeo
29/4/2018 09:04:28 pm

I realized I got the range wrong. If middle C is C4, my current range is C3/D3 up to G5. I'm definitely not a soprano, but more like a light contralto. My voice is apparently similar to Karen Clarke's. I'm not in my twenties either, but in my early fifties.

Reply
Imane Zirar
19/7/2018 03:56:43 pm

I'm not sure if I am a contralto. I've been told my timbre is too light for me to be a contralto, and I can sing too high. My range without warmup is D3-F5, and I am most comfortable singing in the third and fourth octave. But most people only focus on the fact I can sing up to A5. I'm 18 yrs old now though, and I think my voice is getting lower, because I can sing down to B2 and even A2 more often :D

Reply
Molly
21/8/2018 10:28:38 am

I'm like you in that way. I'm 16 but my voice is deep and dark which feels kind of awkward. Sometimes we get mistook for mezzos simply because we're young and don't have that fully matured voice yet.

Reply
Megan link
31/7/2018 03:33:17 am

I love this website! It's so hard to find training resources for contraltos. When I was younger I always hated my contralto voice. Everybody's always talking about the sopranos, and everybody wants to be a soprano. But now I've finally realized that contraltos are beautiful.

Reply
Arxsyn
9/2/2019 10:35:37 am

Dear James,

Thank you for publishing this wonderful, wonderful website dedicated to the Contralto voice. I too have had a fascination and an awe of them. I have been told that l have a low voice but learning to sing as an adult has been a long and difficult process believing l had a higher voice because my head voice was the one l could access easily and seemed really bright and girly. I ended up singing unhealthily and ultimately damaged my voice. At that time, l couldn't sing or talk well (volume)without pain for a good year and a half. I was told my speaking voice was low, metallic, husky, like "Janis Joplin". I was so used to speaking in an unsupported way (ie I was told l mumbled a lot, or whisper talked) that l thought it was the end for me, that my voice was irreparably damaged. Then came a strange period where my voice was overly hoarse, yet l had the feeling something was happening to my voice when l tried to sing, like it wanted to go lower but couldn't sustain it. The hoarseness went away and l could talk audibly again. Oddly, my was was at speech level an even lower pitch than before. Sometimes l have made really low sounds that frightened/shocked me, is that my voice, am l doing something right/wrong?? I have always suspected all along my voice is lower than the Mezzo-sopranos and soprano voices l tried to mimic, but it's just that my lower register was always such a damn struggle for me to access with intention. I started listening and sing to contralto, tenor and baritone songs and l just felt more at home with them sonically with my own voice.

I researched online more about vocal types and decided to take the plunge into the Alto world. It's made all the difference in my singing now. I finally feel free and l can't believe l can call myself a contralto, believing that they are a rare breed and I always did have a low F, but discovering l have E3 and D3 in chest boggled my mind! Now l can sing runs down to A2. My belts are easy now with a lower mix with a hint of a smoky colour. And l do have a few notes where l sound androgynous. Which is cool with me, l do sometimes feel rather masculine. It's also fun to play around regarding vocal dynamics with that in mind.

Despite the arduous torture to get to where l am now, l just have more appreciation for music and what the human voice can do. All vocal types are beautiful and it's fun to sort them in my mind. But oh, my ears perk up when l think l found a contralto voice in popular music. I think one that would do well in opera is probably Lyves with her weighty, rich, dark and warm. She sounded incredible when she toured with Coldplay. She sometimes reminds me of Anthony Hagerty (Anthony & the Johnsons). A pop Contralto l like is the lead singer of We Were Lovers. Her lyric voice is a little youthful, but low and earthy. Her standout vocal for "Islands" is almost sung exclusively in chest voice, quite powerfully so. Just more Contralto singers to take inspiration from.









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Irien link
21/4/2019 09:15:06 pm

I'm a soprano, but I also believe in training my lower register. A lot of sopranos have trouble with low notes, which are often underrated and underused. This was a very interesting article for me. Thanks for posting, and I hope contraltos get more notice soon!

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