Bass (vocal range)

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Template:Vocal range A bass (or basso in Italian) is a male singer who sings in the deepest vocal range of the human voice. According to Grove Music Online, a bass has a range extending from around the F below low C to the E above middle C (i.e., F2–E4).[1] The Harvard Dictionary of Music defines the range as being from the E below low C to middle C (i.e. E2–C4).[2] According to Singing for Dummies, bass range is normally F2 to E4 but can be as wide as Eb2 to F4. According to its author, Pamelia S. Phillips, the bass changes from chest voice into middle voice around A3 or Ab3 below middle C and changes into head voice around D4 or C#4 above Middle C. Phillips states that the bass's low voice is his strength, and the bass's high voice is his weakness. Phillips also states that the bass's voice is the deepest, darkest, and heaviest of the male voices.[3]

It is also common for men who are classified as "basses" (and have a full bass choral range) to have a speaking voice which may sound much higher than would be expected. Most seasoned basses also can train a very versatile falsetto, making their usefulness in a choral arrangement even greater.

Bass roles in opera

Template:Vocal ranges visual In classical music, and particularly in opera, the following distinctions are often made among different kinds of bass voices:

Basso Profondo

Basso Buffo / Bel Canto Bass

Basso Cantante

Dramatic Bass

Bass roles in operettas

Bass roles in musicals

Prominent bass singers

See also

References

  1. Owen Jander, Lionel Sawkins, JB Steane, Elizabeth Forbes (ed L Macy). "Bass". Grove Music Online. Retrieved 2006-06-14.
  2. Ranges Guide, Yale University Music Library, taken from the Harvard Dictionary of Music
  3. Pamelia S. Phillips. "Identifying the Fab Four of Singing Voices". Wiley Publishing. Retrieved 2007-02-18. Bass is the lowest of the voice types…
  4. EMI Classics — The Male Choir of St Petersberg CD Booklet — Vadim Afanasiev
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 Bass Guide, BBC Wales

External links

bg:Бас (гласов обхват) cs:Bas de:Bass (Stimmlage) eo:Baso ko:베이스 (성악) it:Basso (voce) is:Bassi (söngrödd) hu:Basszista ms:Bes (Suara) nl:Bas (zangstem) sl:Bas sh:Bas fi:Basso sv:Basstämma Template:WikiDoc Sources