Singing For Dummies. Pamelia S. Phillips

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       Soprano: To get the hang of the sopranos, search online for recordings of lighter soprano, Kathleen Battle singing “O mio babbino caro” from Gianni Schicchi by Puccini and then listen to dramatic soprano Jessye Norman singing “Dich, theure Halle” from Tannhäuser by Wagner. Note that Kathleen’s voice is light and Jessye’s voice is much heavier. Look for recordings of them individually singing “Ave Maria” by Schubert to hear them singing the same song.

       Mezzo: Compare light mezzo, Frederica von Stade singing “Non so più” from Le Nozze di Figaro by Mozart with Denyce Graves singing “Ave Maria” by Caccini. Both are mezzos, but there is a big difference in the timbre and depth of the voices.

       Coloratura ladies: Look for soprano Natalie Dessay singing “Der Hölle Rache” from Die Zauberflöte by Mozart and compare with mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli singing “Non più mesta” from La Cenerentola by Rossini. Both are spectacular at agility, but note the range where they’re comfortable singing.

       Tenor: Compare lyric tenor George Shirley singing “Un’aura amorosa” from Così fan tutte by Mozart with heldentenor Jonas Kaufmann singing “Nessun dorma” from Turandot by Puccini. Listen to the difference in the weight of Kaufman’s voice compared to the lyrical tone from Shirley.

       Baritone/bass: The baritone and bass voice have some similarities, but one difference is the depth on the low notes. Compare baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky singing “Toreador Song” from Carmen by Bizet with bass René Pape singing “O Isis und Osiris” from Die Zauberflöte by Mozart. When comparing these two singers, you hear the difference between the height of the tone of the baritone with the depth of the bass.

       Coloratura dudes: Guys can have agile voices as you can hear comparing tenor Juan Diego Flórez singing “Ah, il più lieto” from Il Barbiere di Siviglia by Rossini with baritone Emiliano Géant singing “Se bramate d’amar” from Serse by Händel. These guys really move their voices with ease but note the range where they’re comfortable singing.

       Higher female voice: Compare the light sounds from soprano Olivia Newton-John singing “Hopelessly Devoted To You” with Kelly Clarkson singing “Since You Been Gone.” When Newton-John sings, you hear a bright and light voice compared with the fuller sounds of Clarkson’s voice. Clarkson has a lot of weight in her voice. In other words, her voice sounds heavier compared to lighter Newton-John.

       Lower female voices: Listen to Beyoncé singing “Halo” and Adele singing “Hello.” They both comfortably sing an octave below Middle C in the songs, but the big difference is when they start moving higher. Beyoncé narrows her sound as she ascends, making it sound easy for her to belt that high whereas Adele has much more weight in her voice. High sopranos would find it difficult to sing these two low songs much less stay that low, yet these two women are comfortable singing low in their range.

       Comparing a higher and lower female voice: For bright and high sounds listen to Cyndi Lauper singing “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” compared with the deeper and lower voice of Karen Carpenter singing “Rainy Days and Mondays.” Both are terrific performers, but there is a difference in the timbre of the voices. The songs have a difference in their ranges, and both show the comfort zone of the performer. Lauper is super comfortable singing high whereas Carpenter is comfortable singing low.

       Higher male voice: Compare Maxwell singing “Pretty Wings” with David Phelps singing “I Have Nothing.” Maxwell is singing high notes, but it sounds easy because he’s so comfortable singing in that tessitura (the tessitura or comfort zone of his voice is high.) Phelps also sings high, but the weight of his voice makes those same notes sound heavier or fuller. Phelps’s voice is heavier or fuller whereas Maxwell’s voice is lighter.

       Lower male voices: Compare the sounds of baritone Darius Rucker singing “Wagon Wheels” with bass-baritone Josh Turner singing “Your Man.” Both sound lower than the tenor, but Rucker has more height in the tone compared to Turner who has more depth especially on low notes. Turner has deeper notes so he sounds like a bass-baritone, and Rucker sounds more like a baritone.

       Comparing higher and lower male voices: Compare tenor Justin Timberlake singing “Can’t Stop The Feeling!” with baritone John Raitt singing “Shenandoah” and bass-baritone Paul Robeson singing “Some Enchanted Evening” from South Pacific. When you hear these three voices in a row, you can hear how the baritone voice fits right in the middle between the tenor and the bass-baritone.