Chapter

Voices
In This Chapter
• Mastering ranges for all voices—from soprano to bass
• Discovering how to write for younger singers
• Incorporating common vocal characteristics

It might seem odd to apply the words orchestration or instrumentation to

voices, but a singer's voice is his or her instrument. W h e n writing for voices,
one has to consider the same factors as when writing for any other type of
instrument—range, transposition, tonal characteristics, and the like. Even when
one masters this basic vocabulary, I find writing for voice more challenging
than writing for other instruments. That's because the vocalist has to actually
sing the part you write. It's not just a matter of mechanically reproducing notes
as written; the vocal lines you write have to make sense melodically—that is,
they have to be singable. And that takes some work.

Understanding Vocal Orchestration

W h e n you're writing vocal music, you typically have two female voices and
two male voices at your disposal, with an optional third male voice (baritone)
available. Obviously, you don't have to use all these voices in all situations; for
example, if you're writing background vocals for a pop tune, you may only work
with two or three voices, instead of the entire choir. But you still have to know
which two or three voices to use, and how they work—which is where vocal
orchestration comes in.
B8 Part Z: Instruments and Voices: Ranges and Techniques

Ranges and Transpositions

Compared to an instrumental ensemble, a vocal ensemble is fairly easy to write
for. That's because all the voices reproduce exactly what you write, with abso-
lutely no transposition—except for the tenor, that is, which sounds a simple
Learn more about the art of octave lower than written.
singing in my companion
book, The Complete Idiot's T h e challenge when writing for voices is the relatively narrow range of each
Guide to Singing (Michael voice—at least among normally skilled singers. (Exceptional talents can some-
Miller and Phyllis Fulford, what exceed these ranges, as you might suspect.) If you exceed the singable
Alpha Books, 2003). range, the part simply can't be sung. In fact, as you near the extremes of each
range (top or bottom), the singing begins to sound strained. So range in vocal
writing is particularly important.

Table 12.1 describes the range and transposition of each of these voices.

Table 12.1 Vocal ranges and transpositions

Range Range
Voice (as sounds) (as written) Transposition
Soprano Sounds as written

Alto Sounds as written

Tenor Write one octave above

^ concert pitch on the treble
a clef (unless sharing a staff
with the basses)
Baritone Sounds as written

s m
Bass Sounds as written
m
Common Techniques
Vocal music can be written on either two staves (soprano and alto on the treble
Tip
clef, tenor and bass on the bass clef), four separate staves (one for each voice), or
When using the two- some combination of the two approaches (such as soprano and alto on separate
staff method, position
staves with tenor and bass sharing a staff). W h e n using the four-staff SATB
the stems above the
notation, the tenor line is on a treble clef with a small " 8 " below the clef, as
note heads for the upper
voice, and below the shown in Figure 12.1; this signifies that the notes sound one octave lower than
heads for the lower voice. written. (This is sometimes called the vocal tenor clef) Piano accompaniment is
always placed below the vocal parts.
Figure 12.1
The vocal tenor clef—sounds one octave lower than written.

One of the most common vocal techniques is the use of vibrato. This is similar
to instrumental vibrato, in which a sustained note wavers somewhat. Vibrato
is typically a part of an individual singer's vocal characteristics, and is not nor-
mally indicated in the music except to eliminate the vibrato for special effect
(i.e., "no vibrato").
Another characteristic that you can notate, if you like, is the use oimelisma.
This effect occurs when the singer swoops up and down in pitch while singing
a constant syllable. (Think Mariah Carey here—or Aretha Franklin, if you
want the real deal.) Melismatic singing comes from gospel music via R&B and
soul, and typically takes its alternate notes from the blues scale.
A less-common vocal technique, sometimes used in popular music (and also in
some classical works), is the use of the falsetto voice. This is a register above a
male singer's normal range, typically with different vocal characteristics than
the singer's normal range. Falsetto is best used by solo singers, and not by
ensembles.
W h e n arranging for voices, close voicing is often better than open voicing,
especially between similar voices. Try not to voice notes more than an octave
between soprano and alto or alto and tenor. (You can have a larger gap between
tenor and bass, due to the different vocal characteristics of these two voices in
the extremes of their registers.)
That said, you may want to accentuate the differences between voices when one
voice carries the melody and the others sing harmony. For example, you might
write the soprano with the melody in the upper part of her range, while keeping
the alto with harmony notes in the lower part of her range. This wide voicing
helps to set the melody apart from the harmony.

Arranging for Younger Voices

Special consideration should be given when arranging for younger voices. Less-
mature voices simply don't have the same range as more mature voices, and you
have to take this into account when arranging for specific groups.
W h e n arranging for the elementary school level, it pays to keep it simple.
Avoid complicated rhythms and large leaps; stick to easy step-wise lines. Most
elementary-level choirs have just one or two vocal parts—and the younger the
choir, the more likely they are to sing (or attempt to sing) in unison. You should
keep both parts within the relatively narrow range detailed in Figure 12.2.
1M) Part 2: Instruments and Voices: Ranges and Techniques

i W
Figure 12.2
Vocal range for elementary school choirs.

W h e n you get to middle school (grade six through eight), the singers have a bit
more training under their belts—but now have to face the challenge of chang-
ing voices. And it's not only the boys' voices that change; the girls' voices are
maturing, as well.
Boys whose voices have not yet changed could be classified as tenors, although
the current "correct" term for this voice is cambiata. Whatever you call it, this
voice sings in the female alto range, with music notated on the treble clef, with
no transposition.
Those boys whose voices have changed don't quite graduate to bass status just
yet. Instead, they're more apt to sing in the baritone range, notated on the bass
clef.
Girls' voices at this age are starting to mature, but still tend to fall in a generic
middle—they haven't yet separated into true higher (soprano) and lower (alto)
ranges. For this reason, it's best to write girls' voices in the low soprano range,
typically in two parts. These parts can be noted soprano I and soprano II, just I
and II, or (more rarely) soprano and alto.
This adds up to a four-voice choir comprised of soprano I, soprano II, cambiata
(tenor), and baritone. T h e ranges for each voice are detailed in Table 12.2.

Table IZ.Z Voice ranges for middle school choirs

Voice Range (as written and sounds)
Soprano I

Soprano II (alto)

Cambiata (tenor)

Baritone
m
By the time you get to high school, most of the voices have changed, and you
can write in traditional soprano, alto, tenor, and bass voices. However, high
school vocal ranges are not quite as wide as the fully developed ranges detailed
in Table 12.1; instead, you should use the slightly more limited ranges detailed
in Table 12.3. (Remember, the tenor voice is either written on the vocal tenor
clef, or an octave higher on the regular treble clef.)
 Chapter IZ: HI

Table 123 Voice ranges for high school choirs

Voice Range (as written and sounds)
Soprano

Alto

Tenor

Bass

When writing for any elementary, middle, or high school choir, try to avoid
the extreme registers of any voice. Youthful voices at the extremes not only tire
easily, they sound thin, strained, and dynamically weak. For the best tone, write
in the beefy part of each range.

Examining Individual Voices

The general conception is that voice classifications are based on vocal range or
pitch abilities—that is, how high or how low one can sing. While this is true,
more factors need to be considered when classifying a particular voice type. For
example, tone quality is equally important in making this determination. Other
factors—such as tessitura, timbre, and passaggio—can also come into play.

defM*r)i#tiom
Tessitura is the range within which most tones of a voice part fall. Timbre (pro-
nounced "tamber") is the distinctive character of a voice—in other words, its tone
quality. Passaggio is that point where the vocal quality switches from one register
to another; the two registers are commonly referred to as head voice and chest
voice. This transition point is also called a lift or break.

Soprano
The soprano is the highest female voice, and is typically assigned the lead or
melody line. The typical soprano range starts at middle C and goes up at least
one and a half octaves, to the first G above the treble-clef staff.
Sopranos are further subdivided into types according to their differing timbres,
ranges, and technical abilities. The highest, lightest, and perhaps most "agile"
soprano is called the coloratura. Coloraturas are typically assigned highly ornate
songs and arias, sung mostly on one-syllable nonwords somewhere in the upper
stratosphere.
\lfl P a r t 2 : Instruments and Voices: Ranges and Techniques

T h e most familiar or generally accepted soprano voice is the lyric soprano; this
is the "standard" soprano voice. Another subdivision of soprano is the mezzo
soprano (mezzo means "middle"), with the same overall range and quality of the
lyric but with a little more power in the lower range.
Whichever soprano we're talking about, the highest notes in the range often
Mezzo sopranos are some-
times designated Soprano sound quite shrill, especially with younger or less-skilled singers. T h e soprano
II or "second sopranos," will also sound strained at the bottom of her range.
and are typically assigned
a harmony part a few
notes below the main Alto
melody.
T h e alto is the lower female voice, with a deep and resonant tone. T h e range
Alto is short for contralto— of a typical alto starts on the G below middle C, and goes up one and a half
a designation you'll find in
octaves, which results in substantial overlap with both the male tenor and the
some classical music.
female soprano voices.
In classical singing, the alto voice can be quite heavy and dark, sounding almost
like a tenor. In popular singing (especially in jazz), this type of voice sounds
warm and rich in its depth of tone.
Altos tend to sound strained at the top of the vocal range. It's best to keep the
alto lower, and to write in unison or parallel harmony with the tenor voice.

Tenor
T h e highest and probably most common of the male voices—especially in pop-
ular music—is the tenor. T h e tenor range overlaps significantly with the range
Remember, when the tenor of the female alto, and with the male bass.
part is written on the treble
clef, it sounds an octave Most of the famous male popular singers—now and in the past—fall under the
lower than written. category of lyric tenor. T h e dramatic tenor has a similar range to the lyric tenor,
but displays a heavier or perhaps more resonant quality. There is an additional,
rarely used, type of tenor called the countertenor. This is a falsetto part above
the regular tenor.
W h e n writing for male choruses, the tenor typically is assigned the lead or
melody line. T h e tenor voice blends well with both basses (at the top of the
range) and altos.

Baritone
Bridging the gap between the tenor and the bass is the baritone—sometimes
referred to as Bass I. (The traditional bass voice is then designated Bass II.)
Although rarely broken out separately in choral music, it is a very "listen-
able" voice, being rather lyric in quality. It lends itself well to a lot of popular
repertoire.
 Chapter IZ: Voices 143

Bass
T h e lowest and heaviest of the male voices is, of course, the bass. T h e bass
voice can be very powerful, capable of overwhelming many lighter voices. Note,
however, that at the low end of the bass range, the sound gets a tad rumbly. At Most high school "basses"
are actually baritones—
the high end of the range, the sound is somewhat strained and sometimes shrill.
and only become true
The bass voice is typically used to provide the foundation to any harmony, most basses as their voices
often assigned the root notes of chordal accompaniment. Basses blend well with deepen over time.
tenors, but less well with higher female voices.

The Least You Need to Know

• T h e four most common voices are soprano, alto, tenor, and bass—with the
baritone voice being an occasionally used option.
• Younger choirs require different arranging techniques—including the use
of different vocal ranges.
• You can arrange vocal music on either two shared staves (treble and bass),
four individual staves (one per voice), or some combination of the two.
• Voices are best kept in the middle part of their ranges; voices at the
extremes can sound thin and strained.
j
 WF Real-World Arranging

Now that you've mastered the skills and know how to use each instrument, it's
time to put those skills to use—by creating your own arrangements. Read on
to learn how to create specific types of arrangements, for rock band, big band,
marching band, orchestra, choir, and popular recording.