What's the best kind of voice to have for singing?

Question

Like for women: alto, soprano, ect and what for men (like tenner, bass, ect). Also what voice suits different genres of music the best (like is it better to be an alto if you sing pop)? How do you find out what your voice range is? Thanks. Sorry if I made any typos. I'm sleepy.

Answer 1

Find your own voice, your own range. Different musical genres have different vocal requirements. By all means, be influenced by artists (my main influence is Paul Rodgers of Free, Bad Company and Queen), but take that influence and turn it into your own unique signature, otherwise you're just a copy. There's no reason to shy away from one type of music just because your voice doesn't fall into its "traditional" range. For example, a lot of heavy metal bands have found success with female opera singers (check out Nightwish, among others)

Answer 2

Like everyone else has said, just try to find your own style. I don't think there is a particular "sound" that applies to any given genre, you just sing how you like to and the market will ultimately decide whether or not they like it but that doesn't mean it's wrong or right. Having said that, I don't think there are particular ranges suited for different genres, though there tends to be ranges represented more than others.

Modern rock/pop often have male tenors, female altos, but this has not always been the case. Most males on the idol shows are tenors while most females are altos. There might be a disposition for this for population reasons, I'm not sure but would be interested in finding out.

I don't necessarily agree that your speaking voice falls in your mid-range. Some people naturally speak higher or lower than their mid-range and this can even vary culturally. To figure out your range, stand next to a keyboard/in-tune piano/any instrument and scale out your range [assuming you know a bit of music theory and can recognize pitch] from lowest note to highest. Be sure to have a proper warm up to get a proper sense of how large your range is. Then just research the basic ranges: bass, baritone, tenor, alto, mezzo, soprano and see where you fit in, keeping in mind that there is some fudge work involved in classifying the ranges [ here is a good start http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Range_%28music%29 ] . The difference between, say, being a baritone who is able to sing in the lower tenor range [ ranges overlap] and being a true tenor is the amount of comfort in singing in the particular ranges as a whole. A baritone will feel more effort in singing as a tenor than a so-called true tenor.

To get into more specifics [as I'm not sure of your experience with music] about figuring out your voice range: hit a random note on a keyboard/instrument and see if you are able to sing that note in the same pitch [switching octaves doesn't count]. If you are not able to, then move up or down appropriately until you can sing that exact pitch. Then figuring out or scaling your range is just a matter or seeing how low and high you can go on the keyboard/instrument [singing the same pitch, not just the same key]. If you are unable to identify the note being played, aren't sure if you are singing the right note, or if none of this makes sense then you should seek out help from a musician or take vocal/music theory lessons. Learning how to play an instrument is also very useful since it is as hands on as it gets. Being able to recognize pitch, if you can't do it naturally, is not something you can learn readily online and through research, you need more direct practice.

Answer 3

if you have a look at this website learn-to-sing.com there is a lot of information there about how to sing, look in the "my voice" section and it will tell you what kind of voice you have it's easy to understand (although ignore the front page) the site is in development but I have written to them and bought the practice CD with full instructions and loads of exercises from beginner to advanced, it's a new site and when it has been completed will be the place to go for budding pop idol artists, the forum will be very usefull and they have an on line vocal coach to answer any questions ....its all free info!

Answer 4

Ha ha! I have a good singing voice. I've been singing since I was 3, have been trained to sing a little bit of everything and love to sing still.

Answer 5

The best kind of voice is your own--do not be an imitator, it will ruin your work.(john philip sousa). stand at a keyboard and sing a normal, speaking voice note--find the note on the keyboard that comes closest--that is your mid-range. Don't kiss a**, do your own thinking. You tell them what you sing, and sing with your heart.

Answer 6

If you sing country, better to be an alto.
rock - mezzo soprano
opera - freaky weird vocal stuff
pop - sopralto (my own term)
hip-hop - alto
R&B - definitely alto, with a high vocal range you can use

you pretty much have to assume what your vocal range is, or go to an instructor to find out. but you can expand your range with practice. BTW, all the above are for women vocalists.