Soprano

This article is about the female voice type. For a male singer able to sing in the soprano range, see Sopranist. For other uses, see Soprano (disambiguation).
"Soprano (singer)" redirects here. For the rapper, see Soprano (rapper).
Voice type
Female
Male

A soprano (Italian pronunciation: [soˈpraːno]) is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880 Hz in choral music, or to "soprano C" (C6, two octaves above middle C) = 1046 Hz or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which often encompasses the melody.[1] The soprano voice type is generally divided into the coloratura, soubrette, lyric, spinto, and dramatic soprano.[2]

  1. ^ Stark, James (2003). Bel Canto: A History of Vocal Pedagogy. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-8020-8614-3.
  2. ^ Aronson, Arnold Elvin; Bless, Diane M. (2009). Clinical Voice Disorders (4th ed.). New York: Thieme Medical Publishers. p. 278. ISBN 978-1-58890-662-5. Retrieved 1 November 2014.