I understand that there are different ranges of singers, ie Bass, Baritone, Tenor etc etc, but what is the average pitch range of a male's singing chest voice?
asked Jan 16, 2015 at 13:52
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2Do you mean an average male singer, or an average male - your typical bloke is probably a baritone with a pretty narrow range. I have been told when planning songs for church, that most people have a range barely over an octave - which seems a little conservative but probably not very!– Mr. BoyJan 16, 2015 at 18:57
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I just meant for any old Joe Bloggs off the street– Barney ChambersJan 16, 2015 at 22:44
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2@Mr.Boy (slightly off-topic here, but relevant) Needed to say, people who go to church on regular basis and sing there in the congregation already do not qualify as average, because even this little practice is enough for most to keep their range widened.– yo'Jan 17, 2015 at 20:20
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1It would be great to see an answer which cited the statistics rather than just stating the average values. This seems such a reasonable and interesting question I am surprised that there do not seem to be canonical academic studies one can turn to, but I've not found any.– dumbledadMay 15, 2015 at 5:08
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2 Answers
- Average untrained baritone male range is F2-D4
- Average untrained tenor A2-Ab4 and will have naturally resonant falsetto/head voice up to Eb5 that can slide in and out of call register.
- Average Trained Baritone range is F2-G4(A4 Extreme).
- Average Trained tenor range is A2-C5(Eb5 Extreme). falsetto range can vary between the two, in fact some baritones can have higher falsettos than tenors it will just be disconnected.
A natural True bass is the most rare but on average their range is
- Untrained D2-B3
- Trained B1-C4
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1Untrained tenor A2-Ab4 seems quite a wide range for someone who doesn't sing at all, off the street. Or do tenors just naturally have a wider range?– Mr. BoyNov 27, 2015 at 0:43
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@adirabargil: According to this answer, G2-F4 is obviously 2 notes less than an average trained baritone (1 note less at each end). Or do you mean something else?– PJTraillAug 26, 2022 at 5:30
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@PJTraill updated vocal range to me: f2- a4(Eb4 some rare occasions), when asked the previous question i am not sure i measured it the right way and i was pretty conscious about my vocal type, realized it doesnt really matter now … Aug 26, 2022 at 7:28
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this answer also is misleading… the way to measure a vocal type isn’t just by recording higher and lower note… Aug 26, 2022 at 7:30
The average male is a baritone with a range of between 1.4 and 2.0 octaves. I learned this in a workshop on writing melodies for songs. This range starts with the chest voice and shifts to head voice at the top of the range. By head voice I do not mean falsetto. Shifting to falsetto would probably add an additional two to three notes. Most males who consider themselves "singers" have a range on the high end of average to above average. All singers have a point where they must shift from their lower register to their upper register (not falsetto) as they sing higher. Well trained singers can make this transition come across very smoothly to the listener. Untrained singers may have an abrupt shift in tonal character when the switch registers.
answered Jan 17, 2015 at 19:48
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1I disagree a little bit with you here - your range is a bit generous. An average, untrained male adult without falsetto will generate an average range to approximately between 0.66 - 1.3 octaves. The average trained vocalist / musician should be able to cover the range you prescribe. Jan 17, 2015 at 22:57
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2@jjmusicnotes I am not going to say you are not correct but do you have a source for your 0.66 octave statement? Just curious. That's a range of 4 and a half notes in a scale. So the average untrained male can sing "do re mi fa" but may not be able to hit so? (Assuming they sing do as their lowest note thus defining the scale they are singing) That might be true but I have a hard time believing that. Not saying it's not true - but would like to research further through your source. Jan 18, 2015 at 4:53
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1my source is years of writing music, attending clinics, collaborating with professional musicians, teaching, and working with untrained musicians. 2/3rds of an octave actually puts the minimal range at a minor 6th, not a 4th as you claim. In Renaissance and Baroque times the cantus firmus of a chant was written with intervals no larger than a perfect fifth because many untrained voices could not sing higher. My statements are historically, contextually, and pedagogically relevant and accurate, devised from years of study and professional work. Jan 18, 2015 at 6:37
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1From personal experience: Yes, I had the impression that my voice only had a range of 0.66 octave. But this is only a psychological barrier. What I had to learn was that using head voice or falsetto as a man wasn't wrong or funny. But was inherent to the practice of singing. Once this mental block was lifted my range got to 2 octaves, which I think now is pretty average. So if you call lifting this mental block 'training' you are right, but it can be learned pretty fast.– Tim HJan 18, 2015 at 15:37
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@BarneyChambers That kind of answer you're looking for doesn't exist in the concrete as every voice is different. However, very generally speaking, untrained male baritones can typically sing G2-B2 in the bottom part of their range up to approximately B3-D4 at the very top of their chest range. Up above D4 you're getting into tenor territory and it's best to have them take over. Jan 22, 2015 at 2:41