Question Corner - Bass Clef
by Lorine Parks
This week’s question comes from the ever-inquiring mind of Ray Brown. “What is the difference,” he asks, “between a baritone and a tenor and a bass? Is it strictly decided by range?”
Good supposing, Ray. Although you may hear singers with large ranges—Michael Jackson had nearly four octaves in range—most people do NOT possess this ability. Most people have about 1.5-2 octaves in their natural or modal voice, 1 in falsetto, and 1 in whistle voice (if any), though this is rarely used in singing (unless you're Mariah Carey). There are the seven main voice types—Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto, Countertenor, Tenor, Baritone, Bass.
And just so you can win bets on this, vocal range us defined as the measure of the breadth of pitches that a human voice can phonate. Or whistle. That is, the spectrum of notes that you can sing comfortably and clearly. Middle C is contained in all of the traditional voice classes.
The HubBub had this same problem of mistaken identity, when this reporter congratulated Johnny Croshaw on his beautiful tenor voice. “No,” said John, he only can sing in the baritone range, same with our sometimes song leader Wayne Wilcox.
A baritone, according to Wikipedia, is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice types. It is the most common male voice.[2]
Originally from the Greek βαρύτονος (barýtonos), meaning deep (or heavy) sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C (i.e. F2–F4) in choral music.
Baritones took roughly the range we know today at the beginning of the 18th century, but they were still lumped in with their bass colleagues until well into the 19th century. The terms primo basso, basse chantante, and basse-taille were often used for men who would later be called baritones. The bel canto style of vocalism which arose in Italy in the early 19th century led to the baritone being viewed as a separate voice category from the bass.
This information will be old hat to our member Judge Phil Matino. When he is not in the courtroom, Phil’s hobby is singing bass for the Bel Canto Chorale group in Whittier. A bass is a type of classical male singing voice and has the lowest vocal range of all voice types. Think Ezio Pinza singing “Some Enchanted Evening.” Or comic basses like the Mikado in Gilbert and Suillivan’s operetta.
According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is classified as having a vocal range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C (i.e., E2–E4). Its tessitura, or comfortable range, is normally defined by the outermost lines of the bass clef.
Traditionally, basses in operas had been cast as authority figures such as a king or high priest; but with the advent of the more fluid baritone voice, the roles expanded in the direction of trusted companions or even romantic leads—normally the province of tenors. More often than not, however, baritones found themselves portraying villains. Got that, Phil?
Tenors have been called the prima donnas of the male singing world, and many have been said to become deafened by the sound of their own voices ringing continually in their ears. The range is approximately from the second B below middle C to the G above. In the polyphonic (multipart) music of the 13th–16th century, tenor referred to the part “holding” the cantus firmus, the plainsong, or melody on which a composition was usually built. That’s why we sometimes use the word tenor in the general meaning of theme or thread.
Tenor voices are often classified as dramatic, lyric, or heroic (heldentenor) and people who like Irish tenors get misty when they launch into Danny Boy, waiting for them to hit that high note at the end. But, you get the idea.
Another time, we’ll discuss the voices on the treble clef, for our female Rotarians. And we’ll take up the problem of why the Club songs are always pitched too low for the women’s tessitura.