Alto (voice)

In music, an alto is a singer with a vocal range somewhere between a tenor and a mezzo-soprano. The term is used to refer to the deepest female singing voice, or the highest male voice. A typical alto will have a range from around the F below middle C to the D a ninth above middle C (i.e. F3-D5); at the bottom of their range, altos sound almost like tenors. In four part choral harmony, the alto is the second highest voice. Altos originally sang from music written in the alto clef, but now use the treble clef.

Famous altos

Classical music

• Marian Anderson
• Janet Baker
• Lili Chookasian
• Kathleen Ferrier
• Birgit Finnilä
• Maureen Forrester
• Marilyn Horne
• Sara Mingardo
• Yvonne Minton
• Ewa Podle?
• Ernestine Schumann-Heink
• Nathalie Stutzmann

Popular music

NOTE: In most cases, it is not possible to find a reputable source for the vocal range of pop singers. It seems most names were listed here on an empirical basis. It must be noted that in the pop world, the vocal range of a singer is often artificially enhanced.

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• Aaliyah
• Sade Adu
• Fiona Apple
• Siti Nurhaliza
• Anita Baker
• Florence Ballard
• Fantasia Barrino
• Toni Braxton
• Blu Cantrell
• Mary Chapin Carpenter
• Tracy Chapman
• Alicia Keys
• Chaka Khan
• Cher
• Gladys Knight
• Natalie Merchant
• Annie Lennox
• Brandy
• June Pointer
• Kelly Rowland
• Tionne Watkins
• Nicole Wray
• Cristina Scabbia