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Male voices
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A bass is a type of classical male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the F two octaves below middle C to the E above middle C (i.e., F2–E4), with a tessitura, or comfortable range, normally ranging between the outermost lines of the bass clef.
Bass singers are almost exclusively male, but there are exceptions.1
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However, cultural influence and individual variation create a wide variation in range and quality of bass singers. Parts for basses have included notes as low as the B-flat two octaves and a tone below middle C (Bb1), for example in the Rachmaninov Vespers, and the G below that (e.g. Measure 76 of Ne otverzhi mene by Pavel Chesnokov). Many basses have trouble reaching those notes, and the use of them in works by Slavic composers has led to the colloquial term "Russian bass" for an exceptionally deep-ranged basso profondo who can easily sing these notes. Some traditional Russian religious music calls for A2 (110 Hz) drone singing, which is doubled by A1 (55 Hz) in the rare occasion that a choir includes exceptionally gifted singers who can produce this very low human voice pitch.
Basses also have trouble reaching the notes above middle C, according to Grove Music Onlinenot in citation givenspecify; however, many British composers such as Benjamin Britten have written parts for bass that center far higher than the bass tessitura (such as the first movement of his choral work Rejoice in the Lamb).2 The Harvard Dictionary of Music defines the range as being from the E below low C to middle C (i.e. E2–C4).3
In choral music, voices are subdivided into first bass and second bass, no distinction being made between bass and baritone voices, in contrast to the three-fold (tenor-baritone-bass) categorization of solo voices. The exception is in arrangements for male choir (TTBB) and barbershop quartets (TLBB), which sometimes label the lowest two parts baritone and bass.
It is also common for men who are classified as "basses" (and have a full bass choral range) to have a speaking voice which may sound much higher than would be expected.citation needed
| Common vocal ranges represented on a musical keyboard |
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The factual accuracy of this section is disputed. Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page.(June 2008) |
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This article may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (May 2008) |
In classical music, and particularly in opera, the following distinctions are often made among different kinds of bass voices:
