Baritone vocal range: A2 to A4

Baritone is the middle lower voice, between bass and tenor, with a typical range from A2 to A4. It is the most common male voice type.

What a baritone sounds like

Warm, round and versatile. A baritone can sound gentle or powerful in the same song.

Where a baritone is comfortable

A baritone is most at home from about C3 to E4. Tenor notes above F4 are possible with training but tiring to hold.

The full range, A2 to A4, is a typical one. Choirs and teachers draw the lines a few notes apart, and trained singers often reach beyond them. What matters more than the outer notes is where you can sing a whole song without strain.

Are you a baritone?

Most men who think they cannot sing are baritones trying to sing tenor songs in the original key. Move the song down two to four notes and it often falls into place.

The quick way to check is to measure. The voice type test listens to your lowest and highest notes through your microphone and tells you which type fits. If you only want the two notes, use the vocal range test.

Singers often described as baritones

• Elvis Presley
• Frank Sinatra

Pop singers are rarely classified the way opera singers are, so these are the labels most often given to them, not official titles.

Practice tips for a baritone

• Lower the key of high pop songs before deciding a song is beyond you.
• Build the notes from D4 to G4 slowly. That is where baritones gain the most.
• Use your natural warmth in the middle: you do not need high notes to sound good.

Baritone compared with the other voice types

The next voice down is the bass (E2 to E4). The next voice up is the tenor (C3 to C5). The ranges overlap, so if you fall between two, go with the one where a whole song feels easiest.

For the full picture, read what is my voice type and how to find it.