Bass vocal range: E2 to E4

Bass is the lowest voice type, with a typical range from E2 up to E4.

What a bass sounds like

Deep, dark and resonant. A true bass is the least common of the lower voices.

Where a bass is comfortable

A bass is most at home from about G2 to C4, and the notes below C3 stay full where other voices turn to a croak.

The full range, E2 to E4, 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 bass?

A baritone on a tired morning can sound like a bass. The difference is whether the low notes are still strong and usable later in the day.

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 basss

• Barry White
• Johnny Cash (usually called a bass-baritone)

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 bass

• Most popular songs need to come down, sometimes by a fourth or more. That is normal.
• Warm up gently upward. A bass voice needs longer to wake up than a higher one.
• Practise clear diction: low notes carry less easily, so consonants do the work.

Bass compared with the other voice types

The next voice up is the baritone (A2 to A4). 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.