A bass is a type of 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 second F below middle C to the E above middle C (i.e., F2–E4). Its tessitura, or comfortable range, is normally defined by the outermost lines of the bass clef.
Cultural influence and individual variation create a wide variation in...
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A bass is a type of 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 second F below middle C to the E above middle C (i.e., F2–E4). Its tessitura, or comfortable range, is normally defined by the outermost lines of the bass clef.
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 (B♭1), 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)...
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