Dear Michael,
thanks a lot for what u have said on the list.True enough,our
voices cannot really be fit into just one voice category most of the
time since there are cases where a student can be classified as
another voice type with good training and age.Indeed lower voices are
rare to find especially more ppl are found to be higher in voice
classification.I guess that's one of the reasons why u find that
tenors and sopranos are easier to find.Well frankly speaking,I have
heard both voices of true bass and contralto who are both my
friends.And they have the voice qualities which few have in this
world.Although I never really heard them sing before,their speaking
voices are already good to convice me.Well I am not anxious to know
exactly what my voice type lies in for voices can change or remain
the same throughout the years.It's just that I am interested to know
more about this voice type of bass-baritone.Bryn Terfal???Well I have
heard of his name but never heard him sung before.So how do u find
his voice???Anyway my voice teacher have classified me as a bass-
baritone at the moment.We are still exploring so he does what he
thinks my comfort zone is.Regarding about opera,I am still
considering whether to go into opera cos I don't really know how to
appreciate opera and don't know if I would like it in the future.
From a baritone who also sings in the choir
Weijie
--- In vocalist-temporary@y..., "Michael" <chosdad@y...> wrote:
> Dear List and Weijie:
>
> Wiejie stated and then asked, "Frankly speaking, baritones are the
> most common among the male voice...just wondering if bass-baritones
> are considered rare among the different types of baritone voice."
>
> Short answer: I don't really know, but I would guess that the lower
> baritone and bass voices are more rare than the medium ones. The
> label "bass-baritone" means different things to different people,
and
> some have argued that there is no such thing - that "bass-baritone"
> is (like "bari-tenor") a voice that doesn't have the low notes of
one
> category and lacks the higher notes of another, and therefore means
a
> voice that is not properly used/developed.
>
> I think there is no reason
> to believe our voices all neatly fit into one category or another -
> the physical determinants of voice do not have "quantum" dimensions
> that would lead to being either type a or type b. I further
believe
> that physical characteristics like the length, thickness etc. of
the
> vocal folds follows a normal distribution, meaning that most people
> have "medium" voices,
> and lower and higher voices are rarer. Similarly, "medium" weight
> voices and "medium" color are most common. The question, though,
is
> what does "medium" really mean? It is possible for a mis-match
> between the "medium" of a population and the "medium" of music. To
> keep this short, "medium" for men might be baritone, or it might be
> somewhat higher, more like "bari-tenor". I don't have statistical
> data - it seems to me that "true" tenors are not so common, but
> also "true" lower voices.
>
> It is too bad that I don't know how to refer you to the archives of
> the original Vocalist out of Finland. At one point, Ron Land gave
a
> lengthy and seemingly authoritative set of posts describing all the
> various opera vocal categories and roles etc.
>
> There are many labels put on voices, so here is one link
> that discusses the bass-baritone:
>
http://www.su.edu/conservatory/opera/auditioning/MUPP425/Documents/Per
> formances/Fach/Bass.htm. For what it's worth, when I think of bass-
> baritone I think of a voice like Bryn Terfal.
>
> I'm guessing, perhaps incorrectly, that you are a young man trying
to
> figure out your own voice type. If you are a serious opera voice
> student, I suppose the issue of proper classification is important,
> and you will work this out over time by exploring different
> repertoire and seeing what works best for your voice. If you are
say
> 21, your voice is probably not mature and it would be hard to give
> a "true" opera classification. In general, men have a tendancy to
> think their voices are larger and deeper than they are.
>
> Hope this helps somewhat.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Michael
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