Vocal View

There are many misconceptions about the fach system. Often, voices are categorized incorrectly. Posts will clarify why a singer does/doesn't belong to a certain fach. This will hopefully clear up the many myths about each voice type, and give you a better understanding of the fach system.

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Mariah Carey Voice Type

Voice Type: Lyric Coloratura Soprano

Range: F2-A5-D6-Bb7

It’s everyone’s favourite diva! Highly regarded as one of the best vocalists ever, Mariah possesses a seemingly never ending range, ever resonant belts, a superhuman whistle register and insane agility. Mariah has really developed every part of her voice to a very high standard. Mariah’s voice is almost always classified incorrectly. 

This is most certainly due to her range which covers most every voice type.  Mariah provides a great example of how it’s not about one’s range, but where within that range the voice sits.

Alto

Yes, Mariah has proclaimed that she is an alto. Being one of the biggest vocalists of all time, people trust Mariah in her judgement of her voice. Despite her great technical skill, her knowledge of vocal terms is limited. 

She can hit incredible lows, but she cannot be an alto as it’s merely a choral part, not a voice type. Although they seem similar, choral parts and fach are different. 

Contralto

Contralto is a part of the fach system, but it does not share the same qualities of a choral alto. Yes, contraltos have the lowest female voices, but a contralto will also have a dark and androgynous tone. Mariah’s voice is one of the lightest, brightest and feminine. Comparing Mariah to a contralto reveals no resemblance.

Mezzo-Soprano

As Mariah can go really low and high, sometimes people land on a mezzo-soprano. However, the real difference between a mezzo-soprano and soprano is their tessitura. Mariah’s tessitura is one of the highest pop music has seen, easily living in the 5th octave (Fantasy). A mezzo would not have natural comfort where Mariah does.

Moreover, while a mezzo and soprano may be able to hit the same notes, their voice would blossom in different places. Higher 4th and lower 5th octave belts are mezzo’s sweet spots, while a soprano would shine in the upper 5th octave. Mariah’s voice clearly comes alive (Hero) in a soprano’s range. 

Dramatic Coloratura

Anyone with a bit of power and agility seems to be called a dramatic coloratura. Mariah sounds nothing like a dramatic. Mariah is known for her sweet, light and girly voice. Her timbre is not dark, cold or harsh at all. Meaning she cannot be a dramatic coloratura, no matter how resonant or agile she is.

Lyric Coloratura

A lyric coloratura will have a very light voice, high tessitura and remarkable agility. Mariah easily ticks all these boxes and makes the best case for a coloratura in pop music. Her agility and dynamics are second-to-none, jumping around all registers with ease. Her runs and riffs are legendary (Lead The Way, Vision of Love, Oh Santa!, Vanishing). I believe her fach is clear and very comfortably sits in the lyric coloratura box. 

Vocal View: In my opinion, Mariah is the best vocalist off all time. She has an extensive and very well supported lower range, stunning resonant belts all the way up to G5, a supported head voice, extraordinary whistle register, incredible dynamics, and insane agility. 

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Coloratura Controversy - The Coloratura Fach In Pop Music

Most are aware that the fach system was created for opera singers. This causes some controversy when adapting it to pop music. Some people believe that the fach system should not be used in pop music at all. On the other hand, others believe that it is okay to use terms like lyric, dramatic, etc, but not coloratura. 

In my opinion, one can use terms like coloratura in pop music. However, lets look at a few reasons why people are against using coloratura:

Training A coloratura will go through extensive training to achieve their renowned agility. Sure they will have a naturally high and agile voice, but this agility needs to be harnessed and developed. These singers will focus their time on training their upper range of their head voice and agility, rather than on low notes and intense power. 

Personally, I believe we can still find singers who stand-out with naturally high and light* voices and extraordinary agility. I would argue that we could classify these voices as coloratura sopranos.

More of a Part?

Sometimes people point out that coloratura is as much of a role (a part someone plays) as it is a voice type. The argument is made that these singers are given embellished vocal lines and impressive high notes that they wouldn’t be singing otherwise. While this is true to some extent, there still has to be a certain candidate, with a particular kind of voice, to suit these roles. This (as previously mentioned) falls to those with light*, high and agile voices and these can definitely be found in pop music. 

My Thoughts

My opinion is that the above arguments against using the term ‘coloratura’ in pop music really applies to all voice types (lyric, soprano, contralto, etc.). Due to this, I do use the term. And remember, this is all a bit of fun to find out a bit more about people’s voices and their strengths. It’s not as nearly as serious as we can make it out to be. 

I would encourage you to form your own opinion (hopefully with a bit of context), and go for what you like.  *Light is a relative term. A dramatic coloratura will not have a light voice, but it will be lighter than a regular dramatic. For lyric singer, these will be the lightest of the voices and far more obvious. 

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I am curious on what vocal type I am. My range is from an Eb2-F#4-C5(Eb5 good day), though I would say my tessitura is from an A2-D4(Just chest) and falsetto can comfortably go up to an A4. Up to a B3 I have a warm to bright tone. Anything above that (Chest and mix) are generally very bright. Unless I focus on it, my voice has this natural weight to it that prevents me from belting anything above a D4 without strain even though I am still very bright. I hope this is a good synopsis of my voice.

Unfortunately you can’t tell off a description. I could hazard a guess as a lyric baritone, but don’t take it as gospel.

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When doing run my jaw moves around(like how Christina Aguilera or Ariana Grandes would) I have had people tell be that it’s not good technique/not healthy while others have told me that its okay. I am not sure if this is healthy/good technique or not

Look it’s a hard one to answer. While it’s not desirable it’s not the biggest deal. They’re may be more pressing issues to focus on and sometimes being to harsh on ourselves doesn’t help our learning.

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contralto voice type examples?

Annie Lennox, Cher, Tracy Chapman, Ana Carolina

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Hi! I was wondering, would you describe Carrie Underwood's voice as more warm or more cold/icy? I've been trying to figure out which one my voice fits and her timbre is similar to mine, although I sing far lower than she does.

Carrie’s voice is definitely warm

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What notes are usually baritones passaggios?

Somewhere around B3 and Eb4.

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hi! everyone say Kelly Rowland is a lyric mezzosoprano but her lows are weak for a mezzo, I thought she could be an untrained soprano, tell me what do you think

Not too familiar with her, but I think she is just a lyric mezzo.

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Coloratura

Most are aware that the fach system was created for opera singers. This causes some controversy when adapting it to pop music. Many believe that coloratura is a classical term, and should not be used in pop music. 

The coloratura fach is one of the most misunderstood and overused. The most famous trait of a coloratura, is the extraordinary agility that these voices possess. Coloraturas can complete extremely complex runs, trill and leaps. They can jump around all parts of the voice with ease. This is usually all people look for. One must remember that great agility can be learnt. Take Natalie Weiss’s Youtube series ‘Breaking Down The Riffs’. Natalie demonstrates that with practice and simplification even the most complex runs can be learnt. This means that we must look for other characteristics before we classify someone as a coloratura. 

A true coloratura will also have a few other distinct traits. The voice will sit very high, possessing the highest tessitura of all the fachs. A (trained) coloratura will have the ability to reach well into the 6th octave. The timbre of a coloratura will be very sweet and youthful – with a small and very light voice. It is this ‘weightlessness’ that allows the voice to be very agile and carried high up. Many mistake lyric voices for coloraturas. For example, Jessie J is often thought of as a coloratura. Although she has amazing agility, her tessitura is not high enough, and her timbre is nowhere near sweet, bright or youthful enough. Some describe coloraturas as having a timbre that is lacking in richness, due to their very light and bright voice. A true coloratura is far more rare that what most believe.

A coloratura will go through extensive training to achieve their renowned agility. They will have a naturally light and agile voice that is harnessed and developed. A coloratura would also focus their time on the upper range of their head voice and agility, rather than on low notes and intense power. Due to all the training required, some believe this is why we cannot find a coloratura in pop music. They believe it is a result of classical training that a pop singer will simply not receive.  

Additionally, coloratura is somewhat of a way of singing (with lots of melisma, leaps, trills, etc) as opposed to just a type of voice. These very specific parts, like coloratura, are not best suited to pop music as these fachs often have requirements other than just the voice (for example a certain physical look is required). For arguments sake, lets say a singer has the physical vocal chords of a coloratura but doesn’t use any runs, riffs, etc — are they still considered a coloratura? This is why it becomes a grey area and is why many believe it is not appropriate for anything other than classical music. 

A Discussion About Mariah

Onto Mariah Carey, the person who people most often label a coloratura in pop music. Mariah tends to get this label due to her incredible agility and use of runs way up into the 6th and 7th octaves. 

The thing with Mariah is she uses her whistle register to sing these really high melismas — where as a classical singer will use head voice. The 6th octave sits much higher in head voice than it does for the whistle register. So Mariah isn’t really demonstrating the same skill as she isn’t completing runs in head voice that casually hit E6s, F6s, etc. 

Additionally, her voice sounds very light due to the whistle register being a disconnected part of the voice. A operatic and resonant head voice from Mariah wouldn’t have the same coloratura tonal qualities to it. 

Saying that, Mariah has one of the most agile voices in pop music, a light timbre and a high lying tessitura. 

I would stay away from coloratura for Mariah due to these reasons listed above, but I encourage you to form your own opinion. 

Overall, the coloratura fach is a complex one, and it is debatable whether it can exist within pop music. As stated above, I would encourage everyone to form their own opinion. 

Examples: Kristin Chenoweth (who is a classical trained coloratura soprano). The fach includes:

Lyric Coloratura Soprano

Dramatic Coloratura Soprano

Coloratura Mezzo-Soprano (note no lyric and dramatic)

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Spinto

A spinto voice can be best described as a hybrid between the lyric and dramatic voice. Spinto voices are very big, but not as large as a dramatic. They possess the warm timbre of lyric voices, but have the dark and metallic tone of a dramatic (Listen here). Often people believe that spintos are dramatics (eg. Jennifer Hudson), but their voice contains a warmth that a dramatic won't have. In regards to agility, again they sit in the middle.

They are not the most agile, but can harness the skill well (eg. Whitney Houston). Much confusion arises from the fact that spinto translates to ‘pushed’. Spintos are not singers who push their voices and force a bigger sound. They are voices that can be ‘pushed’ to dramatic climaxes. This means that they can acheive dramatic climaxes, not just singers who overly force air through the vocal folds. So Christina Aguilera is not a spinto.

Spintos are also known for their ability to slice through heavy instrumentation. They are one of the rarest voice types and are restricted to sopranos and tenors only, so there is no such thing as a spinto mezzo or baritone.

Examples in pop music include: Whitney Houston, Jennifer Hudson, Michael Bolton and Cee Lo Green. The spinto fach includes:

Spinto Soprano

Spinto Tenor

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do bass-baritones they have different passagios than a bass or a baritone, or are somewhere in the middle?

Different passaggios to basses and baritones. Somewhere around A3 and D4.

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What type of lyric soprano would you be if you're good at singing low notes for a long time and able to comfortably sing low notes?

That’s unrelated. It’s related to timbre and weight of the voice.

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Why is it possible to resonate tho without vibrato? (Genuine question)? And also is supporting D#4 good for an untrained 15 yo lyric baritone?

Vibrato is just a small movement in pitch. Movements in pitch do not generate resonance. It can hinder it though if it is produced poorly via tension. Yes that is good

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Which voice naturally possesses more power, Spinto Sopranos or Lyric Baritones?

Spinto

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My vocal range : C#2 - G4. I'm 16 years old. So what is my voice type. My D4 is so light and I can't sing higher than F#4 sometime G4.

Can’t tell off range, sorry

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What is the right way to develop a good vibrato?

Refer to my previous answer :)

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When was Aretha Franklin’s vocal prime?

I don’t know her well enough to say.