Vocals - Definition and Overview

For other uses, see Singer (disambiguation).

In music a singer or vocalist is a type of musician who sings, i.e. uses the voice as an instrument to make music. A lead singer is one who sings the primary vocals of a song, as opposed to a backup singer who sings backup vocals to a song or harmonies to the lead singer.

In classical music and in opera, voices are treated just like musical instruments, thus special careers were developed out of each principal pitch.

Voices are commonly classified by gender and vocal range as follows:

• Female voices:
  • soprano
  • mezzo-soprano
  • alto
  • contralto

• Male voices:
  • countertenor
  • tenor
  • baritone
  • bass
  • castrato
    • soprano castrato
    • mezzo-soprano castrato
    • alto castrato
  • sopranista

See also

• Category:Vocalists
• List of female singers
• List of male singers
• Rapping