Vocal range test

Test your vocal range in three steps

1. Press Start the test and allow the microphone. Sing an open “ah” and slide down to the lowest note you can sing clearly, then hold it for about a second until it is captured.
2. Press Next and do the same upwards: the highest note you can sing clearly without straining, falsetto included if you use it. Hold it until it is captured. You can try several times; the lowest and highest held notes count.
3. See your range in note names (for example A2–E4), the number of octaves, and the voice types whose usual range overlaps yours most.

How the test measures your range

While you sing, the page estimates your pitch about 60 times a second with the same note finder as our pitch detector. A note counts only when you hold it steadily for about a second: at least 80% of that second must be sung, and most of it within about 70 cents of its centre, which leaves room for vibrato but rejects slides, cracks and the note you pass through on the way. That way a quick yelp, a growl or a background noise cannot inflate your range. The lowest held note in step one and the highest in step two become your range.

From a range to a voice type, carefully

The result compares your range with typical ranges for seven classical voice types: bass (about E2–E4), baritone (A2–A4), tenor (C3–C5), countertenor (E3–E5), alto (F3–F5), mezzo-soprano (A3–A5) and soprano (C4–C6). These are rough averages from choral and voice-teaching references, and books differ by a note or two. A range alone cannot decide a voice type. Teachers listen for timbre (how dark or bright the voice is), tessitura (where it sits comfortably for a whole song), and where the register changes fall. Two singers with the same range can be a baritone and a tenor. Treat the match as a starting point for choosing songs, not a label.

Getting a reliable result

Test when your voice is warmed up but not tired, and not first thing in the morning, when the low end is often deeper than usual. Sing at a normal volume; whispering or shouting both make pitch harder to read. Keep the phone or computer about an arm’s length away. Your range also changes with practice, health and age, so testing again in a few weeks is normal. If a note is not captured, hold it a little longer and steadier, or check the live note display to see what the microphone hears.

Limits of a browser test

Built-in laptop and phone microphones are weak below about 100 Hz, so very low bass notes may not register, or may register an octave too high. Background music, a fan or a second voice in the room will interfere. The test has been tried with synthesized singing and microphone input in Chrome; real voices on Firefox, Safari and phones are not yet tested. If you have no microphone, you can choose a recording of yourself singing instead, and the lowest and highest notes held for at least a third of a second are used.