Voice types › Mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano vocal range
The mezzo-soprano is the most common female voice, with a typical range from A3 to A5. It sits between alto and soprano.
Tap a key to hear it.
Typical rangeLower passaggioUpper passaggioC4 = middle C
A full middle voice from about C4 to D5, with a warmer color than soprano.
Test your range: are you a mezzo-soprano?Where the mezzo-soprano voice shifts
The passaggio is the stretch of notes where the voice changes how it works, from the heavier, speech-like setting of the low notes to the lighter setting of the high ones. For a mezzo-soprano, the lower passaggio is around E4–F4 and the upper passaggio around E5–F5. The notes between them are where most cracks, strain and out-of-tune notes happen, so that is where practice pays off the most.
These are averages from voice-teaching references. Your own passaggio can sit one to three semitones higher or lower.
Mezzo-soprano or soprano?
The upper lift is the clearest clue. A mezzo's is around E5–F5; a soprano's is around F5–F♯5, and a soprano stays comfortable above it to C6. If your voice wants to shift around E5 and A5 is your ceiling, you are probably a mezzo. If B5 and C6 feel free, you may be a soprano.
Voice type is a description, not a limit. What matters for singing songs is the notes you can sing in tune and without strain, which is what the test measures.
Four exercises for a mezzo-soprano voice
About ten minutes in total. Notes are actual pitch.
- 1. Lip trill warm-upTrill your lips on a five-note scale up and back down (1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1). Start on A3 and move up one semitone each time, to D4. Keep it easy; the trill should not stop.
- 2. Bridge scale through the passaggioSing a five-note scale on "oo" or "ng", starting on D4. Move up a semitone each repetition until the top note is G5. As you pass E5–F5, let the sound get lighter instead of louder. If your voice cracks, go back two steps.
- 3. Messa di voceHold F4 for 6 seconds: start soft, swell, return to soft without the pitch moving. Repeat on E5. This trains steady pitch exactly where your voice shifts.
- 4. "Ng" sirenOn "ng" (as in "sing"), slide from D4 up to A♭5 and back, slowly, with no break in the sound. Three slides are enough.
The Rangely app builds this kind of session from your own measured range and passaggio, and shows each note against the target as you sing, accurate to the cent.
Common questions
What is the vocal range of a mezzo-soprano?
A typical mezzo-soprano sings from about A3 to A5, which is 220 to 880 Hz. Untrained singers often have a smaller usable range, and trained singers often sing a few notes beyond it.
Where is the mezzo-soprano passaggio?
The lower passaggio is around E4–F4 and the upper passaggio around E5–F5. Every voice is different by one to three semitones.
Am I a mezzo-soprano or a soprano?
The upper lift is the clearest clue. A mezzo's is around E5–F5; a soprano's is around F5–F♯5, and a soprano stays comfortable above it to C6. If your voice wants to shift around E5 and A5 is your ceiling, you are probably a mezzo. If B5 and C6 feel free, you may be a soprano.
Can a mezzo-soprano extend their range?
Most mezzos gain the most by smoothing the lower lift around E4–F4, which also makes the top easier. Stop if you feel pain or hoarseness.
Find your own range.
Sing your lowest and highest notes. Free, about a minute, your voice stays in your browser.