Altos or mezzo-sopranos?

[bigboi_08]

Erica (from marymary the one who sings the low parts)
Christina Agulera
beyonce
Lil Mo
Kelly Price
Vickie Winans

[thatsmeonthemike]

Erica (from marymary the one who sings the low parts) Alto
Christina Agulera I can't fugure her out...I'll just say Alto
beyonce Soprano
Lil Mo Soprano
Kelly Price Alto
Vickie Winans Alto/Tenor

Now Mezzo is a term we don't use at my church.  It is a very common term in opera.  Usually Mezzo's are Alto's in the non oprera world.  Contalto's in Opera are similar to female tenors in gospel.  So in other words a mezzo is nothing but a alto.  Every alto I know wants to be  a sopranao, so calling themselves mezzo soprano makes them feel better.

Also in the book singing for dummies.  The voice classification used is soprano, mezzo soprano, tenor, and baritone.  So like I said a mezzo ain't nothing but a alto.

[Maestro87]

Christina Aguilera- Soprano
Beyonce - Soprano
Lil Mo - Soprano
Kelly Price - Soprano
Vickie Winans - Mezzo Soprano

Some of the singers have really low notes because they have a phenomenal range but their tessiture, or comfortable singing range is in the upper octaves.

[C1981]

Now Mezzo is a term we don't use at my church.  It is a very common term in opera.  Usually Mezzo's are Alto's in the non oprera world.  Contalto's in Opera are similar to female tenors in gospel.  So in other words a mezzo is nothing but a alto.  Every alto I know wants to be  a sopranao, so calling themselves mezzo soprano makes them feel better.

Also in the book singing for dummies.  The voice classification used is soprano, mezzo soprano, tenor, and baritone.  So like I said a mezzo ain't nothing but a alto.

There IS a difference. Both categories sing the alto part in most churches, but mezzos may also sing second soprano. Most women who sing alto are mezzos if not simply sopranos who are scared of the high noted. The difference is that the mezzo voice may still sing up into the soprano register although with a little more effort, but in most cases the true alto voice cannot reach the upper notes of the soprano register and the voice has a darker, richer quality. Compare Nikki Ross (soprano) Kim Burrell (a definite mezzo) and Blanche from Donald Lawrence's choir (a true contralto - don't let the term fool you; a contralto is just an alto singing solo). Kim's range is wider than most people think; I've heard her start one of those sick runs of hers on high B flat (B flat 5 for the keyboardists), but the note sounds like more "work" than if Nikki sang it. Blanche would probably never even TRY that note, but she has notes lower than the other two can think. In fact, the mannish sound of her lower register -unmixed chest voice- is the hallmark of the true (contr)alto.

[thatsmeonthemike]

There IS a difference. Both categories sing the alto part in most churches, but mezzos may also sing second soprano. Most women who sing alto are mezzos if not simply sopranos who are scared of the high noted. The difference is that the mezzo voice may still sing up into the soprano register although with a little more effort, but in most cases the true alto voice cannot reach the upper notes of the soprano register and the voice has a darker, richer quality. Compare Nikki Ross (soprano) Kim Burrell (a definite mezzo) and Blanche from Donald Lawrence's choir (a true contralto - don't let the term fool you; a contralto is just an alto singing solo). Kim's range is wider than most people think; I've heard her start one of those sick runs of hers on high B flat (B flat 5 for the keyboardists), but the note sounds like more "work" than if Nikki sang it. Blanche would probably never even TRY that note, but she has notes lower than the other two can think. In fact, the mannish sound of her lower register -unmixed chest voice- is the hallmark of the true (contr)alto.

In my opinion Kim Burrell is 100% alto.  Her range is about 5 notes.  Based on your theory Nikki Ross could be classified as a mezzo.  Listen to her sing There is No Way and she is singing very low during her solo and not very high at all.  Most alto's I know can sing second soprano and most soprano's I know can sing first alto.  I think most great singers can pretty much do it all. 

Also Kim Burrell sounds most comfortable singing in the lower alto range.  She sounds like she is straining if she goes up to first alto range.  It would be impossible for Blanche to sing alto in any choir in America.  She just can't hit those notes in her chest voice.  Donald knows what he is doing, she is 100% a first tenor tenor.  Also Erica Mccolough, she sings When The Saints Go To Worship, is in the alto section of Donald Lawrence choir.  Yes, Donald has her singing in the alto section.  If you have the Finale cd, she sings the song God and she is singing in her chest voice and sounds like an alto as apposed to when she used her beautiful head voice while singing When The Saints Go To Worship.   I knew for a fact that she was a first soprano, but she isn't, she is a versatile alto. 

Could you list some gospel singers that you consider to be alto and soprano.  Lets leave mezzo out because that is not a term commonly used in gospel music.   I think classical singers don't use their chest voice as often as gospel singers do. They tend to sing in their head voice, so most of their voices come a cross as higher than what they would be if they used there speaking voice to sing in.

 

[thatsmeonthemike]

Also, Donald Lawrence shows three great examples of alto, soprano, and tenor.  I saw him in an interview, and he said he picked Vanessa Bell Armstrong to sing the first verse of "It's Your Time" because she is his favorite alto,  Karen Clark his his favorite soprano, and Darwin is one of his favorite tenos.  So I think Karen and Vanessa are the perfect examples of a true soprano(Karen) and a true alto(Vanessa.)  They can both cross over and easily sing each others part.   That's the beauty of gospel, most singers have great range.