Bass vocal range: E2 to E4
The bass range runs roughly E2 to E4 — about 2.0 octaves — and here is how to tell whether it is actually yours.
The range
A bass sits at roughly E2 to E4: 24 semitones, or about 2.0 octaves. These are comfortable working ranges rather than the extremes a trained singer can reach on a good day, which is the distinction that matters when you are trying to place your own voice.
The lowest of the standard voice types, and the rarest. A bass voice carries weight and depth at the bottom of the staff that no other type reaches, and typically gives up brightness and flexibility at the top in exchange.
How voice type is actually decided
Voice type is not the same question as highest note. It is decided mainly by tessitura — the part of the range where the voice is comfortable and sounds best over a whole song — and secondarily by timbre and by where the register transitions fall. A range measurement narrows the answer; it does not settle it.
sentivoice classifies a measured range by comparing its midpoint against each type's midpoint and taking the nearest. That is a rough self-classification and it is meant as one: it is good enough to tell you what key to try a song in, and it is not a conservatory placement.
What people get wrong about it
Most self-identified basses are baritones. A baritone can usually reach the bass notes on a good day and simply cannot sustain them; the test is not whether the low note comes out at all but whether it comes out with tone and can be held.
What to sing
Bass parts sit low in choral writing and low in blues, gospel and classic country. In pop, songs written for a bass voice are uncommon, and transposing down two or three semitones does more than searching for repertoire that already fits.
Take the vocal range test
A guided in-browser test that finds your lowest and highest usable notes and classifies your voice type from the result.
Take the vocal range testCommon questions
What is the bass vocal range in notes?
Roughly E2 to E4, which is 24 semitones or about 2.0 octaves. Individual singers vary in both directions, and the working range that a singer can use for a whole performance is usually narrower than the total range they can produce.
Can my voice type change?
The comfortable range can shift with training, age and health, and it usually widens at the top with technique. Wholesale reclassification is uncommon in adults. Adolescent voices are a different matter and are still settling.
How do I measure my own range?
Sing down from a comfortable note until the tone stops being usable, then up the same way, and record the lowest and highest notes you could actually hold — not the ones you could just about produce. sentivoice runs this as a guided in-browser test using your microphone.