Hi All,

Just wondering if there are any other choir singers out there? I sing alto in a choir, rarely do I ever get asked to do a solo. <sigh> My range is pretty high although I'm not as strong on higher notes. At christmas time I got a one line solo in an oratorio. Yipee! Just wondering if I'm alone in my disappointment. Dont get me wrong, I love to sing regardless, just would love a little more recognition for those of us with lower voice ranges.

I totally agree with your view, I mostly sing alto. I can sing soprano but like you it's not as strong, the stronger part of my range is the range of an alto but i can sing right down to the range of a baritone (which kind of scares me sometimes but that's just the way my voice is, I've come to accept it and use it to my advantage). Anyway I definitely agree that altos don't get enough recognition, a lot of the great soul and r'n'b singers who I admire and am inspired by are definitely not sopranos, take Alicia Keys for instance, she's amazing and most of her songs will never go above the C an octave above middle C but will often sing right down to an E below middle C, and she has an amazing voice. Anyway I'm ranting but I do agree that altos deserve more recognition. Take care, shelly x

Hello!! I sing first soprano, and it does seem as if most of of the solos sung are written for higher voices, which is unfortunate! I think alto voices are beautiful, I wish I could sing that warmly!

I'm singing 2nd Alto in a woman's choir, and a number of the solos I've seen so far are those that anyone can try out for.

Side note, for Mu Phi Epsilon one year we sang The Alto's Lament. "Why do altos always seem to get stuck with all the crummy parts" It has more lines and most of the song is song on middle C, D and E, with a few measures of melody. The sopranos reply back saying they're tired of being neck and neck (S1 & S2) and they're tired of the melody. A fun little piece!

Altos are the ones who should get the most respect! We have the hardest time finding our notes, and without altos choirs would sound empty. It's not that altos aren't respected, its just they are engineered to add to the harmony, not sing solo. The human brain responds better to high sounding, straining voices like sopranos and tenors and effects such as vox humana, falsetto and the whistle key range. basses are the lowest sounding voice, so they get to sing occasional solos, but altos are not as flamboyant in chiors. however if you are a diva or cabaret singer, alto is certainly the way to go. In choral music, I guess we need to be content knowing this whole thing would fall apart if it were not for Altos.

Altos are the ones who should get the most respect! We have the hardest time finding our notes, and without altos choirs would sound empty. It's not that altos aren't respected, its just they are engineered to add to the harmony, not sing solo. The human brain responds better to high sounding, straining voices like sopranos and tenors and effects such as vox humana, falsetto and the whistle key range. basses are the lowest sounding voice, so they get to sing occasional solos, but altos are not as flamboyant in chiors. however if you are a diva or cabaret singer, alto is certainly the way to go. In choral music, I guess we need to be content knowing this whole thing would fall apart if it were not for Altos.

i sing soprano-contralto and i always choose to sing soprano because,as i learned in middle school, altos always get the WORST parts. now i refuse to even sing mezzo. i wish i could sing a song with an amazing alto part...but sopranos always get melody.

You guys aren't singing the right pieces. Check out the Bach alto arias. They're fantastic!

I agree with TFE_forever. I am first soprano, and I often feel sorry for the altos. We soprano's seem to get such lovely solo pieces, while the poor altos are left with nice...but not as nice parts. Anyways, I just wanted all you altos out there know that I think you're amazing, and that I think you are too many times overlooked. Keep up the good work! We sopranos need you!

<Added>

sorry...I messed up your name TF3_forever. woops! ;)

Its true-sops would sound a bit hollow without the mighty altos hurrah!

+ they'd get lost

Thank you all for your reply's. Yes...I wish that our director would pick more of the right pieces for alto's. Ironically right now we are singing a very nice piece that has a couple of verses written for altos to sing as solos. Well she offered it to one and the lady turned it down, didn't want to do it. I wanted it so very badly and she didn't offer it to me. She offered it to a Tenor! (OK no one in our choir would dare challenge or question the director...lol) He has a great voice but the tone for the piece just isn't there<sigh>. I know the reason she didn't offer it to me. It is because there is also a 4 part harmony that is hummed under the solo and I'm the strongest alto.

Glad I found this forum, helps to be able to vent.

It's true, altos may not be as loved as the sopranos, but the part that really doesn't get as much respect as they should is the second sopranos. I can sing any part (and STRONGLY), so in the past I've sung first soprano, alto, even tenor when there weren't enough guys to fill out the sound, but right now I'm in an adavanced women's choir singing second soprano. Believe me, I'd much rather be an alto! We're right in the middle so our notes are like impossible to hear! Even when we can find them and memorize them and train our ears well enough to sing our part out, the audience doesn't even have a clue we exist! All they care about are the sopranos, and there's even a little alto love too. But everyone thinks the seconds are pathetic, which is so not true! So believe me, girl, you are lucky to be an alto.

Oh and btw the songs with the best alto parts I've ever sung include:
Poor Little Sailor Boy arr. Mary Sallee
Swingin' Down At 10th & Main arr. Dave Barduhn/Dave Cross
When You Believe arr. Audrey Snyder
Scarborough Fair arr. Mary Goetze
Glorificamus Te arr. Eugene Butler
The Mouse Madrigal arr. Steven Porter
Georgia On My Mind arr. Kirby Shaw
They Were You arr. Nathan Lansing
As Long As I Have Music arr. Don Besig

So if you want you can look into checking those out! Good luck!

I'm an alto, but not in choir until next school year. I like to sing Broadway songs, and there seem to be more altos in that, so there are more song choices for me. But like alot of others said, be proud to be an alto!

I used to sing alto until this year...and I absolutely loved it. Singing alto improved my sight-reading skills and it really helped me grasp a sense of ensemble because of all the harmonies and "duets" between the alto and tenor parts, which usually occurs.

Dr. Eph Ehly, one of the world's most renowned choral directors said "altos have a voluptous sound like that of mother earth." And that guy...was amazing. So, don't listen to those sharp sopranos. Without the altos, songs aren't complete.