COMPASS OF THE VOICE. 6 1 5 



tone. The bass voice usually reaches lower than the tenor 

 and its strength lies in the low notes ; while the tenor voice 

 extends higher than the bass. The contralto voice has 

 generally lower notes than the soprano, and is strongest 

 in the lower notes of the female voice ; while the soprano 

 voice reaches higher in the scale. But the difference of 

 compass, and of power in different parts of the scale, is 

 not the essential distinction between the different voices ; 

 for bass singers can sometimes go very high, and the con- 

 tralto frequently sings the high notes like soprano singers. 

 The essential difference between the bass and tenor voices, 

 and between the contralto and soprano, consists in their 

 tone or " timbre," which distinguishes them even when 

 they are singing the same note. The qualities of the 

 barytone and mezzo-soprano voices are less marked ; the 

 barytone being intermediate between the bass and tenor, 

 the mezzo-soprano between the contralto and soprano. They 

 have also a middle position as to pitch in the scale of the 

 male and female voices. 



The different pitch of the male and the female voice 

 depends on the different length of the vocal cords in the 

 two sexes ; their relative length in men and women being 

 as three to two. The difference of the two voices in tone 

 -or " timbre," is owing to the different nature and form of 

 the resounding walls, which in the male larynx are much 

 more extensive, and form a more acute angle anteriorly. 

 The different qualities of the tenor and bass, and of the 

 alto and soprano voices, probably depend on some pecu- 

 liarities of the ligaments, and the membranous and car- 

 tilaginous parietes of the laryngeal cavity, which are 

 not at present understood, but of which we may form some 

 idea, by recollecting that musical instruments made of dif- 

 ferent materials, e.g., metallic and gut-strings, may be tuned 

 to the same note, but that each will give it with a peculiar 

 tone or " timbre." 



The larynx of boys resembles the female larynx ; their 



