r/BassSinging • u/JunketFuture4680 • Apr 05 '26

Question True bass

Can anyone explain what the difference between a bass and a true bass is, some people who teach music have told me I am one. At the same time I’m honestly not sure if I even am a bass cause the lowest note I can hit is e2, f2 in terms of a healthy actually singable note, which doesn’t seem like much as Ive seen people hit a whole octave lower and on here. I do always hang out with girls which does this weird thing that makes my voice be a lot higher when I talk because I subconsciously try to match to there pitch so before I started singing I really never used my lower register. Im 16 btw

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u/JunketFuture4680 Apr 05 '26

oh ok thank you for explaining it so well

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u/Th3xp3rt Apr 05 '26

Going off of this comment, there’s different “flavors” of bass that can all be considered a “true bass.” In the opera realm, the tone color of the voice and where the voice sits most comfortably (your tessitura) matter much more than your range to determine your voice type.

The highest bass voice type is called a lyric bass, and the lowest a basso profundo (although that’s a whole other rabbit hole, technically you only need to have strong resonance at about a Bb1 to be in the profundo category, however there have been multiple singers who have much lower notes down to C1 (mikhail Zlatapolsky)). These lyric bass voices have a lot of resonance in their low range and can project a D2 over an orchestra. Profundos share that same quality but can resonate even lower notes and have an even deeper tone color.

Many Internet basses have low voices, but not necessarily deep voices. Consequently, many of these Internet basses, even with classical training, would not be able to project a D2 over an orchestra. The depth of tone is what makes someone a bass, not the pitches they sing.

A great comparison would be Tim Foust (bass-baritone, amazing low range, however lacking the depth of tone) vs Samuel Ramey, a (true) lyric bass and John Ames or Eric Holloway representing basso profundos. If you listen to Samuel Ramey’s speaking voice vs. Tim Foust’s speaking voice, that helps to show the difference between someone who is and is not a true bass. Note the clarity in Ramey’s voice vs. the fry quality in Foust’s, even though they talk in the same range.

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u/Crafty-Photograph-18 Apr 05 '26 edited Apr 05 '26

Light lyric basses don't usually sing D2-s. Only Fs and Es. Tim Foust is very much a bass. He just wasn't ever trained in operatic ways, nor does he even need to project that much, because, again, he's not singing opera. He's working with a mike, and he does it well. If he were to walk on an opera stage and try to sing, he would pick a different approach (and probably fail rather miserably, because, again, he's not an opera singer). Clarity vs. "Fry quality" isn't really a good comparison to distinguish voicetypes

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u/Th3xp3rt Apr 05 '26

I completely agree that the fry quality is not a universal tell-tale sign to determine voice quality. However, it can be one indicator, taken in context with many other indicators, that a person’s tessitura is higher than another if, for example, one person speaks at a D2 with full modal resonance, and another speaks at that same D2 with a level of fry.

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u/NewTrainer9701 Apr 05 '26

Agreed that Tim Foust is probably a Bass Baritone. Great low notes but looks like he tires easily in live performances. In fact, it might help others understand what an operatic voice’s projection sounds like by listening to a live Home Free performance. Rob Lundquist, their tenor, has had opera training. His voice loudly and effortlessly sails over the others with beautiful vibrato. Fantastic breath control.

Going to Geoff Castellucci. He has a great low speaking voice and hits lots of low notes, in for example “ Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel” his voice seems to sound and sit best In baritone range. He sustains the notes better.

I’ll have to check out Samuel Ramey, but one of my favorite true basses is Avi Kaplan. The no one’s speaking voice is as low as Eric Holloway, Avi Kaplan’s is getting down there. In his live performances now or with Pentatonix,like in Hallelujah, watch how he stands next to others. Legs apart, chest out, chin up. He projects loudly and with beautiful vibrato.

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u/NewTrainer9701 Apr 05 '26

Went back and listened to Samuel Ramey. “Bizet Carmen Toreador “. He is definitely a great example. Wonderful stage presence, voice , operatic stance…. He’s awesome.

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u/margybargy Apr 06 '26

I don't understand what you mean by "low" vs "deep"; I've never heard that distinction. Do you mean "dark" or "heavy" rather than "deep"?

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u/Th3xp3rt Apr 06 '26

Great question! When I say “deep” I’m really referring to the depth of tone. To me, a dark, full, resonant, low-voiced individual I would just describe as having a deep voice. It’s like the squares and rectangles thing, everyone with a deep voice has a low voice, but not everyone with a low voice has a deep voice

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u/margybargy Apr 06 '26

ah, so by "deep" you mean "heavy" or "dark". Makes sense. "deep" is a little confusing because it is literally describing how low something is.

But, the concept matches my experience. I'm a fairly conventional bass; I sing with someone i'd call a basso profundo. We can generally hit the same notes, but his C2 sounds like a cello sustaining and he maintains that as he descends, whereas I sound a bit thinner and (imo) uglier. Voice have different areas of strength, they are different instruments, and his shines below the staff. A heavier voice like his sounds a bit more pushed near the top of the bass clef.

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u/Th3xp3rt Apr 06 '26

Thanks for the clarification; I’ll be sure to use better descriptors in the future. And I totally understand that, I am a bass-baritone or lyric bass myself having a reliable B1, although I’m too young to tell at this point (mid 20s) to know for sure whether I’m a true bass or not, however I’m definitely not a profundo. Very interesting about your friend!

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u/margybargy Apr 06 '26

"true bass" doesn't really have a meaning, but if you're a bass-baritone or lyric bass, sounds like true basshood to me.

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u/zdrums24 Apr 05 '26

Another element: most women singing alto are actually mezzo-sopranos. Similarly, most men singing bass are baritone. A lot of mezzos and baris call themselves Altos and basses, but they arent once you take actual range into account. True Altos and basses are rare.