The Complete Idiot''s Guide to Music Theory

Part 6:
Arranging
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Voice Characteristics
When you’re writing for a choir, you have to know the voices that are available
at your disposal. In general, you have two female voices and two male voices,
with an optional third male voice to work with.
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Soprano
This is the highest female voice. The soprano typically sings
the lead part, as the highest voice naturally stands out from the rest. Some
sopranos can sing quite high, although you might want to avoid the very
upper reaches of the range; these high parts often sound shrill, especially
with younger or less-experienced singers.
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Alto
The alto is the lower female voice, with a deep and resonant tone.
The alto range overlaps the soprano range, but know that an alto will
sound strained at the top of her range—just as a soprano will sound
strained at the bottom of hers.
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Tenor
The tenor is the highest male voice; it overlaps significantly with
the range of the female alto. Tenor parts are written in treble clef, but
actually sound an octave lower than written.
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Baritone
The baritone is an optional male part; most choruses don’t
have separate baritone lines. The baritone falls smack between the tenor
and the bass, but typically has more of a bass-like sound—without the very
low notes.
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Bass
The bass is the lowest male voice. It’s natural to assign bass notes
to the bass voice, which works out okay most of the time. At the low end
of the bass range, the sound gets a tad rumbly.
Vocal Ranges
It’s important that you write vocal parts that can actually be sung. It’s no good
to write a bass part that sounds forced—if the poor fellow can hit the note at
all.
For that reason, pay close attention to the ranges listed in the following table
and stick within these ranges when writing your vocal parts.
Vocal Ranges