alto

alto — noun

1. a female singer, or her voice, that produces the deepest range of notes among wo

1.nounC1
Definition

a female singer, or her voice, that produces the deepest range of notes among women — sitting between the brighter soprano and the male tenor, and often called a contralto.

Example

Uri trained as an alto and now sings the solo in the choir's Christmas concert.

countable: trained as an alto

The conductor needed two more altos to balance the sound of the choir.

plural: two more altos

Common collocations
  • a rich alto
  • a deep alto
  • a famous alto
Synonyms
  • contralto

    more technical; refers to the very lowest female range

  • mezzo-soprano

    near-synonym in casual use, but strictly the range just above alto

Antonyms
  • soprano

    the highest female voice, in contrast to the lowest

Usage Note

Often used interchangeably with 'contralto', though strictly contralto is the rarest and lowest type. Distinguish from sense 2 (boy alto) and sense 3 (male alto/countertenor).

Common Mistakes

She sings in alto.
She sings alto.
no preposition before the voice part when describing what part someone sings.

2. a boy whose unbroken voice can reach the lowest notes within a boys' choir, or t

2.nounC1
Definition

a boy whose unbroken voice can reach the lowest notes within a boys' choir, or the voice itself — typical of cathedral and chapel choirs before puberty changes the voice.

Example

Eight-year-old Tomás joined the cathedral choir as an alto last September.

joined as an alto

The boy altos rehearsed in a small room next to the chapel every Wednesday afternoon.

compound: boy altos

Common collocations
  • a boy alto
  • the alto line
Synonyms
  • treble

    more often used for the higher boys' voice; alto is lower

Usage Note

Restricted to choral contexts, especially Anglican and Catholic church music. Distinguish from sense 1 (female alto) — context (boys' choir, cathedral, school) usually disambiguates.

3. an adult man who sings in a high, often falsetto-like range that reaches above t

3.nounC1
Definition

an adult man who sings in a high, often falsetto-like range that reaches above the tenor and overlaps with the female alto — a voice type prized in early music and church repertoire, also known as a countertenor.

Example

Diego sings alto in a small group that performs Renaissance church music every spring.

sing alto

The festival booked a celebrated British alto to sing Handel arias on the opening night.

Common collocations
  • a male alto
  • a celebrated alto
Synonyms
Antonyms
  • bass

    the lowest male voice, opposite end of the male range

Usage Note

In British church-music tradition this sense is dominant, especially in male-only choirs; in opera and concert programmes the term 'countertenor' is more usual. Distinguish from sense 1 by context — male performer, high range, often early-music repertoire.

4. an instrument — most often a saxophone, but also a recorder, flute or clarinet —

4.nounC1
Definition

an instrument — most often a saxophone, but also a recorder, flute or clarinet — whose range falls between the higher soprano and the lower tenor models within the same family.

Example

Imani plays the alto in his school jazz band and has just bought a second-hand saxophone.

play the alto

Rosa switched from the soprano to the alto after her teacher praised her warmer lower register.

switch from X to the alto

Common collocations
  • an alto saxophone
  • an alto recorder
  • an alto flute
Synonyms
  • alto sax

    informal short form for the saxophone specifically

Usage Note

Usually short for 'alto saxophone' in jazz and pop contexts; in classical and recorder ensembles it can refer to alto recorder, alto flute, or alto clarinet. Subject is normally a player or a shop/owner.

Common Mistakes

He plays alto saxophone in the band.' (no article)
He plays the alto saxophone in the band.
instruments take 'the' when speaking of playing them in a group.

5. the second-highest line in a piece of choral or vocal music — the part written b

5.nounC1
Definition

the second-highest line in a piece of choral or vocal music — the part written below the soprano and above the tenor, sung by alto voices or played on alto instruments.

Example

Nina decided to sing the alto in this term's Easter cantata instead of the soprano.

sing the alto

The choirmaster asked the basses and tenors to listen carefully to the alto during the chorus.

Common collocations
  • sing the alto
  • the alto line
  • the alto part
Synonyms
  • alto line

    near-equivalent; 'line' makes the music-on-the-page meaning explicit

Usage Note

Almost always with the definite article: 'the alto'. Distinguish from senses 1-3, which name a person; this sense names the line of music itself. Frequent in score-reading and rehearsal language.

Common Mistakes

I sing alto part.
I sing the alto part.
the line of music takes the definite article.

alto — adjective

alto — adverb

Word family

  • contralto
    nounC2
  • altos
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These four labels divide the female singing range from highest to lowest, but are often confused. 'Soprano' covers the brightest, top register and is by far the most common female voice. 'Mezzo-soprano' sits just below — fuller and warmer, but still often singing the lead in opera. 'Alto' is the everyday choral term for the lowest female part, and is what most amateur singers will call themselves if their voice is on the deeper side. 'Contralto' is the technical, professional label for an unusually low and rich female voice — rarer and usually reserved for opera and recital programmes. So a church choir will say 'I sing alto', a singer auditioning for an opera might describe herself as a 'mezzo-soprano', and a programme note might call a famous performer 'a renowned contralto'.

alto ↗contraltomezzo-sopranosoprano

Common collocations

Nouns

  • alto saxophone
  • alto recorder
  • alto flute
  • alto clarinet
  • alto voice
  • alto singer
  • alto solo
  • alto line
  • alto part
  • alto range

Phrases

  • sing alto
  • play the alto
  • in the alto range

Prepositions

  • between soprano and tenor
  • above the tenor

Etymology

LatinItalianEnglish

Borrowed into English in the late 1500s from Italian 'alto', meaning 'high', which itself comes from Latin 'altus' ('high, deep'). The label originally marked the high male part in church polyphony — high relative to the tenor below it. As choral and instrumental music developed, English speakers extended 'alto' downward to name the lowest female line and any instrument tuned to that middle range, even though the literal Italian meaning is 'high'. The same Latin root sits behind English 'altitude' and 'exalt'.