How To Write Your Vocal Range On Your Resume

For musical theatre performers, it’s standard practice to list your voice type and range on your resume. If you’re uncertain about how to write this accurately, here are a few tips to help:

Your range is listed in two parts:

1. Voice Type (eg. Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano/Belter, Tenor, Baritone etc).

2. Vocal Range listed from your lowest to highest notes. For women, we also tend to add the top of your belt range afterwards in brackets.

Here are some examples as a guide (yours may differ):

Soprano: G3–C6 (Belt to C5)

Mezzo-Soprano: F3–B♭5 (Belt to E5)

Tenor: A2-C5

Baritone: F2–G4

To be clear about which octave we’re referring to, we use a numbering system called scientific pitch notation. Each C, starting with the lowest C on a full 88-key keyboard, is assigned a number. The lowest C is C1, up through to the highest C8. Middle C is C4 (the 4th C on the piano).

The other notes in between are assigned the number of the C below it. So, the G above middle C is G4.

The range written on your resume reflects the notes you can reliably sing in performance eight times a week (not what you warm up to on a good day!) If you have an occasional high C in warm-ups, but don’t feel comfortable singing it in a song or don’t have a C anywhere in your book, your range doesn’t go to a C.

You can test your range on a keyboard at the end of your warm-up. You can also check your music to see what the highest and lowest notes in your book are. If you’re still unsure, check with your voice teacher!