Soprano Vocal Range: C4 – C6, Notes & Chart

The typical soprano range is C4 to C6 — 2 octaves. The soprano is the highest voice type, and in most music it carries the melody.

The soprano range in notes and hertz

Lowest note	C4 · 261.6 Hz
Highest note	C6 · 1046.5 Hz
Span	24 semitones · 2 octaves
Middle C (C4) is	the bottom of the range

Notes are in scientific pitch notation, where C4 is middle C, and the frequencies are at A4 = 440 Hz. Press the keys above to hear any of them, then check your own pitch against the voice tuner.

Where the soprano sits

Below it is the mezzo-soprano (A3 – A5), starting 3 semitones lower; the two share 21 of their 24 semitones. No voice type sits above it. That overlap is the reason a range on its own cannot say which of two neighbouring types a voice is.

Music written for the soprano

The top of the range is “soprano high C”, C6 — two octaves above middle C. Coloratura parts go beyond it: the Queen of the Night’s “Der Hölle Rache” in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte climbs to the F above that (F6), among the highest notes in the standard repertoire.

Sopranos are sorted by weight rather than by range. The coloratura is the lightest and most agile; the lyric soprano sings Mimì in La bohème and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte; the dramatic soprano has the power to ride a full orchestra as Puccini’s Turandot or Wagner’s Brünnhilde. Violetta in La traviata is famous for asking for all three in one evening. Children’s unchanged voices sing in the same range — the boy soprano, or treble.

The soprano in a choir

In four-part writing the soprano sings the top line, which is usually the tune. Larger choirs split it into first and second soprano; the second line is often sung by mezzo-sopranos.

Is this your range? The vocal range test listens for your lowest and highest notes and shows how they compare with the typical soprano range.

Take the vocal range test

Songs in a typical soprano range

A voice can sing a tune in any key, so the useful question is which key. These are the keys that put each tune in the middle of the typical soprano range, with room to spare above and below — worked out from the melodies in our public-domain song library. Other keys fit too; this is the one with the most headroom at both ends.

Song	Key	Notes
Amazing Grace	B major (1 semitone lower than written)	F♯4 – F♯5
Auld Lang Syne	B♭ major (2 semitones lower than written)	F4 – G5
Happy Birthday	B major (1 semitone lower than written)	F♯4 – F♯5
Ode to Joy	A♭ major (4 semitones lower than written)	G♯4 – D♯5
Silent Night	E♭ major (3 semitones higher than written)	D♯4 – G♯5
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star	G major (5 semitones lower than written)	G4 – E5
Joy to the World	F♯ major (6 semitones higher than written)	F♯4 – F♯5
O Holy Night	E major (4 semitones higher than written)	E4 – G♯5

Frequently asked questions

What is the soprano vocal range?

The typical soprano range runs from C4 to C6 — 2 octaves, or 261.6 Hz to 1046.5 Hz at standard concert pitch. It is a description of where most soprano voices lie rather than a requirement: individual singers reach notes above and below it.

What is the highest note a soprano can sing?

The typical soprano range tops out at C6, “high C”. Coloratura sopranos sing higher — the Queen of the Night’s F6 is the famous example — and a few singers have a whistle register above that. Those extremes are not what makes a soprano; being at ease high on the stave for a whole song is.

What is a soprano’s lowest note?

Around middle C (C4), though most sopranos can sing a few notes below it more quietly. The bottom of a soprano’s range is its weakest part, the mirror image of a contralto.

How do I know if I am a soprano?

Start by measuring your range: if it sits around C4 – C6, soprano is a reasonable first guess. But range alone does not decide it — the neighbouring types share most of the same notes. What settles it is where your voice is strongest and most comfortable (its tessitura), its timbre, and where it changes register, and those are judged by a teacher listening, not by a test.