Contralto is an English word with synonyms like alto or low. Below you'll find 10+ example sentences showing how it's used in practice.
Contralto in a sentence
Contralto meaning
The lowest female voice or voice part, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. The terms contralto and alto refer to the same musical pitch range, but among singers, the term contralto is reserved for female singers; the equivalent male form is counter-tenor. Originally the contratenor altus was a high countermelody sung against the tenor or main melody.
Using Contralto
- The main meaning on this page is: The lowest female voice or voice part, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. The terms contralto and alto refer to the same musical pitch range, but among singers, the term contralto is reserved for female singers; the equivalent male form is counter-tenor. Originally the contratenor altus was a high countermelody sung against the tenor or main melody.
- Useful related words include: alto, low, low-pitched, singer.
- In the example corpus, contralto often appears in combinations such as: the contralto, her contralto, contralto voice.
Context around Contralto
- Average sentence length in these examples: 24.4 words
- Position in the sentence: 4 start, 5 middle, 2 end
- Sentence types: 11 statements, 0 questions, 0 exclamations
Corpus analysis for Contralto
- In this selection, "contralto" usually appears in the middle of the sentence. The average example has 24.4 words, and this corpus slice is mostly made up of statements.
- Around the word, musico, throaty, true, voice, carolina and vocal stand out and add context to how "contralto" is used.
- Recognizable usage signals include a musico contralto and accommodate the contralto carolina vietti. That gives this page its own corpus information beyond isolated example sentences.
- By corpus frequency, "contralto" sits close to words such as aadi, aakash and aayush, which helps place it inside the broader word index.
Example types with contralto
The same corpus examples are grouped by length and sentence type, making it easier to see the contexts in which the word appears:
She was trained musically and had a contralto voice. (9 words)
Her contralto voice O'Meally, Robert G. "Lady Day: The Many Faces of Billie Holiday". (15 words)
The contralto Marian Anderson was initially denied permission to stay at the Dyckman Hotel when she performed in Minneapolis. (19 words)
As musicologist Roger Parker notes, the composer "intervened on several important points, insisting for example that the role of Ernani be sung by a tenor (rather than by a contralto as had originally been planned). (35 words)
Budden (1984), p. 143 Although Verdi had agreed to try to accommodate the contralto Carolina Vietti when the opera was Allan Cameron, he was against making the leading character of Ernani a musico contralto. (34 words)
In case you’re wondering, Ms. Holmes speaks in a soft, slightly low, but totally unremarkable voice, no hint of the throaty contralto she used while running her defunct blood-testing start-up Theranos. (34 words)
Example sentences (11)
Budden (1984), p. 143 Although Verdi had agreed to try to accommodate the contralto Carolina Vietti when the opera was Allan Cameron, he was against making the leading character of Ernani a musico contralto.
In case you’re wondering, Ms. Holmes speaks in a soft, slightly low, but totally unremarkable voice, no hint of the throaty contralto she used while running her defunct blood-testing start-up Theranos.
When it was time to leave, Burdick’s wife, Lorraine, a contralto who also sang professionally, refrained from her custom of embracing friends.
Imagined to be the sonic domain of men, her contralto vocal range traversed the lower treble to bass timbral realms.
She was trained musically and had a contralto voice.
The contralto Marian Anderson was initially denied permission to stay at the Dyckman Hotel when she performed in Minneapolis.
As musicologist Roger Parker notes, the composer "intervened on several important points, insisting for example that the role of Ernani be sung by a tenor (rather than by a contralto as had originally been planned).
For the true contralto, the range of parts is more limited, which has given rise to the insider joke that contraltos only sing "witches, bitches, and britches " roles.
Her contralto voice O'Meally, Robert G. "Lady Day: The Many Faces of Billie Holiday".
The contralto Clara Butt had persuaded him that the trio of the first Pomp and Circumstance march could have words fitted to it, and Elgar invited Benson to do so.
Women's roles were listed as either " soprano " or " contralto ", while men's roles were listed as either " tenor " or " bass ".
Common combinations with contralto
These word pairs occur most frequently in English texts: