How does the vocal range test work?

Choose Lowest note, press Record and sing the lowest note you can hold comfortably on an open vowel. Your browser asks for the microphone the first time. The pitch trace fills with readings as you sing; press Stop and check, and the tool picks the lowest note you held steady in that take and names it, with its frequency and how many cents it sits from the nearest note. Play it back, move it by an octave if it is wrong, and press Confirm. Then do the same for your highest note. With both confirmed, the range is counted in semitones between the two notes, for example G2 to E4 is 21 semitones, 1 octave and 9 semitones.

Why does it show my note an octave too high or too low?

Pitch detection from a microphone finds the repeating period in the sound, and a voice with a strong overtone, or a very low or breathy note, can be read at double or half its real frequency. That is why nothing counts until you confirm it. Press Play note to hear the detected pitch as a tone, sing along, and if the tone is an octave away from your voice, press Octave -1 or Octave +1 before confirming. Play take plays back what the microphone actually heard. The tool also refuses to confirm a lowest note that is above your confirmed highest note, or the other way round, and says which note to move.

What counts as a steady note?

A run of readings that all stay within the band you choose, 20, 30, 50 or 100 cents, for at least the time you choose, half a second, 1 second or 2 seconds. The default is 30 cents for half a second. A silent or unclear reading, or a gap of more than 0.3 seconds between readings, ends a run. The note reported for a run is the median of its readings, so a wobble at the start or end does not move it. If nothing in a take was held long enough, no note is set, and the message says how long your steadiest stretch lasted, so you know whether to hold longer or widen the band.

Will it tell me my voice type, like soprano or baritone?

No. This tool records the two notes you supplied and counts the semitones between them. It does not assign a voice type, a grade or a target. Voice types are usually judged on more than the two ends of a range, such as where a voice sits comfortably and how it sounds there, which a pitch reading cannot capture. Sing only what is comfortable: the lowest and highest notes you can hold easily are what this records.

Is my singing recorded or uploaded?

Nothing is uploaded. While a take is recording, the page reads the microphone samples to find the pitch, and where the browser supports it the take is also recorded into memory so Play take can play it back. That recording is replaced by your next take and is gone when you leave the page. The microphone is closed after every take. What is stored in this browser is the two confirmed notes (each one's pitch, whether it was sung or set by ear, and, for a sung note, how many semitones you moved it by hand), the reference pitch, the steadiness settings and any sessions you keep in the history, each with its two pitches, its reference pitch and the date and time it was kept. Start over forgets all of it.

Can I use it without a microphone?

Yes. Press Set by ear and the tool starts from middle C, or from a note you already have. Press Play note to hear it as a tone, sing along, and step it down or up with the semitone and octave buttons until it is the lowest note you can sing comfortably, then confirm it. Do the same for the highest. Notes set this way are the exact equal-tempered pitch at your reference, and the summary marks them as set by ear.

Which notes can it detect?

From A1, 55 Hz, to C7, 2093 Hz. A pitch heard outside that span is marked outside A1 to C7 in the trace, or no clear pitch when it is too low to measure, and it can never become one of your notes. On pure test tones at 44.1 and 48 kHz the detector reads both ends, and the 440 Hz A4 in between, within 5 cents. A voice is less tidy than a test tone, which is what the steadiness band allows for. The Check the detector section under the tool runs a 440 Hz tone, a 220 and 880 Hz pair, and silence and noise through the same detector in your browser.

What does the A4 reference change?

The reference is the frequency of the A above middle C, and every note name and cents figure is measured from it. 440 Hz is the usual standard; some choirs and orchestras use 442, and early music often uses 415. You can type any value from 400 to 480 Hz. Changing it does not change the frequencies measured, only how they are named: the cents shift, and a note close to the edge between two names can change name. At 442, a 440 Hz note reads as A4, 8 cents flat.

Vocal Range Test

Sing your lowest comfortable note and hold it, then your highest, and the tool names both notes and counts the semitones between them. What it does differently is how a note is counted. The page reads the microphone about ten times a second and shows every reading in a live pitch trace, but a note only counts when the readings stay within a band you choose, 30 cents by default, for a time you choose, half a second by default, and only after you confirm it. A squeak or a jump to the wrong octave that lasts a reading or two never counts. Because microphone pitch detection can land an octave out, you can play the note back as a tone, play back your take where the browser can record, and move the note by an octave or a semitone before you confirm it. No microphone? Set each note by ear against a played tone instead. Audio stays in the page and is never uploaded; the two notes, your settings and up to ten kept sessions are stored in this browser.

pitch trace, low noteno take yet

Sing your lowest comfortable note

Press Record and hold one note on an open vowel. Your browser asks for the microphone first. The trace shows every reading, and a note counts only once it is held steady and you confirm it. No microphone? Use Set by ear.

Audio stays in this page
Nothing is uploaded
The microphone closes after each take

your rangeA4 = 440 Hz

lowest   not set
highest  not set
range    needs both notes

steady = held 0.5 s in a 30 cent band

Lowest

not set

Highest

not set

Range

not yet

Reference, A4 in Hz

Steady within, cents

Held for

Input

No notes yet. Record or set your lowest comfortable note, then your highest.

How a note is counted. The page reads the microphone about ten times a second and finds the pitch of each reading. A note is held when the readings stay within the band you choose, 30 cents by default, for the time you choose, half a second by default; its value is the median of those readings, so a wobble at either end does not move it. A squeak, a cough or a jump to the wrong octave lasts a reading or two and never counts. Nothing becomes part of your range until you press Confirm, and a note the detector put in the wrong octave can be moved first: Play note sounds it so you can compare it with your voice.

Check the detector

Each check makes a test signal at 48 kHz in this page and runs it through the same detector and the same steadiness rule your voice goes through.

440 Hz test toneA4 = 440 Hz reference
not run yet
220 Hz low, 880 Hz hightwo held test tones
not run yet
Silence or room noisenothing sung
not run yet

Accuracy. Pitch is estimated from your microphone in your browser and can land an octave too high or too low, so a sung note counts only once it has been held steady and you confirm it, after moving it by an octave if it is wrong. This is a record of the notes you supplied, not a diagnosis, a voice type or a goal: sing only what is comfortable. Audio is never uploaded, and the session summary stays in this browser.

Common questions

How does the vocal range test work?: Choose Lowest note, press Record and sing the lowest note you can hold comfortably on an open vowel. Your browser asks for the microphone the first time. The pitch trace fills with readings as you sing; press Stop and check, and the tool picks the lowest note you held steady in that take and names it, with its frequency and how many cents it sits from the nearest note. Play it back, move it by an octave if it is wrong, and press Confirm. Then do the same for your highest note. With both confirmed, the range is counted in semitones between the two notes, for example G2 to E4 is 21 semitones, 1 octave and 9 semitones.
Why does it show my note an octave too high or too low?: Pitch detection from a microphone finds the repeating period in the sound, and a voice with a strong overtone, or a very low or breathy note, can be read at double or half its real frequency. That is why nothing counts until you confirm it. Press Play note to hear the detected pitch as a tone, sing along, and if the tone is an octave away from your voice, press Octave -1 or Octave +1 before confirming. Play take plays back what the microphone actually heard. The tool also refuses to confirm a lowest note that is above your confirmed highest note, or the other way round, and says which note to move.
What counts as a steady note?: A run of readings that all stay within the band you choose, 20, 30, 50 or 100 cents, for at least the time you choose, half a second, 1 second or 2 seconds. The default is 30 cents for half a second. A silent or unclear reading, or a gap of more than 0.3 seconds between readings, ends a run. The note reported for a run is the median of its readings, so a wobble at the start or end does not move it. If nothing in a take was held long enough, no note is set, and the message says how long your steadiest stretch lasted, so you know whether to hold longer or widen the band.
Will it tell me my voice type, like soprano or baritone?: No. This tool records the two notes you supplied and counts the semitones between them. It does not assign a voice type, a grade or a target. Voice types are usually judged on more than the two ends of a range, such as where a voice sits comfortably and how it sounds there, which a pitch reading cannot capture. Sing only what is comfortable: the lowest and highest notes you can hold easily are what this records.
Is my singing recorded or uploaded?: Nothing is uploaded. While a take is recording, the page reads the microphone samples to find the pitch, and where the browser supports it the take is also recorded into memory so Play take can play it back. That recording is replaced by your next take and is gone when you leave the page. The microphone is closed after every take. What is stored in this browser is the two confirmed notes (each one's pitch, whether it was sung or set by ear, and, for a sung note, how many semitones you moved it by hand), the reference pitch, the steadiness settings and any sessions you keep in the history, each with its two pitches, its reference pitch and the date and time it was kept. Start over forgets all of it.
Can I use it without a microphone?: Yes. Press Set by ear and the tool starts from middle C, or from a note you already have. Press Play note to hear it as a tone, sing along, and step it down or up with the semitone and octave buttons until it is the lowest note you can sing comfortably, then confirm it. Do the same for the highest. Notes set this way are the exact equal-tempered pitch at your reference, and the summary marks them as set by ear.
Which notes can it detect?: From A1, 55 Hz, to C7, 2093 Hz. A pitch heard outside that span is marked outside A1 to C7 in the trace, or no clear pitch when it is too low to measure, and it can never become one of your notes. On pure test tones at 44.1 and 48 kHz the detector reads both ends, and the 440 Hz A4 in between, within 5 cents. A voice is less tidy than a test tone, which is what the steadiness band allows for. The Check the detector section under the tool runs a 440 Hz tone, a 220 and 880 Hz pair, and silence and noise through the same detector in your browser.
What does the A4 reference change?: The reference is the frequency of the A above middle C, and every note name and cents figure is measured from it. 440 Hz is the usual standard; some choirs and orchestras use 442, and early music often uses 415. You can type any value from 400 to 480 Hz. Changing it does not change the frequencies measured, only how they are named: the cents shift, and a note close to the edge between two names can change name. At 442, a 440 Hz note reads as A4, 8 cents flat.

Pitch is estimated from your microphone in your browser and can land an octave too high or too low, so a sung note counts only once it has been held steady and you confirm it, after moving it by an octave if it is wrong. This is a record of the notes you supplied, not a diagnosis, a voice type or a goal: sing only what is comfortable. Audio is never uploaded, and the session summary stays in this browser.