Low male voice repertoire in contemporary musical theatre: a studio and performance guide of selected songs 1996-2020 by

Bass Voice Registration. Classical voice training places value on the perception of register 
unification; emphasis in training often stresses a goal obtaining “seamlessness” across transition points 
and through the middle voice into the head register. Low male voices experience this middle voice area 
of registration negotiation at or near the pairs of pitches below (see Table 1.1). New research or the 
inclusion of the Dramatic Baritone in Miller’s book references a zona di passaggio occurring a half-step 
higher than the Bass-baritone included in a broader category of “bass” or “low male voice”. It should be 
stressed that discovering these transition points in a singer should influence training strategies and 
repertoire decisions, but not necessarily pre-determine Fach specific repertoire, as each voice is unique in 
other areas that help determine carrying power, tone quality, etc. 
Table 1.1. Zona di Passaggio for three types of low male voices. 
Voice Type 
Primo Passaggio 
Secondo Passaggio 
Bass-baritone A
3 
D
4 
Lyric bass 
A
♭
3 
D
♭
4 
Basso profundo 
G
3 
C
4 
3
“The Jacobs School Mourns the Loss of Giorgio Tozzi,” Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, June 
2, 2011, accessed September 23, 2020, https://blogs.music.indiana.edu/voice/2011/06/02/the-jacobs-school-mourns-
the-loss-of-giorgio-tozzi. 
4
“Course Browser: Office of the Registrar: Indiana Bloomington,” 2020, accessed September 23, 2020, 
https://registrar.indiana.edu/browser/index.shtml. 

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Source: Richard Miller, Securing Baritone, Bass-Baritone, and Bass Voices (New York: Oxford University Press, 
2008), 68. 
It is important for a low male voice to train both falsetto and head voice, thereby engaging and 
strengthening the cricothyroid (CT) muscles which will aid the development of flexibility of vocalism 
within and above the zona di passaggio. Additionally, an explanation of acoustical events in 
coordination with one’s teaching pedagogy or classical school of singing could be of benefit. Kenneth 
Bozeman states “the traditional location of the zona di passaggio can be explained by various 
closures/turnings of vowels rather than primarily as a result of laryngeal factors.”
5
Formants and Acoustic Coupling. Within this paper there may be moments that discuss 
resonance strategies or teaching application of repertoire challenges through a created vocalise. Many of 
these come from both my training in Bel Canto technique (a lyric Italianate style of singing which 
developed in the 17
th
and 18
th
century which stresses ease of production, evenness of tone, and a flexible 
and agile technique), but also from my academic understanding of how the vocal tract resonates the 
harmonics of a fundamental tone from the source (vocal folds). Voice science has identified several 
formant/harmonic relationships (couplings) that influence timbre, power, and the ability to sing in 
different styles
6
. Each vowel has a different set of formants (acoustical peaks, energy boosts) which 
influence individual note resonance and perceived timbre, creating a varied acoustical experience if for 
example, someone sang through the Italian vowels such as [i e ɛ ɑ ɔ o u] on a continuous, single pitch.
Statements and strategies such as “rounding the vowel” “singing [ɑ] through the [i] space”, “the pitch will 
turn, don’t create the cover”, “opening the [i] to [I] above the second passaggio” and more were used in 
my own training to influence my accessibility of a round, warm tone and resonant bite in my middle 
voice, but were not explained directly through scientific means. Several of these Bel Canto influenced 
teachings can co-exist or run parallel to strategies (such as active and passive vowel migration) influenced 
5
Ken Bozeman, PVA Study Guide Answer Key (2020), 
http://www.kenbozeman.com/resources/PVA%20Study%20Guide%20Answer%20Key1.pdf 
6
“Acoustic Strategies,” VoiceScienceWorks, accessed October 1, 2020, 
https://www.voicescienceworks.org/acoustic-strategies.html. 

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and informed by the continuous growth of scientific understanding in the fields of acoustic and voice 
pedagogy. Strategies will also need to be adjusted due to the laryngeal registration and acoustical 
registration events that surround the approximate zona di passaggio (indicated within brackets below in 
Table 1.2.) for the bass voice. 
Table 1.2. Bass Passaggio Events.