Alto

The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: altus), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range.

The explanation for the anomaly of this name is to be found not in the use of adult falsettists in choirs of men and boys but further back in innovations in composition during the mid-15th century.

However, the vocal tessitura of a classically trained contralto would still make these singers more comfortable singing in the lower part of the voice.

to describe singers whose range is lower than that of a mezzo-soprano but higher than that of a true contralto, and is very rarely seen in classical music outside of soloists in choral works.

[citation needed] Although some women who sing alto in a choir are contraltos, many would be more accurately called mezzo-sopranos (a voice of somewhat higher range and different timbre).