The term bass was developed in relation to classical and operatic voices, where the classification is based not merely on the singer's vocal range but also on the tessitura and timbre of the voice.
For classical and operatic singers, their voice type determines the roles they will sing and is a primary method of categorization.
In non-classical music, singers are primarily defined by their genre and their gender and not by their vocal range.
[3] When the terms soprano, mezzo-soprano, contralto, tenor, baritone, and bass are used as descriptors of non-classical voices, they are applied more loosely than they would be to those of classical singers and generally refer only to the singer's perceived vocal range.
The following is a list of singers in country, popular music, jazz, and musical theatre[a] who have been described as basses.