While the broadest definition of "vocal range" is simply the span from the lowest to the highest note a particular voice can produce, this broad definition is often not what is meant when "vocal range" is discussed in the context of singing.
This is because some of the notes a voice can produce may not be considered usable by the singer within performance for various reasons.
An opera singer would therefore only be able to include the notes that they are able to adequately project over an orchestra within their vocal range.
Typically only the usable pitches within the modal register—the register used in normal speech and most singing—are included when determining singers' vocal ranges.
[2] The upper pitch range of the human voice is, on average, about half as high in males as in females.
Charles Darwin suggested that the human voice evolved through intersexual sexual selection,[4] via female mate choices.
Puts (2005) showed that preference for male voice pitch changed according to the stage of the menstrual cycle[5] while Puts (2006) found women preferred lower male voices mainly for short-term, sexual relationships.
[8] The discipline of voice classification developed within European classical music and is not generally applicable to other forms of singing.
If the singer were more comfortable singing in the mid to lower part of their voice the teacher would probably classify her as a mezzo-soprano.
[11][failed verification] Some men, in falsetto voice or as a result of certain rare physiological conditions, can sing in the same range as women.
[2] Within choral music there are only four categories for adult singers: soprano and alto for women, tenor and bass for men.