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Musical instrument

Alto

The alto is a musical instrument. Listen to 3 recordings and learn how it makes its sound.

Listen to the alto

Lick Alto Sax
0:03CC BY-SA 4.0by ChickSRWikimedia Commons
0:03
Farol Alto Playback - Felipe RuizBRX11
2:55CC BY-SA 4.0by Felipe Ruiz P.Wikimedia Commons
2:55
Farol Alto - Felipe RuizBRX11
2:55CC BY-SA 4.0by Felipe Ruiz P.Wikimedia Commons
2:55

Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.

From Wikipedia

The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (from Latin: altus), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In four-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by either low women's or high men's voices. In vocal classification these are usually called mezzo-soprano, contralto and male alto or countertenor.

Frequently asked questions

What does an alto sound like?

Listen to 3 recordings on this page.

Sources & credits