Bass is a type of classical male singing voice and has the lowest vocal range of all voice types.
The lowest male singing voice with a typical range of E2 to E4.
As with other classical voice classifications, the bass voice is correctly identified not by the pitch at which it sings, but by the character and tone of the natural voice of the singer. Of course, the vocal qualities of a bass voice are most often found in individuals who are able to sing in a particularly low frequency range, so it is often said that bass voices will fit within that range.
Although equivalent to bass instruments in function, the range of the bass voice is approximately an octave higher than that of typical bass instruments such as the double bass, tuba, contrabassoon, electric bass, and digital bass instruments and sounds. Its range is more akin to that of the baritone saxophone*, the cello, the bass clarinet, the tenor trombone, or the guitar. This does not contradict its classification as bass, since it serves the same musical purposes as the lower-pitched bass instruments.
The bass voice type can be generalized as representing the lowest frequency register used in singing. Critical to understanding of the bass voice is its unique role in vocal music; the bass part in a vocal style may serve as a simple platform upon which the harmony is built, or as an independent countermelody, or occasionally as the main melody itself. Sometimes, the bass voice might not have any of those unique properties that distinguish it from the inner parts, in which case the term is used simply to indicate the part's low frequency. The handling of the bass voice is a strong differentiating feature that separates the many styles and genres of vocal music.
The bass voice is statistically uncommon compared to the less-extreme voice types and is found almost exclusively in male singers.
*Non-musicians may sometimes conflate or confuse the terms "baritone" and "bass"; however, in singing contexts, the two terms describe two different types of voice (bass being the lower of the two and baritone being representative of the average natural male singing voice).
