Having an alto voice makes me sad at Christmas!

[NowBringUsSomeFuzzpiggyPudding]

I know this is a ridiculous thing to be sad about, but carols are pretty much my favourite thing about Christmas. I love playing them on the piano, but I love singing them too. But when I go to a carol service, I find it really hard to sing along! They are at a great pitch for most of the men there who can sing nice and loud, but to sing an octave higher with most of the women is just too high for me

I need to join a choir I think.

I meant to say I can't sing with the men either because the low bits are too low. So I end up doing half in a proper loud voice and the other half all squeaky and high. Ugh.

Ooh I totally understand! I love Christmas carols! And yes I get it, singing an octave lower with the men is too low.

I was an alto but became a soprano after singing lessons... I was in a choir and was miffed that as an alto I had to sing the alto line rather than the lovely tune! I was hard to please. Now if there are a lot of verses and I get bored I sing alto for a change.

But yes join a choir (and learn the alto lines), it is a lot of fun!

I was an alto but became a soprano after singing lessons.

I came on this thread to post exactly this, it's amazing the difference a few lessons with a good teacher can make!! My range is so much greater now and I can pick and choose whether I sing alto or soprano, it's great

I can't sing at all. It's feckin miserable.

I'm in a choir and have found with a bit of training I can sing alto and sop, I can even sing the descents which is fab but I need to be warmed up before I sing that high

I am a soprano and I love Christmas carols. I'm that awful show off woman who knows all the descants and sings them even when I'm only part of the congregation. DH finds me a bit embarrassing (can't say I blame him).

So even though I'm not in your position...I can imagine how it must feel. I would be really sad if I felt I couldn't join in properly at carol services (I'm going to four this year )

I second MountainDweller, I think you should learn the alto parts and sing them instead. It will sound lovely! Much more fun for you than having to switch octaves all the time.

Agree! Though I have also developed a top range that appears if I've been singing a lot. I can have a bash at most descants though opt out in the really high bits lol

9 lessons and carol tomorrow :)

Join a choir, learn the alto parts and sing loud and proud. Helps that dh or ds will be singing the bass line beside me too. And if I'm lucky enough to have the girls descant ing beside me not in the choir it makes me sniffly proud.

Sadly my failure to give birth to a tenor will always marr the family von trap image !

29redshoes you can come and stand with us and descant away :)

I am an alto / tenor. I sing some parts of carols at the soprano pitch an some an octave lower, when necessary. I switch between. I imagine it sounds odd, but at least t doesn't hurt!

I love singing alto/tenor parts at choir - it's so much more interesting to have a harmony to sing.

I did used to get funny looks whenever I did karaoke, back in the day.

I'm a soprano who like 29redshoes sings the descants at any opertunity, but I also love singing the alto lines!

I'm lucky though in that I have a very large range. You should definitly join a choir!

I have no idea what I am (or what half the things are that you have all mentioned) but I have a low voice and am always having to drop an octave halfway through hymns and carols, agree it's really annoying.

I find this at church too, I love singing the hymns but the women sing too high and the men sing too low. I think a litttle bit up from the men is my ideal singing pitch.

redshoes me too!

OP learn the alto lines, then you can sing along to your heart's content!

I'm really interested in this thread. I'm an alto, I never knew it was possible to move between octaves, with training of course. I totally get trying to sing carols.

It's great singing with men because I can sing an octave higher comfortably.

I love being an alto. It's so pleasing to be propping up all those reedy sopranos in the carol services

I think that if there is no SATB choir there, the organist should transpose down a bit and make it comfortable for everyone to sing along.

I used to get the mezzo parts in the school choir. There was only 2 of us with a good enough ear to hold the line and that was despite me also having a good top soprano range (which meant I also got the trickier descant parts, depending on the song)

Parenthood and middle age have floored my voice, between them and I am farmore comfortable belting out a tune with the tenors, these days.

In our church choir this year it is one of our altos who is singing the Once In Royal solo....and I know it will sound amazing!

Ah, thanks everyone! Good to know I'm not alone!

I was an alto but became a soprano after singing lessons... I was in a choir and was miffed that as an alto I had to sing the alto line rather than the lovely tune! Now I actually really liked singing the harmonies when I was in a school choir. I would quite like to do that again so I'd be more than happy singing alto in a choir! I think I'd feel a bit embarrassed doing that in a carol service though, if I was the only one?

I do love a descant. Hark the Herald Angels Sing and O Little Town of Bethlehem are my favourites. Used to be able to sing them quite happily when I was at school but can't now!

My favourite Christmas album is Annie Lennox's Christmas Cornucopia - she's got a fab voice and most of the songs on there are at the right pitch for me, so I sing along to that.

NowBringUs - Oh that Annue Lennox album is THE BEST! God rest ye merry gentlemen from that album is my Christmas ringtone!

Ah that's my DD's favourite too :) I've just taught her the first bit on the piano.

She's also fallen in love with Il Est Ne and the Coventry Carol on there... don't have the heart to tell her what the latter is really about though!

There's no way I could ever be a sop though I have sung a few tenor parts, just..!

The trouble is knowing all the alto parts, the carols they sing in concerts or services are normally a different version and the part doesn't go.

So I either make something up having heard one verse, or keep my mouth shut.
Luckily my harmonies don't stand out as much as very high descants would so I can normally get away with doing it quite loudly

I'm an alto and think all the alto parts are better than the tunes. Enjoy shifting the whole harmony about from below while the sopranos twiddle about way up there.

Though I did once write a bitter poem about how shit early Mozart is to sing for altos.

I'm also in a choir, and am a soprano. We DO get our moment at Christmas, I agree. But it's amazing how you can stretch your range with practice.