The term alto voice could be a amazingly ambiguous. Probably you're relating alto to a feminine voice, but the term “ alto ” comes from the Latin “altus” which means high, therefore originally the term might have meant a high male voice. So, the word alto originally mentioned the highest male voice, singing falsetto. Female alto voices are regularly called contralto . As an example, hear the performance of Karen Clark , contralto with interesting tone color. Alto and Contralto Alto and Contralto are almost synonymous, although contralto is often used to indicate a specially deep alto voice . There's no distinction between these two terms in the music literature. Both are commonly used as low tones of the female voice . The quality of alto voice is usually rich, resonant, dark and 'throaty'. Range of alto voice Regarding a range of alto voice - in one standard choir - from an “ alto ” singer would usually be expected to be able to obtain a r...