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The difference lies in the range of notes (low to high) that a voice can sing.

The standard of classical harmony is based on the notion of having at least four notes in each chord. This allows most chords to to be complete (having all their notes), or at least sufficiently complete, without letting the musical texture become too thick.

In choral writing, four voice-parts are needed to provide the necessary notes. The highest voice is called Soprano, the lowest is called Bass. The middle voices are Alto (medium-high) and Tenor (medium low).

In a standard four-voice choir, Soprano parts are sung by women or children, Bass parts by men. The middle parts are sung by either men or women, with women preferring Alto and men preferring Tenor. This is simply because as a general rule the vocal chords of men are thicker than those of women, and thicker vocal chords favour lower notes. Most female tenors have trouble with the expected lower range of the tenor part, and similarly most male altos have trouble with the expected top end of the alto range. As female altos and male tenors are the majority, that is what composers and arrangers generally assume. C'est la vie.

Professional soloists refer to themselves as "soprano" (high female voice), "tenor" (high male), "bass" (low male). Female altos are usually called "contraltos" and male altos are frequently called "countertenors". A child soloist is usually called a "treble", from the older English name for "soprano".

Voices that don't fit into these categories are called "mezzo soprano" (between soprano and alto) and "baritone" (between tenor and bass).

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