alto

USAGE SUMMARY

The word "alto" is correct and usable in written English.
It is used to refer to a vocal range, typically a female voice, between soprano and tenor. Example sentence: The alto's voice soared over the rest of the choir.

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Travel

Music

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

15 human-written examples

Pago de Zahora, sajoramibeach.com Posada de Palacio, Sanlúcar This hotel has a faded beauty but a prized location among the palaces and bodegas of the barrio alto (upper town).

The Guardian - Travel

Nadine Shah: Fast Food A passionate and intense album, marked by Shah's distinctive, resonant alto voice and piercing electric guitar riffs.

The Guardian - Music

Worse, after the original headstone was vandalised in 1992, the replacement carried an image of a saxophone: but, to his fans' dismay, it was of a tenor sax, not the alto on which he made his name.

The Economist

The Ruta Nacional 40 passes through backwater towns like Tecka, José de San Martín and Alto Río Senguer, and the main population centres – Río Mayo ("the national capital of shearing"), Los Antiguos (which sits on the shores of the immense Lago Buenos Aires), and Bajo Caracoles.

The Guardian - Travel

It is home to close to 2m people (if you include El Alto) and is the centre of Aymaran civilisation, which extends to Peru and certain parts of Ecuador.

The Economist

This was a cheap and simple way to allow many devices to communicate using a common transmission medium.Dr Metcalfe, as he now was, adopted this approach for the system he was building to enable Alto computers to talk to each other, and to printers, on a network.

The Economist

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

45 human-written examples

Among the 161 courses they can choose from are Laptop Orchestra and Shakespeare in Performance.The Palo Alto-based university is trying to help answer one of the questions that haunts our "knowledge society": where will new ideas come from?

The Economist

Lada Adamic of Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center in California has done just this, developing a search technique that takes advantage of the small-worldness of the web.

The Guardian - Tech

But I have come here on a tip, to the Hotel Alto Atacama Desert Lodge & Spa.

The Guardian - Travel

Over the past couple of years, Zuckerberg has made two big property purchases – last year he bought 750 acres of land on the north shore of Kauai in Hawaii for $100m, and in 2013 he bought the four properties surrounding his Palo Alto home – that seem to underline his rampant desire for privacy.

The Guardian - Tech

Today, he and his partner of nine years, a sculptor, live in a house he built in the redwoods outside Palo Alto in California.Colleagues and former students stress his infectious enthusiasm, his notion of work as a shared quest, and his keen scientific intuition.

The Economist

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

In geographical contexts, specify if you're referring to a town's upper section or a region's higher altitude.

Common error

Avoid using "alto" interchangeably with other voice types without proper understanding. While sometimes used loosely, it's best to be precise, especially in musical settings. Also, be aware of the geographical uses of "alto" in some place names or when referring to the upper part of a town.

Linguistic Context

The word "alto" functions primarily as a noun, referring to a specific vocal range in music, a person singing in that range, or a geographical location, as illustrated in Ludwig's examples.

Expression frequency: Common

Frequent in

News & Media

42%

Travel

12%

Music

6%

Less common in

Science

0%

Formal & Business

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "alto" is a versatile term with distinct meanings in music and geography. As Ludwig AI confirms, it's grammatically correct and widely used. It refers to a vocal range between soprano and tenor, a geographical elevation, or even a computer system name. The primary contexts of use are News & Media, Travel and Music. When referring to the voice range, you can also use "contralto voice" or "lower voice". Remember to be precise in musical contexts and be aware of geographical use. With its diverse application in contemporary writings, grasping the meaning of the word "alto" becomes an indispensable asset. Its frequency of usage can be considered as common, and you will often encounter it in texts from "The Economist", "The Guardian", "The Guardian - Travel" and "The Guardian - Music".

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

contralto voice

Refers specifically to the female voice type that typically sings the alto part.

lower voice

Describes the vocal range in relation to other voices in a choir or ensemble.

upper town

Indicates a geographically higher part of a town or city.

second soprano

Designates the section or singer directly below the first soprano.

mezzo-soprano

Voice range slightly higher than alto, but lower than soprano.

high-pitched

Indicates higher tones, however, not specific like alto.

countertenor range

A male voice with a similar range to a female alto.

vocal harmony

Focuses on the blending of voices including the alto section.

higher altitude

Describes being located at a greater elevation. It is applicable to geographical instances.

upland region

Denotes a higher elevation area, useful in geographical contexts.

FAQs

How is "alto" used in music?

In music, "alto" refers to a vocal range that is higher than tenor and lower than soprano. It can also refer to a person or instrument that performs this part. For example, a singer with a contralto voice sings in the "alto" range.

What are some alternatives to "alto" when describing a vocal range?

Alternatives include "contralto voice", "lower voice" (in relation to soprano), or "mezzo-soprano" if the range is slightly higher than a typical alto.

In what geographical contexts might I encounter the word "alto"?

"Alto" can appear in place names or refer to the upper part of a town. For example, "El Alto" is a city in Bolivia, and "barrio alto" refers to the upper town in some Spanish-speaking regions. It is related to the Italian and Spanish word for "high".

Is it correct to use "alto" to describe a man's singing voice?

While less common, a male singer who sings in a similar range to a female alto is sometimes referred to as a "countertenor range". The term "alto" primarily refers to the vocal range, not necessarily the gender of the singer.