Fach the System

Have you heard of the fach system before? If not, you probably have no idea what I’m talking about, but by the end of this blog post, you will.

If you know your fach, I’d love to hear your thoughts! DM me on Instagram!

If not, you may recognize these references: coloratura, dramatic soprano, heldentenor, lyric baritone, etc.

The fach system is a German system of classifying voices by range, weight, and color. You can learn extensively about the fach system in Richard Miller’s books Training Soprano Voices, Training Tenor Voices, and Securing Baritone, Bass-Baritone, and Bass Voices. These books go in depth on what characteristics determine fach and various techniques to train those voice types.

The fach system is widely used in classical singing, but you will likely not see it used across other genres.

While vocal range, weight, and color are taken into consideration when determining fach, character type and physical appearance also play a large role. (Determining fach is also very subjective.)

This is one of the many reasons I dislike the fach system. That, and the fact that there are significantly more fachs specified in male voices. This is not because men have more vocal colors than women, but because the majority of research has been performed by men on themselves. Historically, there have not been many female pedagogues. It has been in more recent years that we have expanded our knowledge of the female voice. But that’s a conversation for another day.

We’re going to focus mostly on the physical aspects of fach identification. This is why I think characterizing people’s’ voices based off their physical appearance is wrong: according to the research that has been laid out, no thin person can be a mezzo soprano. This is just not true. Also, muscular men cannot be tenors. Which is also not true.

We see these rules broken time and again in singers. There are plenty of people whose voices do not fit the physical characteristics that are supposed to be present in a person with that fach.

In reality, voice type depends more on larynx size than body size.

Fachs are also frequently more about character and personality type than anything else. While vocal weight may be a factor in determining many voice types, when you dive into the classifications it is evident that certain divisions are solely based on character and acting ability.

For example:
A coloratura and a soubrette are very similar voice types. Both have light, flexible voices and sing high. The difference vocally is that a coloratura typically sings higher. A soubrette may have the upper extension, but they likely won’t sing up there as frequently in the repertoire. The biggest difference though is character. A soubrette will mostly play comedic roles, and the coloratura’s roles will not be as comedic. Therefore the distinction between a coloratura and soubrette is primarily based on what the singer plays best.

Being cognizant of character type is not a bad thing! In fact, as a performer it is essential to know what characters you play best. But pigeonholing a performer into a specific character type because of their voice type is not helpful. In fact, it’s not even consistent with repertoire.

Yes, many voice types frequently sing specific characters. Tenors are frequently the love interest and sopranos are often the the ingenue. But we see this rule broken over and over by composers, and we’ve seen cultural preferences shift.
For example: mezzo-belters taking the spotlight in musical theatre.

The fach system is not all bad, but I believe it puts singers into a box unnecessarily. We don’t need the limits it can put on us.

That’s why I type my singers based on whether they are one of the following voice types:

• Soprano

• Mezzo-Soprano

• Contralto (rare)

• Counter Tenor (rare)

• Tenor

• Baritenor

• Baritone

• Bass-Baritone

• Bass

And I teach all my female singers how to belt AND how to sing in their head voice.

I value giving my students a place to explore and grow their voices in a variety of styles. I want them to explore different characters. I want them to discover for themselves what they are best at and what they love doing. I am obviously there to help, but it’s not my job to put someone into a box. My job is to guide my singers, advise them based on what I’m seeing and hearing from them (and the industry), and encourage them to become the best person and performer they can be. That’s the job of a voice teacher.

A voice type should never become a box. It should be a guideline to help you know where you thrive so you can become as successful as possible.

If you have thoughts on the fach system, I would love to hear them! Feel free to DM me on Instagram.

Interested in voice lessons? I would love to work with you!

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