Amy Lee

The first real concert, other than going with my dad to see Three Dog Night, was Smashing Pumpkins and Garbage. I was fourteen or fifteen. I liked Shirley Manson because she reminded me of Annie Lennox. They both have these deep, sexy, powerful alto voices.

American Musician

Carolyn See

Whenever I open a book about jazz, I turn to the index and look for Lennie Tristano, the incredible pianist; Lee Konitz, the luminous alto sax player; and Warne Marsh, the tenor player who captured some of the most beautiful sounds in the world.

American Author

David Bowie

I wanted to be Gerry Mulligan, only, see, I didn't have any kind of technique. So I thought, well, baritone sax is kind of easier; I can manage that - except I couldn't afford a baritone, so I bought an alto, which was the same fingering.

English Musician

John Coltrane

I've been listening to jazzmen, especially saxophonists, since the time of the early Count Basie records, which featured Lester Young. Pres was my first real influence, but the first horn I got was an alto, not a tenor.

Jerome Richardson

I don't know what I was trying to get out of a tenor - but it never really satisfied me until one day I picked up my alto and I said, 'Where have you been?' and I said right here for now on!

Kevin Olusola

I have played Yamaha instruments since I was young, specifically their alto saxophones, and I have always appreciated their top-notch quality when it comes to making instruments.

Enrico Caruso

I had always sung, as far back as I can remember, for the pure love of it. My voice was contralto, and I sang in a church in Naples from fourteen till I was eighteen.

Italian Musician

Vera Lynn

I think I have got a peculiar voice really, it neither one thing nor the other. It's not a contralto and it's not a mezzo soprano; it's a nothing voice really.

British Musician

Gerry Mulligan

So I played alto for quite a while until I saved up the money for the baritone.

Weyes Blood

I was an alto and was in a lot of choirs growing up.

Used to categorize singers' voices in choirs, indicating voice range.

Choral Context

Refers to the pitch range; alto is lower than a high soprano voice.

Voice Pitch

Both men (countertenors) and women (contraltos) can sing alto parts.

Gender Neutral

When driving in Spanish-speaking countries, 'alto' on signs means to stop completely.

Traffic Command

It's a critical word for safety and is used in urgent situations to command attention.

Safety Cue

It describes something that is high or tall, like buildings or mountains.

Description of Height

Unlike the musical term, this usage refers to physical height, not pitch or volume.

Not About Sound

 a marina gorebyss I'm executive director of the Institute for the future a nonprofit research organization in palo alto california the institute has been around for 46 years and our mission is to help people systematically think

Marina Gorbis for Nat...

 where, upon arrival in Philadelphia, he got his first alto sax. And there are lovers of jazz who cannot imagine a world without John Coltrane having gotten a hold of a saxophone. Thelonious Monk. Michael Jackson. Jesse Owens.

Alto