How to Use alto in a Sentence

alto

1 of 2 noun

• She sang in her school choir as an alto.
• The soprano loves the tenor, who loves the bass, who loves the alto, who loves the soprano.
  — Helen Shaw, Vulture, 8 Dec. 2021
• Emily played trombone in the marching band and sang alto in the choir.
  — Beth Mlady, cleveland, 7 May 2020
• The alto hung in with the grim passion that only mezzos can aspire to.
  — Kevin Fisher-Paulson, SFChronicle.com, 16 June 2020
• His brother Alan played trumpet and alto alongside him in the school band.
  — Chris Morris, Variety, 2 Mar. 2023
• Liz Gillies, a longtime friend, plays the husky alto to Grande’s breathy soprano.
  — Richard S. He, Billboard, 27 Apr. 2018
• In choirs like mine, women sing the alto and soprano parts.
  — Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 29 Mar. 2013
• So did Carole Rae Woodmansee, an alto who was a few years younger and had sung with the chorale for more than a decade.
  — New York Times, 8 Apr. 2021
• On his right sat the Hoffman twins, Lorraine on alto clarinet and Florraine on the bassoon.
  — Star Tribune, 3 July 2021
• The sopranos would be two women dancers; altos, a woman and a man; tenors, a man and a woman; and basses, two men.
  — BostonGlobe.com, 18 Oct. 2019
• Even choral groups’ alto and bass sections have had problems projecting at The Schnitz.
  — oregonlive, 27 Sep. 2021
• Mikell, an alto, is staying with family in Philly during the run.
  — John Timpane, Philly.com, 21 May 2018
• Debbie Amos, another alto, had learned how subtle changes to the shape of her mouth shaded her tone.
  — New York Times, 8 Apr. 2021
• Williamson speaks in a husky alto with a cadence that is part meditation guide and part preacher.
  — Robin Givhan, Washington Post, 27 June 2019
• Dawn McCarthy, whose Faun Fables opens the evening, lends her dark alto to the song and is answered by distant, ghoulish laughter.
  — Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader, 31 May 2018
• His alto has a big broad tone, at times reminiscent of the bluesy tenor saxophones that came from Chicago in the late ’50s and early ’60s.
  — Martin Johnson, WSJ, 17 Jan. 2019
• Jenkin is fond of saying that in the choir there are only four parties: sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses.
  — Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 5 Nov. 2019
• Sung in a low alto in isiZulu, one of the official languages of South Africa, audiences didn’t need to understand the song to be moved by it.
  — Lynsey Chutel, New York Times, 7 July 2023
• Countertenors, males of the species who sing in the range of a female alto, continue to be the growth industry in classical music.
  — John Von Rhein, chicagotribune.com, 17 Apr. 2018
• Wisniewski, an alto sang with the Cantus at the three performances.
  — Sam Boyer, cleveland, 27 Dec. 2021
• Thomas was the alto sax player, flutist and percussionist.
  — Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Aug. 2021
• Choose from five drink types: espresso, double espresso, gran lungo, mug and alto.
  — Nicole Papantoniou, Good Housekeeping, 8 July 2022
• Yet the alto saxophonist ranks high in the pantheon of American...
  — John Edward Hasse, WSJ, 26 Aug. 2020
• The alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins is in pursuit of epiphany.
  — Sheldon Pearce, The New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2022
• Here’s your chance to catch up with two young alto saxophonists, both with histories in the Midwest and promising futures in New York City.
  — New York Times, 26 Jan. 2017
• By the second verse, pockets of harmony were heard as some voices broke into alto and tenor, bass and soprano.
  — Kim Ode, idahostatesman, 28 July 2017
• Daniel Bubeck was a rather hooty version of a countertenor — and there’s little evidence that Bach had his alto solos sung by falsettists, as opposed to boys.
  — Scott Cantrell, Dallas News, 1 May 2023
• She was known for her powerful alto voice and often was called upon to help a section by playing a note or two on the piano for pitch purposes.
  — Frederick N. Rasmussen, baltimoresun.com, 8 Aug. 2021
• Quigley chose to mix his singers up, rather than segregate them by soprano, alto, tenor and bass sections, which resulted in a smoother blend of voices.
  — Zachary Lewis, cleveland.com, 21 Aug. 2017
• Musicians in the group actually play a range of instruments in the flute family, including the piccolo as well as the alto, bass and the C-flute.
  — Barbara Dargis, Daily Southtown, 3 Mar. 2018

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alto

2 of 2 adjective

• He plays the alto sax.
• Dexter took up the alto sax at 14, switching at 15 to the tenor that his mother bought him to fit his tall frame.
  — Clifford Thompson, WSJ, 1 Nov. 2018
• The women will sing in the alto section when the 150-member chorus tours New York City this week.
  — Jennifer Conn, Akron Reporter, cleveland.com, 23 Jan. 2018
• Marsalis took the lead on a trio of pieces, playing alto saxophone.
  — Matthew J. Palm, orlandosentinel.com, 29 Sep. 2019
• The Turtles Cyrus' strong alto range lent itself well to her melancholy take on this hit.
  — Allison Stubblebine, Billboard, 6 Oct. 2017
• At Poway High, Alexander plays alto sax in the jazz and concert bands and is the first student with autism to play all four years in the marching band.
  — Pam Kragen, sandiegouniontribune.com, 26 Jan. 2018
• Chris Hangan, a senior who plays alto saxophone, has performed on the beach for five years now.
  — Fred Swegles, Orange County Register, 15 May 2017
• How should the musical issues in the alto parts of the choruses be resolved?
  — Ellen T. Harris, New York Times, 15 Dec. 2017
• Volunteers must be 18 or older, able to read music and able to play the oboe, clarinet, alto sax or tenor sax.
  — Megan Becka, cleveland.com, 14 Aug. 2017
• With alto saxophone and clarinets in tow, Noriega has been the man to call when the heavy guns of the new-jazz scene need extra firepower.
  — The New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2017
• Mr. Harrison, a guiding light in the world of New Orleans culture, has a slippery and groove-soaked approach to the alto saxophone.
  — New York Times, 24 Aug. 2017
• Soprano sax, of all the instruments in the world ever probably, has fallen more out of fashion than even the alto sax.
  — Nick Williams, Billboard, 18 May 2017
• Sarah Gliko is especially marvelous, her flute and alto sax both lyrical and choked.
  — John Timpane, Philly.com, 2 Nov. 2017
• Thomas Brill knew how to play the piano, organ, violin, flute and alto saxophone, his sister said.
  — Michael Williams, orlandosentinel.com, 3 June 2019
• What Bird did with his alto saxophone Jordan still does with her voice — not as fast, of course, but with similar timelessness.
  — Howard Reich, chicagotribune.com, 21 Apr. 2018
• But don’t go thinking that the alto saxophonist’s influence has waned.
  — Joe Klopus, kansascity, 17 Aug. 2017
• The alto saxophone has played a significant role in the development of the classical, jazz, avant-garde, salsa, and punk-rock genres.
  — Colin Stetson, The New Yorker, 18 May 2017
• With a searing alto tone that can flare from blue flame glow to bright orange grit within a phrase, Fuller has emerged as a formidable bandleader over the past decade, with four impressive albums on Mack Avenue Records.
  — Andrew Gilbert, The Mercury News, 5 June 2019
• David Caceres delighted the crowd with his vocal rendition of Dindi and his alto saxophone.
  — Ann Benoit, NOLA.com, 6 Feb. 2018
• Fellow sophomore Emmanuel Fesili plays drums and alto saxophone, plus a little guitar and bass, Lui said.
  — Dave Southorn, idahostatesman, 1 Nov. 2017
• An alto saxophonist hailing from Cuba, Mr. Filiú is not heard often enough as a leader.
  — New York Times, 10 May 2018
• Robinson, who plays the alto sax, said hopefully their concerts will encourage youngsters to pursue music themselves.
  — Forrest Sellers, Cincinnati.com, 3 Aug. 2017
• The golden notes of Harjo’s alto saxophone fill the dark corners of a drab university auditorium as the audience breathes in her music.
  — Élan Young, Smithsonian, 13 Aug. 2019
• In his teens, Alexander began showing great proficiency playing jazz music on the alto saxophone.
  — Pam Kragen, sandiegouniontribune.com, 26 Jan. 2018
• Another trait that evokes Evans’ style is some use of unconventional – for a jazz big band – instrumentation, like accordion and alto clarinet.
  — Dan Emerson, Twin Cities, 17 Feb. 2017
• The alto saxophonist Mat Walerian seems to have a cooling effect on Matthew Shipp, an influential pianist whose free-form playing can be effusive to the point of pugnacious.
  — Jon Pareles, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2018
• Eventually, Segal moved the celebration to August and expanded it to run the full month, a fitting tribute to the greatest alto saxophone virtuoso in jazz and a co-founder of the predominant jazz language of the 20th century.
  — Howard Reich, chicagotribune.com, 30 July 2019
• Shania has the robust alto twang of a country singer and the cadence of a woman from Ontario, while Celine’s powerful soprano voice has an incomparable range and delightful French-Canadian accent.
  — Lisa Ryan, The Cut, 20 June 2017
• Bobby Selvaggio 4: Frontman Bobby Selvaggio presides as one of the leading alto saxophone voices on today's jazz scene.
  — Chuck Yarborough, cleveland.com, 1 June 2017
• At its heart was a delicate balance between Zenon’s famously translucent tone on alto saxophone and Aldana’s intrinsically beefier sound on tenor.
  — Howard Reich, chicagotribune.com, 2 Sep. 2019

Last Updated: 5 Sep 2024