1591 W. Garrard & R. Hitchcock Arte of Warre 168 When the Armie makes Alta to rest.

1598 R. Barret Theorike & Pract. Mod. Warres iii. 34 How to make their Alto or stand, and how to double their rankes.

1598 R. Barret Theorike & Pract. Mod. Warres iii. 34 How to plant his pike in the ground, at any stand or Alto.

1622 F. Markham Five Decades Epist. of Warre v. iii. §4. 171 To make stands (which some call Altoes or Hallts)..whereby the souldier may be refresht when he is weary with travell.

1644 J. Vernon Young Horse-man 36 The first Troop being passed over is to make alto, that is stand, leaving a Souldier on the Bridge.

1597 T. Morley Plaine & Easie Introd. Musicke iii. 128 If you carrie your Cadence in the base part, you may close with any of these waies... But if your Cadence be in the Alto, then may you choose any of these waies following for your end.

1597 T. Morley Plaine & Easie Introd. Musicke iii. 126 If your base bee an vnison or 8. to the tenor, then may your Alto be a 3. 5. 6. 8. 10. 12. or 15. to the base.

1683 J. Playford Introd. Skill Musick (ed. 10) iii. 29 You are first to consider whether you will begin with Alto or Tenor to be the leading Part.

1740 J. Grassineau tr. S. De Brossard Musical Dict. 1 A Majuscule in thorough Basses, marks the Alto.

1773 C. Burney Present State Music France & Italy (ed. 2) 112 The parts are all in sight, upon opposite pages; soprano and tenor on the first, and alto and basso on the second.

1881 A. Hopkinson Waiting vi. 129 The Count takes the accompaniment, Anne and Dolly the treble and alto.

1924 Musical Times 65 1115 There is no reason why ‘alto’—sung by boys with breaking voices—need be either aggressive, feeble, or unreliable.

1932 Music & Lett. 13 189 The alto and bass have the melody, the others the organum.

2007 K. S. Long Keeping up with Joneses vi. 114 I sang soprano, Shirley sang alto, Ruth sang tenor and Juanie played the piano.

1597 T. Morley Plaine & Easie Introd. Musicke Annot. sig. ¶3 Whether the Author meant G sol re vt in Base, which standeth in space, or G sol re ut in alto which standeth on the rule.

1789 A. Bayly Alliance Musick, Poetry & Oratory i. 20 The full natural voice di petto..rarely comes to g in alto without screaming.

1822 W. Pinnock Catech. Music (ed. 7) xii. 41 Q. Are not the words in alto sometimes added to the octave? A. In alto, when used in the treble, means that the notes are to be played an octave higher as far as the points after the sign extend.

1870 T. Martin tr. Horace Satires i. iii, in Odes, Epodes & Satires (ed. 3) 265 From C in alto down to double D.

1939 Music Educators Jrnl. 26 46/1 Low F sharps in alto.

1784 European Mag. & London Rev. 5 324 Altos,—Rev. Mr. Clark..and 48 assistants.

1850 Illustr. London News 17 368 The entire Choir..is not here, there are..ten altos, six tenors, etc.

1872 Musical Times 15 639/1 A part-song for male voices,..in which the boy altos sang with the first tenors with excellent effect.

1908 G. E. Stubbs Adult Male Alto or Counter-tenor Voice (ed. 2) i. 12 In England, prior to the latter part of the eighteenth century, all oratorios and large choral works were performed with the assistance of male altos.

1920 Musical Times 61 117 In the old days an alto was not expected to be a soloist.

a1979 J. Grenfell Turn back Clock (1983) 122 There is one voice among the altos that did not ought to be there.

1996 M. Stephens tr. G. Evans For Sake of Wales (2001) vi. 48 He would draw from his choir of splendid voices, basses and tenors, altos and sopranos, a marvellous sound that always brought tears of pleasure to my eyes.

1788 (title) A favorite concerto for the piano-forte or harpsichord with accompanyments for two violins, alto, bass & flute.

1833 Penny Cycl. I. 404 Alto..called in England the Tenor, and by the Italians, the Viola.

1841 Catal. Orig. Wks. in I. Moscheles Life of Beethoven II. 380 Sextett in E flat, for two Violins, Alto, two Horns, and Violoncello.

1984 F. W. Seder tr. D. Markevitch Cello Story i. 15 Besides the violin itself, the group called violins contained the alto (or viola).

1724 Short Explic. Foreign Words Musick Bks. Alto Concertante, the Tenor of the Little Chorus, or the Tenor that sings or plays throughout.

1845 E. Holmes Life Mozart 347 He desired the score of the ‘Requiem’ to be brought, and it was sung by his visiters [sic] around his bed, himself taking the alto part.

1849 Singing Class Circular & Musical Times 3 245/2 The soprano voice is higher in compass than the alto voice.

1871 H. R. Haweis Music & Morals ii. ix. 353 A quiet alto song, full of solemn pathos.

1948 G. Oldroyd Technique & Spirit Fugue xii. 187 The alto line beginning in bar 77 shows how a little metamorphosis of theme can play its part.

1972 G. Gould Let. 17 Dec. in Sel. Lett. (1992) 190 The third beat should either be arpeggiated in a bottom to top fashion, or be deprived of the alto C sharp.

1993 What Hi-Fi? Oct. 242/2 Castrati were male singers, castrated at boyhood, in order to retain a soprano or alto voice.

2004 Opera Now Mar. 32/1 We have the score as originally written for a voice (male or female) of the alto type and at the C major pitch.

1802 A. Rees Cycl. (1819) I. (at cited word) Alto viola, the tenor violin, in opposition to the bass viol.

1888 Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 594/1 The slide trumpet is mentioned by T. E. Altenburg, who compares it, and with reason, to the alto trombone.

1926 C. Morse Music & Music-makers x. 106 The English horn..is a larger or alto oboe with deeper tones and pitched a fifth lower.

1939 A. Carse Mus. Wind Instruments xx. 296 The earliest of these various alto or tenor instruments was probably the German Althorn or Altkornett which appeared in Berlin round about 1830.

1986 Musical Times Feb. 84/1 A family of instruments..called the clavitube, the quinticlave (an alto ophicleide) and the ophicleide.

1994 Gramophone July 64/2 This is a work for the gloriously silly scoring of piccolo, alto chalumeau, [etc.].

2001 Times 12 Apr. ii. 20/4 The Lux aeterna is beset by clouds of muted trombone and alto flute.

1879 J. Curwen Mus. Theory 23 The Alto or Contralto Clef is..a C Clef but it is placed in the middle line.

1921 E. N. Bilbie Experiences Violinist Home & Abroad 13 Were it not for the viola being written in the alto clef a Violinist could play the viola at once.

2004 Tempo No. 229. 73/2 An autumnal descending figure that..causes the viola to move back to the richer alto clef in a mood of nostalgic rumination.

1728 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. (ed. 4) Alto Concertante, [in Musick Books] signifies the Tenor of the little Chorus, or the Tenor that sings or plays throughout.

1854 J. W. Moore Compl. Encycl. Music 42/1 Alto concertante, the tenor of the little chorus, which sings or plays throughout the performance.

1724 Short Explic. Foreign Words Musick Bks. Alto Ripieno, the Tenor of the Great Chorus, or the Tenor that sings or plays now and then in some particular Places.

1829 London Encycl. I. 702 Alto ripieno, the tenor of the great chorus which performs in the full parts.

2005 D. R. Melamed Hearing Bach's Passions i. ii. 43 If Bach used ripienists in the St. Mark Passion..these roles could have been included in an alto ripieno part.

1831 Harmonicon 9 38/1 The bass-clarinet stands in the same relation to the clarinet in B flat, and to the basset-horn or alto-clarinet, as the violoncello does to the violin and viola.

?1854 C. N. McFarren tr. in A. H. Wehrhan & C. N. McFarren tr. A. B. Marx Music 19th Cent. viii. 71 The characteristic basset horn (corno di bassetto) has been supplanted [in the orchestra] by the poorer alto clarinet.

1984 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 30 July c20/5 Craig Harris on trombone and Mr. Bluiett on baritone saxophone and alto clarinet played strong solos.

2003 JazzTimes Sept. 108/3 Brötzmann sets a tone that could be called contemplative were it not for..the foreboding tone of his alto clarinet.

1829 Reg. Arts & Jrnl. Patent Inventions 3 256 Specimen of an Alto Fagotto, invented by Wm. Meikle, and manufactured with improvements, by G. Wood.

1830 Harmonicon May 193/2 The music for the Alto-Fagotto should be written chiefly in the treble clef, from a below the lines, to a above.

1921 G. A. Audsley Organ-stops 250 The term Tenoroon was originally employed to designate the Tenor Bassoon or Alto Fagotto in F.

1998 T. Liley in R. Ingraham Cambr. Compan. Saxophone i. 11 Another presumed ancestor of the saxophone is the alto fagotto.

1850 Musical Times 3 279 The improvement effected by this valve, which has been applied to the Trumpet, E, D, and B flat Alto Horn..will be at once perceived.

1889 R. A. Marr Music for People 115 Composition of the band—4 cornets; 6 E flat trumpets; 6 bass trumpets..1 alto horn.

1940 C. Sachs Hist. Mus. Instruments 429 The alto horn, called Altkornett..is coiled either in the shape of a trumpet, or upright as a tuba, or circular as a horn. Its usual pitch is E♭ or F.

1942 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §377/8 (Alto) peck horn, an alto horn or mellophone.

1957 W. C. Handy Father of Blues v. 64 I had bought a tenor sax for myself, but W. N. P. Spiller, our alto horn player, appropriated it mostly for his own use.

2000 D. Gelly Masters Jazz Saxophone xiv. 115 In the local community wind-band he [sc. John Coltrane] was first given an alto-horn but later asked to try the clarinet.

1901 Trans. Shropshire Archaeol. & Nat. Hist. Soc. 1 p. v In form the soprano and alto recorders are much like the old flageolet.

1978 J. J. Pellerite Handbk. Lit. for Flute 329 [The sonata] has been transposed up a minor third to fit the range of present day flutes, and/or alto recorders.

2004 Star Tribune (Minneapolis) (Nexis) 7 Aug. 6 b The seventh annual ‘Welcome Christmas! Carol Contest’ calls for new carols written for four-part voices with either soprano or alto recorder.

1909 Philadelphia Inquirer 21 Nov. 7/4 Alto sax: Ernest F. Cowell, Howard Marks. Tenor sax: James H. Darby.

1955 O. Keepnews & W. Grauer Pict. Hist. Jazz iii. 40 Cobb himself could play trumpet, clarinet, alto sax and banjo.

1996 R. Niles et al. in P. Trynka Rock Hardware 77/1 Soon becoming the most in-demand studio soloist, his alto sax was featured on records by the likes of Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, and David Bowie.

1926 Chicago Tribune 18 Apr. 1/7 (advt.) Hot alto saxist wants work: will rehearse.

1952 B. Ulanov Hist. Jazz in Amer. xv. 178 Harry Carney joined the band..first as an alto saxist.

2004 Time Out N.Y. 25 Nov. 147/4 Alto saxist Steve Coleman didn't invent jazz-funk.

1856 M. C. Clarke tr. H. Berlioz Treat. Mod. Instrumentation 233 Alto saxophone in F [Fr. Saxophone Alto en Fa].

1869 C. Mandel Mandel's Syst. Mus. xvi. 68 There are various kinds of Saxophones. The smallest..is in B flat; the next, or Alto Saxophone, is in E flat.

1927 Melody Maker Aug. 785/2 The best features are the alto saxophone in the third chorus and the ‘hot’ fiddle in the first half of the last chorus.

2008 Chattanooga (Tennessee) Times Free Press 29 Feb. (Weekend section) h7 The composer sanctioned the performance of the piece on an alto saxophone as well as a traditional althorn.

1902 Salt Lake Telegram 19 Apr. 5/1 The portrait this week introduces Earl Mackay, the alto saxophonist of the band.

1927 Wireless World 30 Mar. 390/1 At other times..the banjo is exchanged for a guitar, [and] one of the alto saxophonists plays the 'cello.

1958 S. Traill in P. Gammond Decca Bk. Jazz vi. 82 Alto-saxophonist Boyce Brown and pianist Floyd Bean both play in real Chicago style.

1990 Esquire May 44/4 The bluesy Side by Side (Verve) features Ellington and the sublime alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges.

1724 Short Explic. Foreign Words Musick Bks. Alto Viola, a small Tenor Violin.

1802 A. Rees Cycl. (at cited word) Alto viola, the tenor violin, in opposition to the bass viol.

1900 C. F. Abdy Williams Bach i. 9 On occasion a very respectable string orchestra was available, consisting of twelve violins, three alto violas, three tenor violas, two bass viols, and a contrabasso.

1994 Washington Post (Nexis) 6 Nov. (Sunday Show section) G15 Bartok's Viola Concerto, played by [Yo Yo] Ma on the alto viola—a hybrid instrument midway between viola and cello.

1946 Billboard 5 Oct. 16/4 Clary Bob Walters and altoist Ted Goddard are outstanding reed soloists.

1956 M. W. Stearns Story of Jazz (1957) xviii. 242 Altoist Julian ‘Cannonball’ Adderley from Florida.

2006 Time Out N.Y. 16 Feb. 126/1 His baseless combo, Jackalope, features the thoughtful young altoist Loren Stillman and drummer Bob Meyer.

1905 A. W. Clayden Cloud Stud. i. 10 Professor Hildebrandsson, of Upsala, and the Hon. Ralph Abercromby jointly submitted a revised scheme, the main feature of which was the introduction of a new class of clouds, to be distinguished by the prefix alto- before the other name. Such alto clouds were less lofty and denser than cirrus.

1905 A. W. Clayden Cloud Stud. viii. 120 Higher clouds of the alto or cirrus kinds.

1917 A. H. Munday Eyes of Army & Navy vi. 74 The middle layer consists chiefly of the alto clouds and is to be expected at a height of from 10,000 to 25,000 feet.

1952 J. A. Steers et al. Lake's Physical Geogr. (ed. 3) i. vii. 94 In British practice the distinction between ‘alto’ and ‘cirro’ clouds lies in the fact that the first are clouds of medium height the base of which lies above 7000 but below 20,000 feet..whereas the base of the latter lies above 20,000 feet.

1990 Internat. Jrnl. Climatol. 10 580 Observed cirrus cloud frequencies varied much less than alto-level frequencies.

2004 R. Buckley et al. Weather 76 (caption) Irregular altos. These irregular altocumulus clouds are gradually thickening and may bring rain.