G'day JennieG,

My (Hamlyn) simple little Dictionary of Music says:

contralto The lowest of the three varieties of female voice, the other two being *mezzosoprano and *soprano. For a soloist, the compass ranges approximately from E below middle C to D an octave and a sixth above; in choral writing, the range is smaller for both the contralto and the *alto (the male equivalent). The rich quality of the timbre in the lower register gives the contralto voice its special character. [From Italian contra, lower in pitch, + alto.

(You'll have to try yourself against a tuning meter ... or a piece played in this range to see if that's where you actually like to sing.)

Regards,

Bob