tenors

A tenor is the highest ordinary adult male voice in classical singing and choral music. In the common four-part choral arrangement, it sits above bass and baritone voices and, in some contexts, may share space with countertenor or female voices in the upper parts. The tenor voice is defined by a combination of range, timbre, and tessitura that favors bright, ringing upper notes and expressive melodic lines.

A typical tenor range centers around roughly C3 to C5, with many singers comfortable in the C3 to B4 region. Strong tenors can reach higher, and some specialized singers extend to D5 or higher on bright, secure top notes. Vocal classifications for tenors are further refined in the German Fach system, with subtypes such as lyric tenor, spinto tenor, dramatic tenor, and heldentenor, each describing weight, vocal color, and stamina for different repertoires.

Tenors appear throughout opera, oratorio, and art song, often as lead characters in love or hero parts. Repertoire ranges from light, melodic lines to powerful, high-lying arias, requiring varying degrees of vocal flexibility and stamina. In popular music, the term tenor is commonly used informally to describe male singers with a high, bright range.

The term tenor has historical roots in medieval and Renaissance polyphony, where the tenor was the sustaining voice that carried long notes while others moved. Since then, the concept has evolved into a standard category for male singing. A countertenor or other voices may sing higher lines, but the tenor remains a central classification in classical singing.