Tenor vocal range: C3 to C5

Tenor is the highest of the lower voice types, with a typical range from C3 up to C5.

What a tenor sounds like

Bright and ringing at the top. Many lead singers in pop and rock are tenors, which is why so many songs feel high for other men.

Where a tenor is comfortable

A tenor is most at home from about G3 to G4, and the notes above middle C feel free, not forced.

The full range, C3 to C5, is a typical one. Choirs and teachers draw the lines a few notes apart, and trained singers often reach beyond them. What matters more than the outer notes is where you can sing a whole song without strain.

Are you a tenor?

Plenty of baritones believe they are tenors because they can reach a high note or two. The test is comfort: if singing around F4 for a whole song is easy, tenor fits. If it is work, you are likely a baritone.

The quick way to check is to measure. The voice type test listens to your lowest and highest notes through your microphone and tells you which type fits. If you only want the two notes, use the vocal range test.

Singers often described as tenors

• Bruno Mars
• Freddie Mercury

Pop singers are rarely classified the way opera singers are, so these are the labels most often given to them, not official titles.

Practice tips for a tenor

• Learn to mix chest voice and head voice around E4 to G4, where most tenors feel a break.
• Keep high notes narrow and forward. Spreading the vowel makes them crack.
• Do not skip the low notes below E3. They are part of your range too.

Tenor compared with the other voice types

The next voice down is the baritone (A2 to A4). The ranges overlap, so if you fall between two, go with the one where a whole song feels easiest.

For the full picture, read what is my voice type and how to find it.