As English actor Alec Guinness once said "the superb tenor voice is like a silver trumpet
muffled in silk" and I'm excited to share some information about this amazing voice type. In this
video I'm going to be talking about why we use the term tenor, what is the range of a tenor singer?
how do you find your part in sheet music or in choir music if you are a tenor singer? and who are
examples that we can look at of tenor singers. The term tenor refers to a high voiced male singer. If
you're not quite familiar with what ranges are, check out this video above which will explain in
very simple terms what a vocal range is. Now the tenor voice classification has been around for a
very, very long time but some people have noticed since the 1950s that this vocal type has become
extremely popular in contemporary music. I'm sure there's many different reasons why the tenor voice
has become so popular since this time period. The etymology or root meaning of the word is
derived from the Latin word 'tenure' which means 'to hold' and this is because the tenor voice
"holds" the melody of the choir in group singing. The modal vocal range of a tenor spans from B2 or
C3 all the way up to C5. It's important to note as well, as you're looking into the tenor voice,
that there are many different types such as lyric, spinto and dramatic tenor.
If a tenor can sing higher than this modal range, they probably will fall into the category of
counter tenor which usually can sing the same range as a contralto. It's important to note
that the tenor boys can at times sing higher than the modal range in falsetto I've been
really thinking recently about genderization and vocal ranges. I think with such a big movement
of gender fluidity there may be in the future changes to voice classifications, I don't know,
and when we talk about a tenor voice we typically talk about a male singer at this time, so some
women will ask "well, can I be a female tenor" and at this stage you would typically refer to a woman
who sings below a contralto, as just a really, really low contralto - not a tenor. Now when a
tenor is looking at sheet music you will find it in all different places depending if you're
singing solo in a duet or in a large group. When you are singing as a soloist you will find your
part at the top line above, typically, the piano written part. Here it is here, as you can see the
Marius part starts on an A and you will notice that it has a treble clef written there as well.
When you are singing in a tenor bass score, you will find the tenor part
on the top part of the treble clef line and the bass will be underneath on a bass clef.
Pay attention if you see a mini figure eight under the treble clef on the tenor line
this means that that line is actually played down the octave
and in four part choral music the tenor is the second lowest voice present and
you will find your line typically on the third row in a formation like this,
or if you see it in hymnal music sometimes the tenor and bass are couple together
and you will find your part on the top notes above the bass when there's only one note it means that
you're singing the same note as the bass part. So how do you work out if you are indeed a tenor?
My suggestion is a self-assessment method where you take a keyboard app which labels the ranges
and the notes. So a C4 would be middle C because it is the fourth octave of on the piano i would
start where you feel most comfortable singing then go all the way down and see how low you can get.
Can you sing onto that B2 or C3 note and then move all the way up in your modal voice,
all the way up to a C5. Now this modal range does not include falsetto, it's important to note that
and just a reminder if you sing above a tenor range you may be a counter tenor and therefore
might have to look at the contralto vocal range. Now if that task is too tricky you can also listen
to some tenor examples in contemporary music. I would be looking at young Billy Joel, The Weeknd
and Ed Sheeran as examples of tenor voices. Sometimes they go beyond the parameters of a
voice or might be different types of tenors and in musical theater you'll be looking at adult Simba
from the Lion King, Marias from Les Miserables and Christian from Moulin Rouge and that's it
from me! are you a tenor singer? Let me know in the comments below and until then happy singing!
bye for now! If you enjoyed this video and want access to more free warm-ups meditations and other
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so I can make more material for you guys. Anyway, that's it from me! see you next time!