What is a tenor's vocal range? Every voice type, bass to soprano
The conventional band for each of the eight voice types, the passaggio zone where each one changes gear, and singers whose cited ranges actually sit there.
The short answer
A tenor’s conventional range is C3–C5; a soprano’s is C4–C6; a bass’s is E2–E4. Each of the eight traditional categories is defined across two octaves, and the table below gives all eight along with the passaggio — the zone where that voice changes gear between registers, which predicts what a singer finds hard far better than the extremes do.
Read those numbers as a description of where a voice lives, not a fence around what it can reach. Range and voice type are different measurements: the type tracks the band where a voice works comfortably for hours, while the range tracks the furthest it has ever been photographed. A soprano with a practiced low extension can show a floor below a contralto who never records down there, and the library of 420 cited singers behind this page is full of exactly that pattern. The categories are a starting shelf, not a verdict — and in popular music, sung into a microphone, they are looser still.
| Voice type | Typical range | Passaggio zone | Example singers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bass | E2–E4 | G3–C4 | Barry White D2–E4, Avi Kaplan D#1–C#5, Ivan Rebroff F1–F5 |
| Bass-baritone | F#2–F#4 | A3–D4 | Shaggy E2–F4, Till Lindemann E2–F4, Bryn Terfel F2–A4 |
| Baritone | A2–A4 | B3–E4 | Luke Combs A2–A4, Tony Bennett A2–A4, Christian Nodal A2–G4 |
| Tenor | C3–C5 | D4–G4 | Arijit Singh C3–C5, José Carreras C3–C5, Luciano Pavarotti C3–C5 |
| Countertenor | G3–G5 | G3–C4 | Sam Smith G2–C6, Philip Bailey G2–D6, King Diamond F2–D6 |
| Contralto | F3–F5 | G4–B4 | Mahalia Jackson E3–F5, Judy Garland F3–D#5, Mercedes Sosa E3–E5 |
| Mezzo-soprano | A3–A5 | A4–C5 | Sinéad O'Connor F3–A5, Sutton Foster F3–A5, Ayumi Hamasaki F3–A#5 |
| Soprano | C4–C6 | C5–E5 | Julie Andrews G3–C6, Leontyne Price G3–C6, Montserrat Caballé G3–C6 |
Example singers are not the most famous of each category — they are the three whose cited ranges sit closest to the conventional band, which is what makes them illustrative rather than exceptional. Their figures are commonly cited approximations compiled from recordings and public discussion, not lab measurements. For basses the library holds 3 voices or fewer, so those rows are the whole population rather than a selection from it — true to the record, in which these categories really are that rare, but not a claim that the singers named are typical. A countertenor's working transition is the crossing out of full voice into the falsetto-family register the voice then sings above — a different event from the shifts listed for the other categories, and the one figure here that varies most from singer to singer.
Every voice type, one at a time
- What is a bass's vocal range?
- A bass is the lowest male category, built on weight and depth rather than reach. The conventional bass range is E2–E4 — two octaves, the span these categories are traditionally defined across. The passaggio, where the voice changes gear between registers, usually falls around G3–C4. Range and voice type are different measurements, though: the type describes where a voice sits comfortably, not the furthest notes it can reach. The 3 basses in Suede Sing's library of 420 singers carry cited ranges running D#1 to F5, well outside the conventional band at both ends.
- What is a bass-baritone's vocal range?
- A bass-baritone is a bass's bottom with a baritone's working middle, common in storytelling styles. The conventional bass-baritone range is F#2–F#4 — two octaves, the span these categories are traditionally defined across. The passaggio, where the voice changes gear between registers, usually falls around A3–D4. Range and voice type are different measurements, though: the type describes where a voice sits comfortably, not the furthest notes it can reach. The 8 bass-baritones in Suede Sing's library of 420 singers carry cited ranges running D2 to A#4, well outside the conventional band at both ends.
- What is a baritone's vocal range?
- A baritone is the most common male speaking-range voice, sitting between bass and tenor. The conventional baritone range is A2–A4 — two octaves, the span these categories are traditionally defined across. The passaggio, where the voice changes gear between registers, usually falls around B3–E4. Range and voice type are different measurements, though: the type describes where a voice sits comfortably, not the furthest notes it can reach. The 67 baritones in Suede Sing's library of 420 singers carry cited ranges running D#1 to D#7, well outside the conventional band at both ends.
- What is a tenor's vocal range?
- A tenor is the highest standard male category, and the default voice of recorded popular music. The conventional tenor range is C3–C5 — two octaves, the span these categories are traditionally defined across. The passaggio, where the voice changes gear between registers, usually falls around D4–G4. Range and voice type are different measurements, though: the type describes where a voice sits comfortably, not the furthest notes it can reach. The 149 tenors in Suede Sing's library of 420 singers carry cited ranges running F1 to C8, well outside the conventional band at both ends.
- What is a countertenor's vocal range?
- A countertenor is a male voice working in the alto or mezzo range, usually through developed falsetto. The conventional countertenor range is G3–G5 — two octaves, the span these categories are traditionally defined across. A countertenor's working transition is the crossing out of full voice into the falsetto-family register the voice then sings above — a different event from the shifts listed for the other categories, and the one figure here that varies most from singer to singer. It is usually placed around G3–C4. Range and voice type are different measurements, though: the type describes where a voice sits comfortably, not the furthest notes it can reach. The 4 countertenors in Suede Sing's library of 420 singers carry cited ranges running F2 to C7, well outside the conventional band at both ends.
- What is a contralto's vocal range?
- A contralto is the lowest female category, prized for weight and darkness in the low middle. The conventional contralto range is F3–F5 — two octaves, the span these categories are traditionally defined across. The passaggio, where the voice changes gear between registers, usually falls around G4–B4. Range and voice type are different measurements, though: the type describes where a voice sits comfortably, not the furthest notes it can reach. The 32 contraltos in Suede Sing's library of 420 singers carry cited ranges running F2 to C#6, well outside the conventional band at both ends.
- What is a mezzo-soprano's vocal range?
- A mezzo-soprano is the middle female category, and the home of most modern pop belting. The conventional mezzo-soprano range is A3–A5 — two octaves, the span these categories are traditionally defined across. The passaggio, where the voice changes gear between registers, usually falls around A4–C5. Range and voice type are different measurements, though: the type describes where a voice sits comfortably, not the furthest notes it can reach. The 97 mezzo-sopranos in Suede Sing's library of 420 singers carry cited ranges running F2 to C7, well outside the conventional band at both ends.
- What is a soprano's vocal range?
- A soprano is the highest female category, with the most headroom above the staff. The conventional soprano range is C4–C6 — two octaves, the span these categories are traditionally defined across. The passaggio, where the voice changes gear between registers, usually falls around C5–E5. Range and voice type are different measurements, though: the type describes where a voice sits comfortably, not the furthest notes it can reach. The 60 sopranos in Suede Sing's library of 420 singers carry cited ranges running F2 to G7, well outside the conventional band at both ends.
- What is the difference between vocal range and voice type?
- They are two different measurements and neither one implies the other. Vocal range is the distance between the lowest and highest notes a singer can produce at all — a pair of extremes, often one-off moments on a record. Voice type is a judgment about tessitura: the band of pitches where the voice sits comfortably for a long time, together with its timbre and weight. A soprano with a practiced low extension can show a lower floor than a contralto who never records down there, and neither label is wrong. This is why a range test tells you your range but can only estimate your type.
- How do I find out my own voice type?
- Sing from your lowest comfortable note to your highest and back, and note where the voice is easy rather than where it stops. Suede Sing's free browser range test at https://sing.suedeai.ai/range does this in about sixty seconds and reports your lowest note, your highest note, your span in semitones, and the voice type that range best fits. Treat the type as a starting shelf, not a verdict: voices reclassify with training, with age, and with repertoire, and plenty of working tenors spent their first years labelled baritone.
- What is a passaggio?
- The passaggio is the pitch zone where a singing voice changes gear between registers — it runs from where the voice has to start shedding weight up to where chest voice stops working the way it did and a lighter production has to take over. It is a few notes wide rather than a single note, and it is felt as a break, a wobble, or a sudden need to push. Each voice type has its own zone: roughly G3–C4 for a bass, B3–E4 for a baritone, D4–G4 for a tenor, A4–C5 for a mezzo-soprano, and C5–E5 for a soprano. Most of the difficulty in a song lives at or just under the singer's passaggio, which is why two singers with identical ranges can find completely different songs hard.
- Voice types in the wild — the atlas chapter behind this page: why a pop mezzo and an opera mezzo are different claims, and how to guess your own type without a teacher. Free.
- The free range test — sixty seconds in the browser gives you your own two numbers to read this table with.
- All 420 singers — or jump to basses, bass-baritones, baritones, tenors, countertenors, contraltos, mezzo-sopranos and sopranos.
- The glossary — passaggio, tessitura, fach, belt and the rest, defined.
Voice categories are guides borrowed from choral and operatic practice, not boxes, and plenty of singers are filed differently by different sources. Nothing here is medical advice — a voice that hurts, stays hoarse, or loses easy notes is a question for a doctor or a speech-language pathologist, not a practice plan.