tenor, tenor voice (noun)

the adult male singing voice above baritone

tenor (noun)

the pitch range of the highest male voice

tenor (noun)

an adult male with a tenor voice

tenor (noun)

a settled or prevailing or habitual course of a person's life

"nothing disturbed the even tenor of her ways"

tenor, strain (adj)

the general meaning or substance of an utterance

"although I disagreed with him I could follow the tenor of his argument"

tenor (adj)

(of a musical instrument) intermediate between alto and baritone or bass

"a tenor sax"

tenor (adj)

of or close in range to the highest natural adult male voice

"tenor voice"

tenor (Noun)

Musical part or section that holds or performs the main melody, as opposed to the contratenor bassus and contratenor altus, who perform countermelodies.

tenor (Noun)

Musical range or section higher than bass and lower than alto.

tenor (Noun)

A person, instrument or group that performs in the tenor range.

tenor (Noun)

Tone, as of a conversation.

tenor (Noun)

The subject in a metaphor to which attributes are ascribed.

tenor (Adjective)

of or pertaining to the tenor part or range

Tenor

A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is one of the highest of the male voice types. The tenor's vocal range lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, and, the A above middle C. In solo work, this range extends up to, or "tenor high C." The low extreme for tenors is roughly A♭2. At the highest extreme, some tenors can sing up to two Fs above middle C. The term tenor is also applied to instruments, such as the tenor saxophone, to indicate their range in relation to other instruments of the same group. Within opera, the lowest note in the standard tenor repertoire is A2, but few roles fall below C3. The high extreme: a few tenor roles in the standard repertoire call for a "tenor C". Some of the few top Cs in the standard operatic repertoire are either optional or interpolated by tradition. However, the highest demanded note in the standard tenor operatic repertoire is D5. Some operatic roles for tenors require a darker timbre and fewer high notes. In the leggero repertoire the highest note is F5, therefore, very few tenors can, given the raising of pitch since its composition, have this role in their repertoire without transposition. A shift in pitch since the mid 19th century means that the few written top Cs would have in fact demanded a note at least a semitone lower than today's standard pitch.

Tenor

A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is widely defined to be B2, though some roles include an A♭2 (two A♭s below middle C). At the highest extreme, some tenors can sing up to the second F above middle C (F5). The tenor voice type is generally divided into the leggero tenor, lyric tenor, spinto tenor, dramatic tenor, heldentenor, and tenor buffo or spieltenor.