# Tenor - Baritone - Bass: where are the boundaries? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 9, 2000, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tenor-baritone-bass-where-are-the-boundaries/36245 "2000-10-09T12:25:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KenP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c0e974/32.png) [@KenP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KenP)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tenor-baritone-bass-where-are-the-boundaries/36245/1 "2000-10-09T12:25:32Z")
I know the general idea, that tenor, baritone, and bass are high-, medium-, and low-pitched male voices. But is there a more specific definition? A test? To be a tenor, must you be able to sing a certain high note and to be a bass, must you be able to sing a certain low note? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![SaxFace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SaxFace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaxFace)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tenor-baritone-bass-where-are-the-boundaries/36245/2 "2000-10-09T15:10:29Z")
Well, I don’t know about singing, but the following are the ranges for saxophones (if I’m wrong on these, Uke or Uncle Beer, please let me know): Baritone Very Low C - Medium Ab Tenor Low Ab - High Eb Alto (pitched an octive higher than baritone) Low Ab - High Ab Soprano is pitched an octave higher than Tenor (Ab - Eb) I would assume that one in a choir would be placed according to the highest note he can safely hit. Sometimes even on saxophones, the highest and lowest notes can’t be blown until a certain level of skill is attained. ---
**Author:** ![SaxFace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SaxFace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaxFace)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tenor-baritone-bass-where-are-the-boundaries/36245/3 "2000-10-09T15:13:16Z")
Shoot, I hate saying very low or low or medium or high. I think there’s another way to write the range (numbers?) but I can’t remember my music theory anymore. I hope that offers some sort of guidance, however. ---
**Author:** ![LazarusLong42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@LazarusLong42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LazarusLong42)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tenor-baritone-bass-where-are-the-boundaries/36245/4 "2000-10-09T16:46:02Z")
Alto: F below middle C – D above high C Tenor: C below middle C – G above middle C Baritone: G below low C – F above middle C Bass: F below low C – E above middle C (Low C:=one octave below middle C (131 Hz); High C:= one octave above middle C (524 Hz)) LL ---
**Author:** ![KenP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c0e974/32.png) [@KenP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KenP)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tenor-baritone-bass-where-are-the-boundaries/36245/5 "2000-10-09T18:32:01Z")
Thanks, but why are tenor, baritone, and bass so close at the upper end? And why are baritone and bass so close at the low end? Maybe I don’t understand the answer. ---
**Author:** ![Strainger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strainger/32/244_2.png) [@Strainger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strainger)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tenor-baritone-bass-where-are-the-boundaries/36245/6 "2000-10-10T00:19:08Z")
Baritone checking in here. My vocal range is from F below low C to F above middle C, full voice (i.e. no falsetto). If I practice, I can hit a G above middle C with full voice. A quick examination of my copy of “Alexander Nevsky” by Prokofiev shows that the highest note the Tenors have to hit in that piece is B above middle C (it is _ff_ at that point). The lowest note the Basses have to hit is C below low C (this _is_ a Russian piece, after all). I think baritone range is from low C to E above middle C in that piece. Some of the general things that separate me from the Basses and Tenors: In order to sing an E above middle C or higher with full voice, I generally have to belt the note out. A Tenor singing in this range would be able to vary his dynamics more and would be able to hit a few notes higher. I can hit a few notes lower than F below low C, but they don’t project at all. A Bass is more capable of projecting these notes and can hit a few notes lower. In general, you also want to take into account where the voice “dwells” (for lack of a better word) during a piece rather than the extremes of the range. In “Alexander Nevsky,” for example, the Tenors “dwell” around the D above middle C to G above middle C range, the Baritones “dwell” in the E above low C to B below middle C range, and the Basses “dwell” between G below low C and E above low C. Obviously nothing is written in stone here, just general guidelines.