tessitura

American  

[tes-i-toor-uh, tes-see-too-rah] / ˌtɛs ɪˈtʊər ə, ˌtɛs siˈtu rɑ /

noun

plural

tessituras, tessiture

1. the general pitch level or average range of a vocal or instrumental part in a musical composition.

   an uncomfortably high tessitura.

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tessitura British  

/ ˌtɛsɪˈtʊərə /

noun

1. the general pitch level of a piece of vocal music

   an uncomfortably high tessitura

2. the compass or range of a voice

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Etymology

Origin of tessitura

1890–95; < Italian: literally, texture < Latin textūra; see texture

Explanation

If you're a singer with a remarkably wide tessitura, the range of notes that you can sing without straining is impressive. You could comfortably sing a piece of music with very high and very low notes. Without training, the average person’s tessitura is only about six consecutive notes. That doesn't mean that they can't sing other notes at all; it just means that singing lower or higher notes is a strain. A piece or passage of music also has a tessitura, the range that a singer's voice stays within for most of the piece. A piece with a low tessitura has notes that are mostly in the lower part of a singer's range; one with a high tessitura has notes mostly in the higher part of a singer's range.

Example Sentences

Kennedy Center officials have explored moving its ticketing from a system called Tessitura, used by a number of the country’s opera houses, to Live Nation’s Ticketmaster, according to people familiar with the plans.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026