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In music, the term tessitura (Italian: texture) generally describes the most musically acceptable and comfortable timbre for a given voice or, less frequently, musical instrument. This broad definition is often interpreted to refer specifically to the pitch range that most frequently occurs within a given piece, or part, of music. For example, throughout the entirety of Wagner's Ring, the music written for the role of Siegfried ranges from C#3 to C5, but the tessitura is desribed as high because the tenor phrases are most often in the range of C4 to A4.

In musical notation, tessitura is the range of notes implied by a clef.

Melodic contour may also be considered to be an important aspect of vocal tessitura.

So it isn't just the range of pitches that is included in the concept of "tessitura", but also their arrangement. Examples of differences in tessitura include: does the piece have mostly sudden or gradual rises and falls in pitch; the relative number of very high or low notes, not just the total range; whether lines and phrases of music in the piece tend to rise or fall - the muscular tendencies of a singer may be more suited to one or the other direction. Speed of the changes in pitch is also a factor. The ability to sing pieces with fast or slow note-changes is related to the muscular tendencies of a singer. This difference may be similar to, or identical to, the distinction made in sports medicine between slow-twitch and fast-twitch muscular abilities.^{[citation needed]} Singers who can change pitch easily and gracefully may have difficulty singing long, sustained passages, and vice versa. Young singers need to learn this and until they do, may choose pieces which they can't sing well -- the tessitura needs to be considered.

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