The term is most often used today within the context of choral music in reference to youthful singers.
The American Choral Directors Association defines a treble as "a singer, both male and female, ages eight to sixteen".
At this time choral music written for the Church of England was often voiced in five parts with TrMATB (Treble, Meane, Alto, Tenor, Bass) being one of the most common voicings utilized by Thomas Tallis and his contemporaries.
The term was used in operas, cantatas, choral works, and other compositions to refer to three different kinds of singers: adult women, boy sopranos, and castrati.
[4] The term is still used by opera composers today when a role requires a child vocalist.