# "Normal" range and falsetto



## Dim7

Does your natural, modal voice range (bass, baritone, tenor) affect significantly your range in falsetto? Are there for example any countertenors who can sing in the soprano range but have bass as their normal range?


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## Kuntster

I have known a few countertenors that are actually basses in their normal range. So I think it just depends.


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## Dim7

Definately basses can be countertenors, but question is are they limited to a range that is similar to alto? Or can they go higher?


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## Kuntster

That I'm not sure of. The old friend of mine that was a countertenor/bass was really in an alto range.


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## Kuntster

that brings up an interesting question. Anyone can produce a tone that is that high, but it comes with the right training. 
For let's say, a bass that has large laryngeal cartilidge and vocal folds. It takes much more chest compression, almost physically impossible, to open the vocal folds that are extremely adducted. 
The cricoid muscles can be trained to adduct the vocal folds at very high pressure, and -----tension and mass are directly proportional to frequency. 
I'm glad you got me thinking about this question.


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## Bgroovy2

Truth be told, falsetto is normal range! there is nothing abnormal about it except the name. It is really a misnomer. Falsetto gets it's name from the false vocal chords that hang losely above the normal vocal chords. It was once thought that these produced the upper tones of the male voice but investigation has proven that to be wrong. Falsetto comes from the same set of vocal chords. The difference is the mucsles being used to apply tension to them. In a really good tenor voice, you should hear no difference in timbre as he goes into his upper range. That is called a "blended" voice where both sets of muscles work together, the upper leading the way with support form the chest register. This is a voice that has been properly developed. The only difference, say between Frankie Valley and Poverati is one of delveloped vocal muscles. They both sing in the same range! The norm for a voice developed this way is about three to three and a half octives. A well deveoped male voice will have the capability to sing any male part in the chorus and even alto at times.


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## Dim7

Are you basically saying that there's no such thing as falsetto really? It just that in the upper range, timbre changes easily (but not necessarily if the vocalist is skilled) to something that we often usually "falsetto", but there's no precise difference in terms of technique with falsetto and so-called "normal" singing voice?


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## Bgroovy2

In a word, yes. There are two type of singers, one registor or two registor. The average pop singer is a one registor singer with a very limited range. For the normal guy, it takes paitence and years of practice to blend both registors together. There are however folks that just naturally sing with both registors. One name that comes to mind is Jose Cura. His high C sounds completley baritone but you can't sing a C without engaging the head registor. It takes alot of work but is well worth the effort to sing with a blended voice!


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## michael walsh

Check out Ivan Rebroff; the Russian - German singer


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## dmg

Bgroovy2 said:


> In a really good tenor voice, you should hear no difference in timbre as he goes into his upper range. That is called a "blended" voice where both sets of muscles work together, the upper leading the way with support form the chest register. This is a voice that has been properly developed.


This is correct. A good, well-developed tenor voice can move between ranges seamlessly.


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## Saturnus

I once had a fine falsetto, but since I began singing tenor in choirs it's been getting smaller and smaller (while the range of my normal voice expands upwards) and now only consists of the tone b'. I have no idea why or if this is normal.


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## Lukecash12

Are you kidding me? That's fantastic.


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## dmg

That is great Saturnus. With more practice/training, your 'normal' voice will assimilate that B.


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## Saturnus

That's relieving to know  , I was afraid I was damaging my voice with some stupid amateur technique I might had been using (I haven't learned much about singing).


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## Lukecash12

No, you're fine. You just make me jealous as hell, that's all


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## jurianbai

I need some term clarification. What is a head voice? is it similar to falsetto?

question 2, is 'chest voice' an acceptable term to address all the 'classical' voice (sopran,alto,tenor,bass etc.). what is the term to address the pop/rock/voice?what a proper term to address voice of Michael Jackson, W.Houston, Axl Rose (GnR) voice?

thanks.


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## tenor02

jurianbai said:


> I need some term clarification. What is a head voice? is it similar to falsetto?


 it's a way to describe the mix voice, but it's usually used to give young kids an idea of how much air they need and the placement.



> question 2, is 'chest voice' an acceptable term to address all the 'classical' voice (sopran,alto,tenor,bass etc.).


 imo: no. it's technically correct because classical singers train to have a flawless seam between the different parts of the voice -- however most of the singing is done in the "head voice"



> what is the term to address the pop/rock/voice?what a proper term to address voice of Michael Jackson, W.Houston, Axl Rose (GnR) voice?
> thanks.


there are a few different types of pop singers; the most common being a style known as "belting" (think almost any rock singer, or pop for that matter) and then there are falsetto singers (see the beegee's and other groups from that era). then you have (my person favorite): screamo and hardcore singers


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## jurianbai

Ok now your answer give me a mixed up again. I was referring to these two video. The girl are indicating the falsetto is = head voice, and the rocker guy clearly demonstrated that these two are different.

Video 1

Video 2


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## tenor02

ahh i see. (it's a debate) a lot of people dont believe that the female voice can produce a true falsetto. from what i can tell, the lady in the video just correctly placed her soft pallet to allow the resonance to move from the back of the throat (chest voice) into the proper placement. 

Falsetto is created when the edges of the vocal chords are engaged, not the full chords, which makes it seem like a second, or "false" pare of chords. guys have falsetto because their vocal folds are thicker = they have more of the flimsy edge that creates the falsetto.


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## Lyricsop

Dim7 said:


> Does your natural, modal voice range (bass, baritone, tenor) affect significantly your range in falsetto? Are there for example any countertenors who can sing in the soprano range but have bass as their normal range?


To answer your questions, no falsetto will not ever be affected because the voice range is bass, baritone or tenor if the technique is there but often what happens with singers who lack formal classical vocal training is the lack of understanding of how to transverse the pesagio then again trans versing into the Tessitura which classical vocalists are taught how to do. The term Counter Tenor is a fancy term for a male soprano, many counter tenors have no problems hitting a four octave range above middle C as well as below middle 
C. Keep in mind that if a male is a Counter Tenor while he can easily transverse all of the octave ranges within the Tenor/soprano range he never will be a bass and is physically incapable of singing bass if he is a true Counter Tenor or Tenor.


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## Lyricsop

jurianbai said:


> Ok now your answer give me a mixed up again. I was referring to these two video. The girl are indicating the falsetto is = head voice, and the rocker guy clearly demonstrated that these two are different.
> 
> Video 1
> 
> Video 2


Falsetto (Italian diminutive of falso, "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part. Commonly cited in the context of singing, falsetto, a characteristic of phonation by both men and women, is also one of four main spoken vocal registers recognized by speech pathology.

The falsetto voice-with its characteristic breathy, flute-like sound relatively free of overtones-is more limited than its modal counterpart in both dynamic variation and tone quality.[1] The term falsetto is most often used in the context of singing to refer to a type of vocal phonation that enables the singer to sing notes beyond the vocal range of the normal or modal voice.[2]

Keep in mind that Falsetto is usually common in the lower voice ranges such as alto, bass, baritone and tenor as a general rule. The Soprano range on the other hand normally has a high range.


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## Lyricsop

jurianbai said:


> I need some term clarification. What is a head voice? is it similar to falsetto?
> 
> question 2, is 'chest voice' an acceptable term to address all the 'classical' voice (sopran,alto,tenor,bass etc.). what is the term to address the pop/rock/voice?what a proper term to address voice of Michael Jackson, W.Houston, Axl Rose (GnR) voice?
> 
> thanks.


Question 1: Head Voice

he first recorded mention of the term head voice was around the 13th century, when it was distinguished from the throat and the chest voice (pectoris, guttoris, capitis - at this time it is likely head voice referred to the falsetto register) by the writers Johannes de Garlandia and Jerome of Moravia.[2] The term was later adopted within bel canto, the Italian opera singing method, where it was identified as the highest of three vocal registers: the chest, passagio and head registers. This approach is still taught by some vocal pedagogists today.[3]

However as knowledge of human physiology has increased over the past two hundred years, so has the understanding of the physical process of singing and vocal production. As a result, many vocal pedagogists have redefined or even abandoned the use of the term head voice.[3] In particular, the use of the term head register has become controversial since vocal registration is more commonly seen today as a product of laryngeal function. For this reason, many vocal pedagogists argue that it is meaningless to speak of registers being produced in the head. The vibratory sensations which are felt in the head are resonance phenomena and should be described in terms related to vocal resonance, not to registers. These vocal pedagogists prefer the term "head voice" over the term "head register". These vocal pedagogists also hold that many of the problems which people identify as register problems are really problems of resonance adjustment. This helps to explain the controversy over this terminology. Also, the term head register is not used within speech pathology and is not one of the four main vocal registers identified by speech pathologists.[1] The following is an overview of the two predominant views on head voice within vocal pedagogy.
[edit] Differing views on head voice
[edit] Head voice and vocal registration

One prevailing practice within vocal pedagogy is to divide both men and women's voices into three registers. Men's voices are divided into "chest register", "head register", and "falsetto register" and woman's voices into "chest register", "middle register", and "head register". According to this practice, singing in the head register feels to the singer as if the tone is resonating in his or her head (rather than primarily in the chest or throat). According to an early 20th century book written by David Clippinger, all voices have a head register, whether bass or soprano.[4]

Clippinger claims that males and females switch registers at the same absolute pitches. He also states that at about E flat or E above middle C the tenor passes from what is usually called open to covered tone, but which might better be called from chest to head voice. At the same absolute pitches the alto or soprano passes from the chest to the middle register. According to Clippinger there is every reason to believe that the change in the mechanism for male voices into head register is the same as that which occurs in the female voice as it goes into the middle register at the same pitches.[5]

The contemporary vocal pedagogy instructor Bill Martin seconds the view that the change from chest voice to head voice occurs at around E4 in all voices, including the bass, but Martin states in the coloratura soprano it is more likely to occur at F4.[6] A recent book by a former teacher at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and a vocal pedagogy teacher, Richard Miller; states that in the "tenore lyrico" the higher part of the singing voice above the secondo passaggio at G4 extending upwards is referred to as "full voice in head," or voce piena in testa, effectively stating the head register begins at G4 in the "tenore lyrico," not at E4.[7] According to Singing For Dummies, the bass changes from chest voice into head voice around A3 or A♭3 below Middle C and changes into his falsetto voice around D4 or C♯4 above Middle C.[8]

In the head register (which is above the chest register), some of the bottom end leaves the voice, but it's still, according to Martin, a voice capable of much power.[9]

Explanations for the physiological mechanisms behind the head voice can alter from voice teacher to voice teacher. This is because, according to Clippinger, "In discussing the head voice it is the purpose to avoid as much as possible the mechanical construction of the instrument".[10]

However, not all vocal teachers agree with this view. Thomas Appell's 1993 book Can You Sing a HIGH C Without Straining?[11] aimed to refute the theory that all singers switch registers at the same absolute pitch. Appell defined chest voice as resonance below the vocal folds and head voice as resonance above the vocal folds. He recorded examples of male and female singers changing from chest voice to head voice at different pitches in an attempt to prove that the transition pitch is a function of the intensity of the vocal tone and is not absolute. At higher vocal cord tension (intensity of singing), Appell shows that the pitch at which a singer transitions from chest to head voice will be higher. At lower vocal cord tension (intensity of singing), Appell shows that the pitch at which a singer transitions from chest to head voice will be lower.
[edit] Head voice and vocal resonation
Main articles: Vocal resonation and Vocal registration

This view believes that since all registers originate in laryngeal function, it is meaningless to speak of registers being produced in the head. The vibratory sensations which are felt in the head are resonance phenomena and should be described in terms related to resonance, not to registers. These vocal pedagogists prefer the term "head voice" over the term register and divide the human voice into four registers: the vocal fry register, the modal register, the falsetto register, and the whistle register. This view is more consistent with modern understandings of human physiology and in keeping with stroboscope videos of laryngeal function during vocal phonation.[1] Tarneaud says, "during singing, the vibration of the vocal folds impresses periodic shakes on the laryngeal cartilage which transmits them to the bones in the thorax via the laryngeal depressors, and to the bony structures in the head via the laryngeal elevators. Singers feel these shakes in the form of thoracic and facial vibrations". These internal phonatory sensations produced by laryngeal vibrations are called "resonance" by singers and teachers of singing.[12] There are seven parts of the human body that act as resonators and of those seven the three most effective resonators that help amplify and create the most pleasing sounds are all located in the head: the pharynx, the oral cavity, and the nasal cavity.[1]
[edit] Not falsetto

Resonances and registration aside, the term "head voice" is commonly used to mean "high notes that are not falsetto or strained". For example when Pavarotti or Stevie Wonder slides from chest voice to a high C5 in full, balanced voice, this is referred to as "head voice".

Beginning singers who have difficulty controlling their vocal break need to be taught to eliminate and/or control the physiological conditions associated with falsetto or strain, and "head voice" is a term used to describe this process.[13]

High notes that are sung with balanced physiology do tend to have better resonance than falsetto or strained notes, so this definition does not usually contradict the other two.

Question 2: Correct Term for addressing all classical voice parts:

Chest voice is more of a voice register rather than a voice part. No one voice range is ever classified as chest voice usually these ranges are classified in their prospective voice range such as: Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone and Bass rather than Chest Voice.


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## Lyricsop

tenor02 said:


> ahh i see. (it's a debate) a lot of people dont believe that the female voice can produce a true falsetto. from what i can tell, the lady in the video just correctly placed her soft pallet to allow the resonance to move from the back of the throat (chest voice) into the proper placement.
> 
> Falsetto is created when the edges of the vocal chords are engaged, not the full chords, which makes it seem like a second, or "false" pare of chords. guys have falsetto because their vocal folds are thicker = they have more of the flimsy edge that creates the falsetto.


Usually it is the alto, tenor-excluding (counter-tenor-male soprano), baritone and base who all have to rely on falsetto for hitting notes above their ranges but the counter-tenor and soprano's naturally have this ability as a general rule.


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## mwmiller

this post interests me because today I auditioned (after several years of not singing with a chorale) for the El Paso Conservatory of Music. As I vocalized I could sense the jump into falsetto voice and felt a total loss of control! I just feel so much more comfortable singing in my own range. What are some exercises I can do to project with confidence at the upper register?


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## Kagayaku

For me (a tenor), venturing into the high range from the passagio I can get 3 types of sounds:

1. A thin, soft and breathy sound generated from lots of air travelling through the folds, what most would call falsetto
2. A light, focused and projected sound - is what Richard Miller (author of the book "Training Tenor Voices") calls a "reinforced falsetto" or "white head voice". You get this from better approximation of the vocal folds and supported stream of air
3. A more manly sound which blends with chest voice - get this from adding chest connection

Usually lower voiced male parts (basses and baritones) have a more extended falsetto due to the vocal cords

hope this helps?


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## AlbaCountertenor

Lyricsop said:


> To answer your questions, no falsetto will not ever be affected because the voice range is bass, baritone or tenor if the technique is there but often what happens with singers who lack formal classical vocal training is the lack of understanding of how to transverse the pesagio then again trans versing into the Tessitura which classical vocalists are taught how to do. The term Counter Tenor is a fancy term for a male soprano, many counter tenors have no problems hitting a four octave range above middle C as well as below middle
> C. Keep in mind that if a male is a Counter Tenor while he can easily transverse all of the octave ranges within the Tenor/soprano range he never will be a bass and is physically incapable of singing bass if he is a true Counter Tenor or Tenor.


What do you mean exactly by a true countertenor? As far as I'm aware pretty much every professional countertenor around today is a bass/baritone employing false cord production, in other words, what most people would incorrectly identify as falsetto. Scholl, Daniels, Kowalski et al. It's no accident that they are all natural bass/baritones as they have the length of vocal cord required to have a good range using the edges of the vocal folds. The following is a good article on countertenor vocal production:

http://blog.counterpointspublishing.com/2011/04/countertenor-technique-an-introduction-to-concepts/

Unless you're someone like Radu Marian or Michael Maniaci you will use what is incorrectly called falsetto to hit notes in the mezzo/soprano range. I guess you mean by a true countertenor anyone who has some kind of hormonal or endocrinological condition that has prevented the affect of puberty on the male voice. These guys are very rare and as I've said there's only 2 of them that I am aware that publicly perform.


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## xjian77

AlbaCountertenor said:


> Unless you're someone like Radu Marian or Michael Maniaci you will use what is incorrectly called falsetto to hit notes in the mezzo/soprano range. I guess you mean by a true countertenor anyone who has some kind of hormonal or endocrinological condition that has prevented the affect of puberty on the male voice. These guys are very rare and as I've said there's only 2 of them that I am aware that publicly perform.


The term "countertenor" originated from "countra-tenor altus". By this definition, a "countertenor" sings at a fourth or fifth above a "tenor". Radu Marian and Michael Maniaci, along with Paulo Abel do Nascimento and Jimmy Scott, have unbroken voices, and operate an octave about a "tenor" as "sopranists".

A "true countertenor" is a tenorino or a tenor altino, whose secondo passaggio is at A#4 or slightly higher, which is about a fourth to a spinto tenor (F4). It is uncommon to find they in the classical genre, as their voice is usually too light for opera. 
In the classical genre, most tenorinos can perform "haute-contra" repertoire. You can compare a tenorino and a falsettist below.









A few tenorinos in the classical genre can access Eb5 or E5 with ease, and can perform alto repertoire. Again, you can compare a tenorino and a falsettist below.









The timbre of a tenorino can be quite different from a typical mature male. It can resemble either a boy alto or a contralto.









However, it is most likely that you can find them in the popular music genre. For example, Jon Anderson has been active for more than 50 years, and is still going strong.




Tenorinos are quite easy to be spotted out, as their speaking voice is androgynous, close to a contralto.


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