Head voice

Falsetto
Throughout history, the term falsetto has had
various meanings for different groups of users,
leading to a great deal of confusion about how
to define it. Most commonly in the elite
professional male singing voice, falsetto denotes
a specific timbre or vocal sound (differentiated
from head voice, or voce piena in testa) in the
male upper-range that is imitative of upper-
range female voice quality, although it is not
solely such. The term itself – derived from the
Italian word for “false” - suggests a departure
from timbre reality; from true or legitimate
vocal timbre.
The term falsetto sometimes refers to the vocal
register occupying the frequency range just
above the modal (or chest) register and
overlapping with it by approximately one
octave. This definition is misleading, however,
as falsetto is not a vocal register by definition.
Many voice teachers incorrectly use the terms
“falsetto” and “head voice” interchangeably,
inaccurately labeling any pitch produced above
a male singer’s primo passaggio falsetto.
Falsetto then becomes confused with full,
legitimate head voice, or assumed to be the
same thing.
Although falsetto is a type of tonal quality that
does indeed run "parallel" to, or alongside, the
male head register in terms of range, the two
occuring through roughly the same range of
pitches, falsetto and head voice do not refer to
the same mode of phonation. They are produced
by employing different techniques and have
different sounds. In both speaking and singing,
falsetto is more limited in dynamic variation and
tone quality than both head voice and chest
voice.
In falsetto production, the vocalis muscle are
inactive and lengthened tremendously by the
action of the cricothyroid muscles, which are
nearly at their maximum contraction. The mass
corresponding to the innermost part of the
thyro-arytenoid muscle remains still and
motionless. The unique sound of falsetto is
produced by the air blowing over the very thin
edges of the thyroarytenoids, and the pitch is
controlled mostly by a regulation of the breath
flow. The very thin edges of the lengthened
folds, which do not display any tension in
opposition to the stretching action of the
thyroarytenoids, are easily blown open by the
breath and therefore offer little resistance to the
breath flow. (The extreme membrenous edges -
the edges furthest from the middle of the gap
between the folds – appear to be the only parts
vibrating.) Falsetto is relatively weak in
overtones and produces no Singer’s Formant.
Head voice, on the other hand, is richer in
overtones and has the potential to produce a
substantial Singer’s Formant, or ‘ring’. In head
voice, the thyroarytenoids create a ‘tighter’ and
more substantial edge to the vocal folds, which,
in turn, resist the flow of breath, allowing more
noticeable pressure below the vocal folds
(subglottal breath pressure) to build. The male
singer can easily sense this difference in breath
pressure between the true head voice and the
falsetto, and may feel a sense of muscular relief
when he changes from full voice to falsetto
timbre.
The difference between falsetto and head voice
is primarily a matter of timbre or specific vocal
technique used to achieve the tone that is unique
to falsetto. Although it is possible to reinforce
falsetto timbre, making it less raspy or breathy
in quality through altering relationships among
the muscles of the glottal opening/closure
system, neither the function nor the resultant
tone is identical to that of full head voice.
Substituting falsetto for full (head) voice in any
male category, or relying upon falsetto for high-
lying pitches rather than avoiding the discipline
required in order to develop full head voice
tones in the upper register is not a good practice,
as it suggests an inability to achieve a
completely balanced vocal scale.
Falsetto also refers to a vocal technique that
enables the male singer to sing notes beyond the
vocal range of the normal (chest, modal or
natural) voice. Falsetto is produced when the
vocal folds are intentionally allowed to remain
slightly separated during phonation. (Vocal fold
elongation still takes place in male falsetto, but
vocal fold adduction during falsetto remains
slacker and incomplete.) The length or size of
the oval orifice, or separation between the folds,
can vary, but it is known to get bigger in size as
the pressure of air pushed out is increased.
There are various techniques for producing this
tone, and research has revealed that different
singers may employ different amounts of vocal
fold mass or length, different degrees of glottal
closure and more or less reinforcement through
breath pressure during falsetto production (e.g.,
skilled singers maintain a smaller opening
between the folds than untrained singers do,
with the vocal folds coming in closer contact
with each other during each vibration cycle and
the arytenoid cartilages held in firmer
apposition, creating a clearer, less raspy falsetto
tone). In some singers, a phenomenon known as
damping appears, with the amount of glottal
opening becoming less and less as the pitch
rises, until only a tiny slit appears on the highest
pitches.
It is not standard practice to say that a female
singer is using a falsetto voice, because when a
woman’s vocal folds are not fully approximated,
her tone merely sounds breathy. Unlike the male
instrument, the female instrument is incapable
of producing a timbre in upper range that is
radically different from its full (head) voice
qualities. Furthermore, when energy and support
is reduced in the female voice, (as it is in the
male voice during falsetto), her tone is likely to
sound distorted.
Head Voice
The head register lies above the middle register
or zona di passaggio. The term “head voice” is
generally used to describe the feeling that the
resonance (sympathetic resonance) of singing is
occurring primarily in the head. It has a
characteristic “ringing” tone and modified
acoustics (modified vowel sounds).
Head voice (voce di testa) is sometimes called
the ‘lighter mechanism’ of the voice because
mass reduces as the vocal folds elongate. As a
result, most singers experience a sense of
‘ligthening’ in timbre as they enter the head
register. Head voice can be carried down and
maintained lower, into what would naturally be
the chest register with little to no risk to the
voice, although the tone of the voice will
become thinner at lower pitches and resonate
more poorly than it would if the natural (chest)
voice were being used for those same pitches.
Whistle (or Flageolet) Register
The whistle register, (typically occurring
between C6 and D7), is the highest register of
the human voice, and refers to the register above
the head register in female voices. Unlike the
other registers within the voice, it does not
begin at the same point, or absolute pitch, within
every female voice.
This register has a specific physiological
production that is different from that of the other
registers, and is so called because the timbre of
the notes that are produced from this register are
similar to that of a whistle. The quality of sound
that is produced is somewhat different from
conventional head voice, being excessively
bright and edgy. However, this female register
is thought to be an extension of head voice, and,
ideally, should differ little from head voice in
timbre in the well trained voice.
Women of all voice types can learn to use the
whistle register, although lower female voices,
such as true contraltos, may not be able to
access this register.
It may be beneficial for female singers to
practice flageolet because it encourages a full
extension of the vocal folds – at pitches above
C6, the folds become their thinnest, with
increased damping and diminished mass,
offering even more resistance to the exiting air –
because it will make high notes within standard
repertoire more accessible. In other words,
having access to the flageolet register adds
freedom to the performable upper range (head
register) because it will be easier to execute.