Saturday, November 1, 2008

Singing and the Head Voice

By Georgia Reader

Most singers are able to sing in the chest voice, but need to work on the head voice. For women, it is a very high pitched sound and for a man it is also a very high pitched sound that is called falsetto. A practicing singer needs to work on the bridge between the chest voice and the head voice so that it is a smooth, a seamless flow of sound.

The higher part of the vocal range is often called the head voice. When you sing at this level, the singer will feel the vibration in their head. This is felt by most singers above the roof of their mouth just behind the vocal cavity like tingling feeling in their throat.

If a singer attempts to sing with the head voice, there is a changeover point named the Passagio. This happens the pitches from the chest voice and head voice which are the central notes to the higher notes when you expand your range. The head register with the high notes can start after the middle register, after the Passagio.

There is less resistance to breath due to there being less of the folds. So the glottis does not open and close completely hence the beginning of the head voice. Most singers will in time adapt to using both elements of the voice which results in the mixing between chest and head registers.

If a singer uses the chest voice, the lower notes are sung and the head voice will be the higher notes that are sung. If you place your hand on your chest when you sing with the chest, the vibration will be felt in the throat and the chest. But the right way for singers to sing the chest voice is to purely experience the vibration in the chest area.

With perseverance and patience the head voice can grow. Most singers will attempt to sing an octave higher than a pitch in the chest voice to reach the head voice. With the correct breathing method the head voice can develop successfully.

When you sing with the head voice properly, there will be little or no vibration in the vocal cords. Sometimes it is very difficult to detect vibration if you sing with the head voice. A quick idea would be to put your hand on your head, because at times there may be a vibration there.

If you are taking voice lessons as a beginner, you may be classified in a temporary voice category that may not really describe your voice. Some singers think that since they can't sing the high pitches they may be an alto, for example. But in truth, they may not have studied the correct method to reach the head voice, so that after they do learn the head voice, they may be eventually classified as a soprano. - 15485

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