HUMAN VOICE
The human voice consists of sound made by a person using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, screaming or crying. The vocal folds in combination with the teeth, the tongue, and the lips, are capable of producing highly intricate arrays of sound, and vast differences in meaning can often be achieved through highly subtle manipulation of the sounds produced (especially in the expression of language). These differences can be in the individual noises produced, or in the overall tone in which they are uttered.
The tone of voice may suggest that a sentence is a question, even if grammatically it is not, and can display emotions such as anger, surprise, happiness. In a request, the tone can reveal much about how much one wants something, and whether it is asking a favor or more like an order. The tone of saying, for example, "I am sorry" can change the phrase's meaning dramatically: it may vary from a sincere request for forgiveness to implying something like, "I have the right to do this even if you do not like it".
Singers use the human voice as an instrument for creating music.
Voice registers
The human voice is a complex instrument. Humans have vocal cords which can loosen or tighten or change their thickness and over which breath can be transferred at varying pressures. The shape of chest and neck, the position of the tongue, and the tightness of otherwise unrelated muscles can be altered. Any one of these actions results in a change in pitch, volume, timbre, or tone of the sound produced.
One important categorization that can be applied to the sounds singers make relates to the register or the "voice" that is used. Singers refer to these registers according to the part of the body in which the sound most generally resonates, and which have correspondingly different tonal qualities. There are widely differing opinions and theories about what a register is, how they are produced and how many there are. The following definitions refer to the different ranges of the voice.
Chest voice
The chest voice is the register typically used in everyday speech. It is so called because it can produce the sensation of the sound coming from the upper chest. This is because lower frequency sounds have longer wavelengths, and resonate mostly in the larger cavity of the chest. A person uses the chest voice when singing in the majority of his or her range.
The tonal qualities of the chest voice are usually described as being rich or full, but can also be pushed or belted by shouting or screaming.
When talking about a singer's vocal range, usually only the chest voice is counted. When a singer or person shouts or screams, this is in the chest voice; however, screaming above a singer's natural range is highly damaging in long term overuse and should be brief and occasional.
Middle voice
The middle voice, also known as the "blend", is the term used to describe the range of notes which marks the crossover between the chest and head, or "falsetto" voice. It may be a distinct change (a passaggio) or a more gradual blending. With training, many singers can choose whether to sing notes in this range in the head or chest voice. In the male baritone this range falls between G3-E4, typically.
Head voice
The head voice is similar to falsetto, but usually sounds 'tighter' and less airy than falsetto. It is sometimes heard when a woman shouts or is highly excited, and is used less commonly by men unless they are deliberately accessing the range. To the untrained ear it can be difficult to distinguish between someone singing in falsetto or head voice.
Head voice is different from falsetto in that it is possible to connect it to the chest voice. That is, the singer's head voice & chest voice can be linked and sound bridged; in transition the voice can be trained to not cut out or make any audible changes in harmonics. Usually this involves clever use of delineation or other vocal tricks. The head register is accessible and can be developed and strengthened through proper training. Freddie Mercury is often cited as not having had any formal vocal training, yet his head voice was very well developed.
The tonal qualities of the head voice are usually described as being sweet, balladic, lilting, lyrical, or pure. It is often used in choir singing in adult men. However, with proper training, one can develop a more chest-like sounding head voice.
Nearly all technically competent contemporary male singers who have an extended range that goes beyond E above middle C use their head voice to sing the highest notes, and employ a mix between chest and head registers to sing the mid to high notes. Notable singers who use their head voice are Thom Yorke of the British band Radiohead, and the late Jeff Buckley who was also renowned for making heavy use of his falsetto register. Examples in rock are Sebastian Bach of Skid Row, and Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Audioslave. Since rock singers are required to sing with a more raw sounding voice, they often employ vocal belting to make their head voice sound harsher. Other notable male singers with well developed head registers include Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson.
Falsetto
Falsetto begins in the same range as the average untrained head voice, but the falsetto register typically goes higher (as far as C6 in some men). The physiological difference between headvoice and falsetto is the amount of vocal chords that vibrate. The physiology of someone singing in falsetto, is that only the thin edges seem to be used during; the internal mass of the vocal muscles seem to be motionless. In time, this falsetto, typically pale and fragile strengthens itself. [1] A contemporary singer who makes heavy use of his falsetto register is Chris Martin of the British band Coldplay. To the untrained ear it can be difficult to distinguish between someone singing in head voice or falsetto.
It is generally more obvious when men use it, but women, in the higher voices, usually use falsetto voice adjustments, however it does not tend to sound harsh in women, on the contrary it tends to sound articulated and feminine. It tends to be rather quiet at high notes in the register, except when there is amplification through careful practice, or a heavily compressed and amplified microphone setup. It is a quite distinct range from the head voice, and generally when singers describe their range they exclude the falsetto voice. A classical male singer who routinely sings using the falsetto is called a countertenor.
- ^ Of Vocal Registers by Gilles Denizot [1]
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