Vocalist.org archive


From:  Tako Oda <toda@m...>
Tako Oda <toda@m...>
Date:  Tue Mar 13, 2001  5:27 pm
Subject:  Who put the false in falsetto? WAS: What's a countertenor?


Reg Boyle <bandb@n...>
Reg Boyle <bandb@n...>
>
> But Ken and Tako, it's easy to see the origin. It is not the voice
> even remotely similar to the persons usual speaking voice. Often
> a bass or a baritone, right, rarely a tenor?

Not true anymore. Daniels, Asawa, Mera, Ragin - some of the biggest names
started out life as tenors. In the early days, I suspect there wasn't much
impetus for a tenor to make the switch, because being a tenor is more
lucrative than being a baritone, all else being equal.

The high male voice does not sound too much like the normal speaking voice,
but as we've said before, there is not much relationship between a
coloratura soprano's voice and her speaking voice either! It's all about
gender - women are expected to be feminine, as in opposite of masculine,
which means not-bass, which is the epitome of testosterone. Some women
speak in their middle head voice (some men do too), but no one speaks in
upper head voice! (Actually, medieval Japanese noblewomen were expected to,
but that only proves my point about genderism)

Tako


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