Dear Diane, Les, and List:
--- In vocalist-temporary@yahoogroups.com, Clark_Diane <DCLARK@r...> wrote: > +++This is also the way I understand and work with falsetto and head voice. The falsetto is the unconnected, "feminine" sound, and it does not allow a crescendo into chest or singing down a scale without a break. The head voice always has the kernel of chest in it, and allows a smooth crescendo into the full chest mix.
Diane - that is clear and well stated. BUT - here is a different perspective.
Suppose I sing say E4, which is a few notes above middle C. Then I have no confusion, and it is just as you describe - if I sing a breathy falsetto, it is disconnected, and I cannot crescendo into my "full voice". If I sing in "head voice" - it is connected.
But, suppose we go higher - say Bb4 or higher. At this higher pitch, I can start in what feels like a "connected voice", or I can go over to the "dark side" (joke!) - I feel the voice do something different - and I can start in a lighter, headier voice. Now neither voice for me can crescendo very much at that high pitch. And, I can with both voices slide down into the full voice smoothly - but with the ligher voice I know am doing a bit of a switch, although it is almost imperceptible.
My interpretation, and the description in Kenneth Phillips "Teaching Kids to Sing" - is that adult men have at least 3 different possibilities in their upper range - the names are arbitary - I just picked something:
"Connected Head Voice" - as you described
"Pure Upper Register" - Phillips describes this as the same register as the high female voice, and says that except for countertenors and rock/non-classical singers, men do not typically perform in this voice. The pure upper register has less of the vocal folds vibrating - Phillips says it is mostly an edge vibration - but the tone is resonant, not breathy.
"Falsetto" - This is a breathy, non-resonant tone.
So I think that lower in the voice the distinction you describe is clear, but higher in the range things become more confused.
Cheers,
Michael Gordon
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