Falsetto
Encyclopedia
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register
and overlapping with it by approximately one octave
. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds
, in whole or in part. Commonly cited in the context of singing, falsetto, a characteristic of phonation
by both men and women, is also on speech pathology
.
The falsetto voice—with its characteristic breathy, flute-like sound relatively free of overtone
s—is more limited than its modal counterpart in both dynamic variation and tone quality. The term falsetto is most often used in the context of singing to refer to a type of vocal phonation that enables the singer to sing notes beyond the vocal range
of the normal or modal voice.
, or normal voice, and falsetto register differ primarily in the action of the vocal cords
. Production of the normal voice involves vibration of the entire vocal cord, with the glottis
opening first at the bottom and then at the top. Production of falsetto, on the other hand, vibrates only the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds while leaving each fold's body relatively relaxed. Transition from modal voice to falsetto occurs when each vocal cord's main body, or vocalis muscle
, relaxes, enabling the cricothyroid muscles
to stretch the vocal ligaments. William Vennard
describes this process as follows:
"With the vocalis muscles relaxed it is possible for the cricothyroids
to place great longitudinal tension upon the vocal ligaments. The tension can be increased in order to raise the pitch
even after the maximum length of the cords has been reached. This makes the vocal folds
thin so that there is negligible vertical phase difference. The vocalis muscles fall to the sides of the larynx
and the vibration take place almost entirely in the ligaments."
In the modal register, the vocal folds
(when viewed with a stroboscope) are seen to contact with each other completely during each vibration, closing the gap between them fully, if just for a very short time. This closure cuts off the escaping air. When the air pressure in the trachea
rises as a result of this closure, the folds are blown apart, while the vocal processes of the arytenoid cartilage
s remain in apposition
. This creates an oval-shaped gap between the folds and some air escapes, lowering the pressure inside the trachea. Rhythmic repetition of this movement, a certain number of times a second, creates a pitched note.
In falsetto, however, the vocal folds are seen to be blown apart and in untrained falsetto singers a permanent oval orifice is left in the middle between the edges of the two folds through which a certain volume of air escapes continuously as long as the register
is engaged (the singer is singing using the voice). In skilled countertenor
s, however, the mucous membrane of the vocal folds contact with each other completely during each vibration cycle. The arytenoid cartilages are held in firm apposition in this voice register also. 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.
The folds are made up of elastic and fatty tissue. The folds are covered on the surface by laryngeal
mucous membrane
which is supported deeper down underneath by the innermost fibres of the thyroarytenoid muscle
. In falsetto the extreme membranous edges, i.e. the edges furthest away from the middle of the gap between the folds, appear to be the only parts vibrating. The mass corresponding to the innermost part of the thyro-arytenoid muscle remains still and motionless.
Some singers feel a sense of muscular relief when they change from the modal register to the falsetto register.
Research has revealed that not all speakers and singers produce falsetto in exactly the same way. Some speakers and singers leave the cartilaginous portion of the glottis open (sometimes called mutational chink), and only the front two-thirds of the vocal ligaments enter the vibration. The resulting sound, which is typical of many adolescents, may be pure and flutelike, but is usually soft and anemic in quality. In others, the full length of the glottis opens and closes in each cycle. In still others, 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. The mutational chink type of falsetto is considered inefficient and weak, but there is little information available about the relative strengths and weaknesses of the other two types.
. Many books on the art of singing
completely ignore this issue, simply gloss over it, or insist that women do not have falsetto. This controversy, however, does not exist within the speech pathology
community and arguments against the existence of female falsetto do not align with current physiological evidence. Motion picture and video studies of laryngeal
action reveal that women can and do produce falsetto, and electromyographic
studies by several leading speech pathologists and vocal pedagogists provide further confirmation.
One possible explanation for this failure to recognize the female falsetto is the fact that the difference in timbre
and dynamic level between the modal and falsetto registers often is not as pronounced in female voices as it is in male voices. This is due in part to the difference in the length and mass of the vocal folds
and to the difference in frequency ranges. It is an established fact that women have a falsetto register and that many young female singers substitute falsetto for the upper portion of the modal voice
. Some vocal pedagogists believe that this failure to recognize the female falsetto voice has led to the misidentification of young contralto
s and mezzo-soprano
s as soprano
s, as it is easier for these lower voice types to sing in the soprano tessitura
using their falsetto register.
and head registers (pectoris, guttoris, capitis) they meant capitis to refer to what would be later called falsetto.
By the 16th century the term falsetto was common in Italy. The physician, Giovanni Camillo Maffei, in his book Discorso della voce e del modo d'apparare di cantar di garganta in 1562, explained that when a bass singer sang in the soprano range, the voice was called 'falsetto'.
The falsetto register is used by male countertenor
s to sing in the alto
and occasionally the soprano
range, and was the standard before women sang in choir
s. Falsetto is occasionally used by early music
specialists today, and regularly in British cathedral choirs by men who sing the alto line.
In opera
, it is believed that the chest voice
, middle voice and head voice
occur in women. The head voice of a man is, according to David A. Clippinger most likely equivalent to the middle voice of a woman. This may mean the head voice of a woman is a man's falsetto equivalent. Although, in contemporary teaching, some teachers no longer talk of the middle voice, choosing to call it the head voice as with men. Falsetto is not generally counted by classical purists as a part of the vocal range of anyone except countertenors. There are exceptions, however, such as the Bariton-Martin which uses falsetto (see baritone
article).
In Mexico, one of the greatest singers of falsete was Miguel Aceves Mejía
, a singer and actor in the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, known as the "Rey de Falsete", or "Falsetto King". He sang over a thousand songs, such as "La Malagueña, El Jinete, La Noche y Tu, and La Del Rebozo Blanco", many of which utilized falsetto. Falsetto has been used in Mexican songs for many generations.
Many Hawaiian songs
feature falsetto. In Hawaiian-style falsetto - called "ka leo ki'eki'e" - the singer, usually male, emphasizes the break between registers. Sometimes the singer exaggerates the break through repetition, as a yodel
. As with other aspects of Hawaiian music, falsetto developed from a combination of sources, including pre-European Hawaiian chanting, early Christian hymn singing and the songs and yodeling of immigrant cowboys during the Kamehameha Reign in the 1800s when cowboys were brought from Mexico to teach Hawaiians how to care for cattle.
Falsetto is also common in African folk music
, especially the South African
style called Mbube
, traditionally performed by an all-male a cappella
chorus.
There is a difference between the modern usage of the "head voice" term and its previous meaning in the renaissance as a type of falsetto, according to many singing professionals. The falsetto can be coloured or changed to sound different. It can be given classical styling to sound as male classical countertenor
s make it sound, or be sung in more contemporary musical styles.
. Falsetto does not connect to modal voice except at very low volumes, leading to vocal breaks
when transitioning from modal voice. Most trained singers have at least an octave of range that they can sing in either modal voice or falsetto. In the absence of modern vocal training to hold back the volume of modal voice, in this overlapping area a given pitch in modal voice will be louder than the same pitch sung in falsetto. The type of vocal cord
vibration that produces the falsetto voice precludes loud singing except in the highest tones of that register; it also limits the available tone colors because of the simplicity of its waveform. Modal voice is capable of producing much more complex waveforms and infinite varieties of tone color. Falsetto, however, does involve less physical effort by the singer than the modal voice and, when properly used, can make possible some desirable tonal effects.
The falsetto voice has a number of highly specialized uses within a musical context. The following list includes the most common ones:
sketches featuring the Pepperpots, saying "please don't", or the Saturday Night Live
sketch "Barry Gibb Talk Show
". Some people, however, speak frequently or entirely in the falsetto register. This behavior is identified by speech pathologists as a type of functional dysphonia
. Falsetto also describes the momentary, but often repeated, raised pitch emitted by pubescent boys undergoing voice change.
Modal voice
Modal voice is the vocal register used most frequently in speech and singing in most languages. It is also the term used in linguistics for the most common phonation of vowels...
and overlapping with it by approximately one octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds
Vocal folds
The vocal folds, also known commonly as vocal cords, are composed of twin infoldings of mucous membrane stretched horizontally across the larynx...
, in whole or in part. Commonly cited in the context of singing, falsetto, a characteristic of phonation
Phonation
Phonation has slightly different meanings depending on the subfield of phonetics. Among some phoneticians, phonation is the process by which the vocal folds produce certain sounds through quasi-periodic vibration. This is the definition used among those who study laryngeal anatomy and physiology...
by both men and women, is also on speech pathology
Speech and language pathology
Speech-Language Pathology specializes in communication disorders.The main components of speech production include: phonation, the process of sound production; resonance, opening and closing of the vocal folds; intonation, the variation of pitch; and voice, including aeromechanical components of...
.
The falsetto voice—with its characteristic breathy, flute-like sound relatively free of overtone
Overtone
An overtone is any frequency higher than the fundamental frequency of a sound. The fundamental and the overtones together are called partials. Harmonics are partials whose frequencies are whole number multiples of the fundamental These overlapping terms are variously used when discussing the...
s—is more limited than its modal counterpart in both dynamic variation and tone quality. The term falsetto is most often used in the context of singing to refer to a type of vocal phonation that enables the singer to sing notes beyond the vocal range
Vocal range
Vocal range is the measure of the breadth of pitches that a human voice can phonate. Although the study of vocal range has little practical application in terms of speech, it is a topic of study within linguistics, phonetics, and speech and language pathology, particularly in relation to the study...
of the normal or modal voice.
Physiological process
The modal registerModal voice
Modal voice is the vocal register used most frequently in speech and singing in most languages. It is also the term used in linguistics for the most common phonation of vowels...
, or normal voice, and falsetto register differ primarily in the action of the vocal cords
Vocal folds
The vocal folds, also known commonly as vocal cords, are composed of twin infoldings of mucous membrane stretched horizontally across the larynx...
. Production of the normal voice involves vibration of the entire vocal cord, with the glottis
Glottis
The glottis is defined as the combination of the vocal folds and the space in between the folds .-Function:...
opening first at the bottom and then at the top. Production of falsetto, on the other hand, vibrates only the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds while leaving each fold's body relatively relaxed. Transition from modal voice to falsetto occurs when each vocal cord's main body, or vocalis muscle
Thyroarytenoid muscle
The thyroarytenoid is a broad, thin muscle that lies parallel with and lateral to the vocal fold and that supports the wall of the ventricle and its appendix...
, relaxes, enabling the cricothyroid muscles
Arytenoid cartilage
The arytenoid cartilages are a pair of small three-sided pyramids which form part of the larynx, to which the vocal folds are attached...
to stretch the vocal ligaments. William Vennard
William Vennard
William Vennard was a famous American vocal pedagogist who devoted his life to researching the human voice and its use in singing. He was one of the driving forces behind a major shift within the field of vocal pedagogy during the middle of the 20th century...
describes this process as follows:
"With the vocalis muscles relaxed it is possible for the cricothyroids
Arytenoid cartilage
The arytenoid cartilages are a pair of small three-sided pyramids which form part of the larynx, to which the vocal folds are attached...
to place great longitudinal tension upon the vocal ligaments. The tension can be increased in order to raise the pitch
Pitch (music)
Pitch is an auditory perceptual property that allows the ordering of sounds on a frequency-related scale.Pitches are compared as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies,...
even after the maximum length of the cords has been reached. This makes the vocal folds
Vocal folds
The vocal folds, also known commonly as vocal cords, are composed of twin infoldings of mucous membrane stretched horizontally across the larynx...
thin so that there is negligible vertical phase difference. The vocalis muscles fall to the sides of the larynx
Larynx
The larynx , commonly called the voice box, is an organ in the neck of amphibians, reptiles and mammals involved in breathing, sound production, and protecting the trachea against food aspiration. It manipulates pitch and volume...
and the vibration take place almost entirely in the ligaments."
In the modal register, the vocal folds
Vocal folds
The vocal folds, also known commonly as vocal cords, are composed of twin infoldings of mucous membrane stretched horizontally across the larynx...
(when viewed with a stroboscope) are seen to contact with each other completely during each vibration, closing the gap between them fully, if just for a very short time. This closure cuts off the escaping air. When the air pressure in the trachea
Vertebrate trachea
In tetrapod anatomy the trachea, or windpipe, is a tube that connects the pharynx or larynx to the lungs, allowing the passage of air. It is lined with pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium cells with goblet cells that produce mucus...
rises as a result of this closure, the folds are blown apart, while the vocal processes of the arytenoid cartilage
Arytenoid cartilage
The arytenoid cartilages are a pair of small three-sided pyramids which form part of the larynx, to which the vocal folds are attached...
s remain in apposition
Apposition
Apposition is a grammatical construction in which two elements, normally noun phrases, are placed side by side, with one element serving to define or modify the other. When this device is used, the two elements are said to be in apposition...
. This creates an oval-shaped gap between the folds and some air escapes, lowering the pressure inside the trachea. Rhythmic repetition of this movement, a certain number of times a second, creates a pitched note.
Register (music)
In music, a register is the relative "height" or range of a note, set of pitches or pitch classes, melody, part, instrument or group of instruments...
is engaged (the singer is singing using the voice). In skilled countertenor
Countertenor
A countertenor is a male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of a contralto, mezzo-soprano, or a soprano, usually through use of falsetto, or far more rarely than normal, modal voice. A pre-pubescent male who has this ability is called a treble...
s, however, the mucous membrane of the vocal folds contact with each other completely during each vibration cycle. The arytenoid cartilages are held in firm apposition in this voice register also. 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.
The folds are made up of elastic and fatty tissue. The folds are covered on the surface by laryngeal
Larynx
The larynx , commonly called the voice box, is an organ in the neck of amphibians, reptiles and mammals involved in breathing, sound production, and protecting the trachea against food aspiration. It manipulates pitch and volume...
mucous membrane
Mucous membrane
The mucous membranes are linings of mostly endodermal origin, covered in epithelium, which are involved in absorption and secretion. They line cavities that are exposed to the external environment and internal organs...
which is supported deeper down underneath by the innermost fibres of the thyroarytenoid muscle
Thyroarytenoid muscle
The thyroarytenoid is a broad, thin muscle that lies parallel with and lateral to the vocal fold and that supports the wall of the ventricle and its appendix...
. In falsetto the extreme membranous edges, i.e. the edges furthest away from the middle of the gap between the folds, appear to be the only parts vibrating. The mass corresponding to the innermost part of the thyro-arytenoid muscle remains still and motionless.
Some singers feel a sense of muscular relief when they change from the modal register to the falsetto register.
Research has revealed that not all speakers and singers produce falsetto in exactly the same way. Some speakers and singers leave the cartilaginous portion of the glottis open (sometimes called mutational chink), and only the front two-thirds of the vocal ligaments enter the vibration. The resulting sound, which is typical of many adolescents, may be pure and flutelike, but is usually soft and anemic in quality. In others, the full length of the glottis opens and closes in each cycle. In still others, 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. The mutational chink type of falsetto is considered inefficient and weak, but there is little information available about the relative strengths and weaknesses of the other two types.
Female falsetto
The issue of the female falsetto voice has been met with some controversy, especially among vocal pedagogistsVocal pedagogy
Vocal pedagogy is the study of the art and science of voice instruction. It is used in the teaching of singing and assists in defining what singing is, how singing works, and how proper singing technique is accomplished....
. Many books on the art of singing
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
completely ignore this issue, simply gloss over it, or insist that women do not have falsetto. This controversy, however, does not exist within the speech pathology
Speech and language pathology
Speech-Language Pathology specializes in communication disorders.The main components of speech production include: phonation, the process of sound production; resonance, opening and closing of the vocal folds; intonation, the variation of pitch; and voice, including aeromechanical components of...
community and arguments against the existence of female falsetto do not align with current physiological evidence. Motion picture and video studies of laryngeal
Larynx
The larynx , commonly called the voice box, is an organ in the neck of amphibians, reptiles and mammals involved in breathing, sound production, and protecting the trachea against food aspiration. It manipulates pitch and volume...
action reveal that women can and do produce falsetto, and electromyographic
Electromyography
Electromyography is a technique for evaluating and recording the electrical activity produced by skeletal muscles. EMG is performed using an instrument called an electromyograph, to produce a record called an electromyogram. An electromyograph detects the electrical potential generated by muscle...
studies by several leading speech pathologists and vocal pedagogists provide further confirmation.
One possible explanation for this failure to recognize the female falsetto is the fact that the difference in timbre
Timbre
In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...
and dynamic level between the modal and falsetto registers often is not as pronounced in female voices as it is in male voices. This is due in part to the difference in the length and mass of the vocal folds
Vocal folds
The vocal folds, also known commonly as vocal cords, are composed of twin infoldings of mucous membrane stretched horizontally across the larynx...
and to the difference in frequency ranges. It is an established fact that women have a falsetto register and that many young female singers substitute falsetto for the upper portion of the modal voice
Modal voice
Modal voice is the vocal register used most frequently in speech and singing in most languages. It is also the term used in linguistics for the most common phonation of vowels...
. Some vocal pedagogists believe that this failure to recognize the female falsetto voice has led to the misidentification of young contralto
Contralto
Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
s and mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
s as soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
s, as it is easier for these lower voice types to sing in the soprano tessitura
Tessitura
In music, the term tessitura generally describes the most musically acceptable and comfortable range for a given singer or, less frequently, musical instrument; the range in which a given type of voice presents its best-sounding texture or timbre...
using their falsetto register.
Musical history
Use of falsetto voice in western music is very old. Its origins are difficult to trace because of ambiguities in terminology. In a book by GB Mancini, called Pensieri e riflessioni written in 1774, falsetto is equated with 'voce di testa' (translated as 'head voice'). Possibly when 13th century writers distinguished between chest, throatOvertone singing
Overtone singing, also known as overtone chanting, or harmonic singing, is a type of singing in which the singer manipulates the resonances created as air travels from the lungs, past the vocal folds, and out the lips to produce a melody.The partials of a sound wave made by the human voice can be...
and head registers (pectoris, guttoris, capitis) they meant capitis to refer to what would be later called falsetto.
By the 16th century the term falsetto was common in Italy. The physician, Giovanni Camillo Maffei, in his book Discorso della voce e del modo d'apparare di cantar di garganta in 1562, explained that when a bass singer sang in the soprano range, the voice was called 'falsetto'.
The falsetto register is used by male countertenor
Countertenor
A countertenor is a male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of a contralto, mezzo-soprano, or a soprano, usually through use of falsetto, or far more rarely than normal, modal voice. A pre-pubescent male who has this ability is called a treble...
s to sing in the alto
Alto
Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,...
and occasionally the soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
range, and was the standard before women sang in choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
s. Falsetto is occasionally used by early music
Early music
Early music is generally understood as comprising all music from the earliest times up to the Renaissance. However, today this term has come to include "any music for which a historically appropriate style of performance must be reconstructed on the basis of surviving scores, treatises,...
specialists today, and regularly in British cathedral choirs by men who sing the alto line.
In opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, it is believed that the chest voice
Chest voice
Chest voice is a term used within vocal music. The use of this term varies widely within vocal pedagogical circles and there is currently no one consistent opinion among vocal music professionals in regards to this term...
, middle voice and head voice
Head voice
Head voice is a term used within vocal music. The use of this term varies widely within vocal pedagogical circles and there is currently no one consistent opinion among vocal music professionals regarding this term...
occur in women. The head voice of a man is, according to David A. Clippinger most likely equivalent to the middle voice of a woman. This may mean the head voice of a woman is a man's falsetto equivalent. Although, in contemporary teaching, some teachers no longer talk of the middle voice, choosing to call it the head voice as with men. Falsetto is not generally counted by classical purists as a part of the vocal range of anyone except countertenors. There are exceptions, however, such as the Bariton-Martin which uses falsetto (see baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
article).
In Mexico, one of the greatest singers of falsete was Miguel Aceves Mejía
Miguel Aceves Mejía
Miguel Aceves Mejía was a Mexican actor, composer, and singer.Miguel Aceves Mejía, or "the King of the falsetto" as he was popularly known, was born in Ciudad Juárez in the state of Chihuahua...
, a singer and actor in the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, known as the "Rey de Falsete", or "Falsetto King". He sang over a thousand songs, such as "La Malagueña, El Jinete, La Noche y Tu, and La Del Rebozo Blanco", many of which utilized falsetto. Falsetto has been used in Mexican songs for many generations.
Many Hawaiian songs
Music of Hawaii
The music of Hawaii includes an array of traditional and popular styles, ranging from native Hawaiian folk music to modern rock and hip hop. Hawaii's musical contributions to the music of the United States are out of proportion to the state's small size. Styles like slack-key guitar are well-known...
feature falsetto. In Hawaiian-style falsetto - called "ka leo ki'eki'e" - the singer, usually male, emphasizes the break between registers. Sometimes the singer exaggerates the break through repetition, as a yodel
Yodeling
Yodeling is a form of singing that involves singing an extended note which rapidly and repeatedly changes in pitch from the vocal or chest register to the falsetto/head register; making a high-low-high-low sound.The English word yodel is derived from a German word jodeln meaning "to...
. As with other aspects of Hawaiian music, falsetto developed from a combination of sources, including pre-European Hawaiian chanting, early Christian hymn singing and the songs and yodeling of immigrant cowboys during the Kamehameha Reign in the 1800s when cowboys were brought from Mexico to teach Hawaiians how to care for cattle.
Falsetto is also common in African folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, especially the South African
Music of South Africa
The South African music scene includes both popular and folk forms. Pop styles are based on four major sources, Zulu isicathamiya singing and harmonic mbaqanga...
style called Mbube
Mbube (genre)
Mbube is a form of South African vocal music, made famous by the South African group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The word mbube means "lion" in Zulu. Traditionally performed a cappella, the members of the group are male although a few groups have a female singer...
, traditionally performed by an all-male a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
chorus.
There is a difference between the modern usage of the "head voice" term and its previous meaning in the renaissance as a type of falsetto, according to many singing professionals. The falsetto can be coloured or changed to sound different. It can be given classical styling to sound as male classical countertenor
Countertenor
A countertenor is a male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of a contralto, mezzo-soprano, or a soprano, usually through use of falsetto, or far more rarely than normal, modal voice. A pre-pubescent male who has this ability is called a treble...
s make it sound, or be sung in more contemporary musical styles.
Use in singing
Falsetto is more limited in dynamic variation and tone quality than the modal voiceModal voice
Modal voice is the vocal register used most frequently in speech and singing in most languages. It is also the term used in linguistics for the most common phonation of vowels...
. Falsetto does not connect to modal voice except at very low volumes, leading to vocal breaks
Passaggio
Passaggio is a term used in classical singing to describe the pitch ranges in which vocal registration events occur. Beneath passaggio is the chest voice where any singer can produce a powerful sound, and above it lies the head voice, where a powerful and resonant sound is accessible, but usually...
when transitioning from modal voice. Most trained singers have at least an octave of range that they can sing in either modal voice or falsetto. In the absence of modern vocal training to hold back the volume of modal voice, in this overlapping area a given pitch in modal voice will be louder than the same pitch sung in falsetto. The type of vocal cord
Vocal folds
The vocal folds, also known commonly as vocal cords, are composed of twin infoldings of mucous membrane stretched horizontally across the larynx...
vibration that produces the falsetto voice precludes loud singing except in the highest tones of that register; it also limits the available tone colors because of the simplicity of its waveform. Modal voice is capable of producing much more complex waveforms and infinite varieties of tone color. Falsetto, however, does involve less physical effort by the singer than the modal voice and, when properly used, can make possible some desirable tonal effects.
The falsetto voice has a number of highly specialized uses within a musical context. The following list includes the most common ones:
- in rock musicRock musicRock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, notably by Frankie ValliFrankie ValliFrankie Valli is an American musician, most famous as frontman of The Four Seasons. He is well-known for his unusually powerful falsetto singing voice...
, PrincePrincePrince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
, Brian WilsonBrian WilsonBrian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...
, Freddie MercuryFreddie MercuryFreddie Mercury was a British musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and powerful vocals over a four-octave range...
of QueenQueen (band)Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
, John MayerJohn MayerJohn Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...
, Elton JohnElton JohnSir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
, MikaMika (singer)Mika is a British singer-songwriter.After recording his first extended play, Dodgy Holiday EP, Mika released his first full-length studio album, Life in Cartoon Motion, on Island Records in 2007. Life in Cartoon Motion sold more than 5.6 million copies worldwide and helped Mika win a Brit...
, Bon IverBon IverBon Iver is a Grammy nominated folk band founded in 2007 by American indie folk singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. It includes Michael Noyce, Sean Carey, and Matthew McCaughan. Vernon released Bon Iver's debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago independently in July 2007. The majority of that album was...
, RushRush (band)Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
, The Mars VoltaThe Mars VoltaThe Mars Volta is a Grammy award winning American progressive rock band from El Paso, Texas. Founded in 2001 by guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López and vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala, the band incorporates various influences including progressive rock, krautrock, jazz fusion, Latin American music, and...
, Kellin Quinn, Jónsi Birgisson of Sigur RósSigur RósSigur Rós is an Icelandic post-rock band with classicaland minimalist elements. The band is known for its ethereal sound, and frontman Jónsi Birgisson's falsetto vocals and use of bowed guitar. In January 2010, the band announced that they will be on hiatus. Since then, it has since been announced...
, the Bee GeesBee GeesThe Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...
, and Matthew BellamyMatthew BellamyMatthew James Bellamy is an English musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the lead vocalist, lead guitarist, pianist, and main songwriter of the alternative rock band Muse.-Early life:...
of MuseMuse (band)Muse are an English alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy , Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard... - in male R&B
- in a male choirChoirA choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
, to enable the first tenorTenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
to maintain the very demanding tessituraTessituraIn music, the term tessitura generally describes the most musically acceptable and comfortable range for a given singer or, less frequently, musical instrument; the range in which a given type of voice presents its best-sounding texture or timbre...
. - in yodeling
- in Barbershop musicBarbershop musicBarbershop vocal harmony, as codified during the barbershop revival era , is a style of a cappella, or unaccompanied vocal music characterized by consonant four-part chords for every melody note in a predominantly homophonic texture...
for the Tenor voice (not always necessary) and occasionally with the Lead and Baritone voices in certain arrangements. - for comic effect in both operaOperaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s and musicalMusical theatreMusical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
s - by some lyric (Irish) tenors, folk singers, and so forth
- by falsettists or countertenorCountertenorA countertenor is a male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of a contralto, mezzo-soprano, or a soprano, usually through use of falsetto, or far more rarely than normal, modal voice. A pre-pubescent male who has this ability is called a treble...
s - for pitchesPitch (music)Pitch is an auditory perceptual property that allows the ordering of sounds on a frequency-related scale.Pitches are compared as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies,...
which are above the range of the modal registerModal voiceModal voice is the vocal register used most frequently in speech and singing in most languages. It is also the term used in linguistics for the most common phonation of vowels... - for pianissimoDynamics (music)In music, dynamics normally refers to the volume of a sound or note, but can also refer to every aspect of the execution of a given piece, either stylistic or functional . The term is also applied to the written or printed musical notation used to indicate dynamics...
tones that would be difficult to execute in the modal register - for vocal development
Use in speech
The ability to speak within the falsetto register is possible for almost all men and women. The use of such speech, however, is uncommon, and is usually employed within the context of humor, as in Monty Python's Flying CircusMonty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...
sketches featuring the Pepperpots, saying "please don't", or the Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
sketch "Barry Gibb Talk Show
Barry Gibb Talk Show
The Barry Gibb Talk Show is a recurring sketch on Saturday Night Live about a talk show starring Barry Gibb, lead singer for the Bee Gees, and his brother, Robin Gibb . It features Jimmy Fallon as Barry Gibb and Justin Timberlake as Robin Gibb...
". Some people, however, speak frequently or entirely in the falsetto register. This behavior is identified by speech pathologists as a type of functional dysphonia
Dysphonia
Dysphonia is the medical term for disorders of the voice: an impairment in the ability to produce voice sounds using the vocal organs . Thus, dysphonia is a phonation disorder...
. Falsetto also describes the momentary, but often repeated, raised pitch emitted by pubescent boys undergoing voice change.
External links
- Glossary definition of falsetto at Virginia Tech's Web site
- Story about the falsetto in rock music in The Boston GlobeThe Boston GlobeThe Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
- Video: vocal coach Kevin Richards explains the difference between falsetto and head voice