hey NYC, let me say yet again i would never want to get in a debate with you over your knowledge of the voice etc, you know your stuff. If your not completely sold on SLS (I AM)
give me a couple of Riggs ideas that you would say are no doubt good ones. you cant deny the guy knows how to get singers singing better. thanks
@ronaldo101000 - some SLS ideas that are good are the lips roll and tongue trill stuff ( good for warm up), the vocal fry stuff (good for teaching scales without tension), and some of the speech exercises like Mum, Noh etc. These are good at helping people understand proper compression levels. BUT if you want to sing Rock or Metal, you need substantial breath and sub glottal compression. You cannot get that from SLS. SLS is good for lighter styles of music like Pop, Jazz, Country
again, there's no doubt you know your stuff, but your "A5" sounded just like a shorten cord that was kinda thin but very edgy with bite and clear as a bell which again sounded just like when i use the SPEECH LEVEL SINGING TECHNIQUE!! Just come on board bro.
@ronaldo101000 - a high, clear tone with twang in head resonance is NOT exclusive to speech level singing. Its a very old method in pure Bel Canto - which is what SLS was based on.
The difference however is I'm using sub glottal compression for adduction whereas SLS uses the musculature of the larynx to get it.
Pure Bel Canto = intercostal diaphragmatic singing = Good
SLS = laryngeal singing = Bad
No thanks, I'll stick with the original method and not stray to the dark side.
@eddiesamuel1 - its hard to hear exactly because of the audio of the recording but it sounds more like head voice because even thought the notes are high they are full and have a solid core.
@BlakiepooTube look at it this way; Since falsetto is merely a lack of full connection of the vocal cords and this can be done on low, middle and high notes than your entire singing range should be considered falsetto. Falsetto is not restricted to just high notes if you can make the same sound on low and middle notes, hence it is a vocal mode like fry, sob, and distortion.
Head voice is Pavarotti singing his second vincero in nessun dorma, Falsetto is the Bee Gees. That note this guy sang at the end was falsetto and not head voice.
@Florencione - Wikipedia? Really? That's your source? Your lack of imagination in finding the truth is astounding. I suggest you read "How to Sing" by Lilli Lehrmann or any of the other actual BOOKS on singing written by master vocalists.
Head voice is any note sung outside the modal resonating in the head cavity. Falsetto is a partial closing of the folds which can be applied to any note - low or high. Its a mode
Go tell Maestro Tenelli falsetto is a register. He'll laugh at you.
@RocktheStageNYC I suggest you look up 'Fallacious appeal to authority'.
Right, head voice is outside the modal register.. So Pavarotti's highest note in Nessun Dorma doesn't resonate in his head? Because that note sure as hell is in his modal register and not in falsetto.
@Florencione - the Bb4 at the end of "Nessun Dorma" is a full blown head voice note. It sounds like chest voice but is actual a head voice note with a lot of dark timbre. Anything past F# is technically a head tone since its past the passagio but if you darken it enough it will sound like a high chest voice note.
A lot of really old terminology about registers and vocal modes is still out there confusing singers everywhere.
@RocktheStageNYC That note is definitely in his modal voice and connected to his chest voice. It is head voice, that was my exact point. You CAN ONLY sing head voice in your modal register. ALL high notes in modal register are head voice.
Falsetto is not connected to your chest voice because, as you rightly point out, it is partial closing of the vocal cords. Modal voice is full closure of the vocal chords and so is head voice. Therefore Falsetto is a different register.
@Florencione - Falsetto CANNOT be a register if it can be applied to low, middle and high notes. That would basically be saying your entire range is falsetto. Falsetto is a tone applied to a note by partially closing the folds. It has nothing to do with range.
We ALL sing in one register but with various resonances. Throat & Head. That's it. Anything else is a mode. Fry, Sob, Falsetto, Distortion.
THAT is the modern way to clarify the voice. The old way is too confusing.
@RocktheStageNYC Through puberty men develop longer vocal chords and because of that their voice deepens. The reason you can hit soprano notes in this video is because you use falsetto through which you only partially disclose your vocal chords. This makes the instrument you use for your tone, your vocal chords, shorter, and because of that the tone is higher. It is not full voice. If it were full voice you would be a male soprano.
@Florencione - You are confused on two things. In puberty the larynx grows and the folds become thicker - hence a deeper voice.
My loud, high notes (G5 & A5) here are FULL VOICE. There is no partial closing. The glottis is shortening for high notes, but the folds stay connected through the use of compression. Therefore - FULL voice.
Being able to sing high notes has nothing to do with voice types - it has to do with training and understanding the process of full voice phonation.
@RocktheStageNYC If your head voice would be able to hit A5, then your highest full voiced note would be similar to Michael Jackson's one, who could hit B5 according to his voice teacher, and was a freakishly high tenor.
@Florencione - They are ALL full voice. B5, A5 etc. The process is called adduction and its been used for centuries. It has nothing to do with one's voice type (baritone, tenor, countertenor etc.) it has to do with the ability to adduct the folds and keep them connected as you shorten the glottis through diaphragmatic and sub glottal compression.
You are mixing terms - head voice and full voice are 2 different things. "Head" refers to resonance, "full" refers to fold closure
@ArpeggioBear - Gillan usus both falsetto and head voice. A perfect example is the song "Child in Time". He begins the high notes in falsetto, then switches to a pharyngeal head tone for the highest notes.
Cool demo. How would u sing those lower falsetto notes in head voice? The scream isn't hard for me, but where u go from chest to head is. Take the chorus of Journeys Open Arms. First part is chest. Second part seems to be head. How would u approach that?
@brywool - well lower notes (depending where they are) may or may not be able to be sung in head voice. "Open Arms" has chest, mix and head voice notes all in one song.
Transitioning smoothly from chest to head voice is a learned skill that's takes a lot of practice and patience. Its easy to flip or jump from chest to head but sing smoothly from one to other takes skill. Knowing how to keep the vocal cords connected while switching resonances. Its tricky but not impossible
It'd be cool to see a demo of that. The chorus of Open Arms is a great example. The first part of the chorus is in chest, the second in probably head voice. But it's very tricky to do. It'd be great to see how you would handle that section.
@brywool - it would sound different than how Perry sings it because Perry's voice is naturally higher than mine. What is chest voice for him is lower head voice for me. It IS tricky to do if you don't have Perry's high tenor voice.
@RocktheStageNYC Oh, of course it'd sound different. You wouldn't LOOK like him either. haha. I see a lot of these singing lessons on Youtube (not necessarily yours, which I think are super good, by the way) some of them lead you to believe that if you "just use your headvoice, you'll have that full sound in those upper registers". That rock banshee scream is something that's fairly simple. But actually singing lyrics with that headvoice is really tricky and I don't see it addressed much.
@brywool - well you see A LOT of other singing channels on YouTube are put up by teachers who really were never actively performing in a real world situation. Never paid their dues singing 4 nights a week. They are "teachers" with music degrees who think they can teach people out of a book. Or they are "coaches" without any real technique knowledge.
Singing lyrics in head voice is tricky but not impossible. If you can sing single notes in head, lyrics are not that far a stretch.
I can sing higher notes in my falsetto than my chest voice. Is this normal or theoretically everyone is supposed to be able to hit the highest note done in falsetto with one's chest voice as well? Sometimes when I cannot hit a high note or am not confident I can hit that high note I use my falsetto to hit that note. Is this lack of vocal training? If I have proper vocal training will I be able to hit that high note which I can do in falsetto with my chest voice? Thank you.
@sabathiel01 - its natural to go higher in a falsetto tone than in chest voice. Now whether or not you'll be able to sing that note in chest depends on what you consider a "high note".
@RocktheStageNYC I see so I'm normal and because I proper vocal technique. But doesn't that make falsetto a separate vocal register since it goes to a higher vocal register? By "high" note I mean the notes that you struggle when hitting in a non falsetto tone. Also does measuring one's vocal range such as determining if one is a tenor, alto, baritone etc include hitting notes in a falsetto tone?
@snoopyflick - None. A breathy sound means your vocal folds are not completely engaging to make sound - there are gaps. This is the definition of falsetto.
"In this case, in addition to breaking apart to relieve the pressure from the lungs, they actually change their thickness (they thin themselves out--the equivalent to changing to a thinner guitar string in middle of a song to reach a higher note!) "
which goes against what you have said to some degree or, at least, you left out the thickness part.
I would say I'm singing in falsetto simply because I don't have the resonance that I feel in chest voice.
@Acmicon - my point of this video was not to address the thickness or stretching of the vocal cords - because thats not what falsetto is. My point of this video was too demonstrate the difference in power of high notes sung with a falsetto configuration and notes sung with fully closed vocal cords.
and, by your description, it should be easier to sing long notes in head voice, which for me, I can hold those high notes for ever so I must be in head voice. But this goes against everything I have read.
Anyways, Either falsetto and head voice overlap or falsetto is an extension of chest(which seems to be the case by your description, which is the exact opposite of which I've read elsewhere).
Maybe you could sing a scale starting in chest and going into falsetto first and then starting in chest and going into head.
Also, is it more difficult to sing in falsetto or head? I've never had issues "singing like a girl" but I'm pretty sure it has to be falsetto.
@Acmicon - falsetto has NOTHING to do with range or a how or how high a note is. Falsetto also has NOTHING to do with head voice. Falsetto is a partial closing of the vocal cords. That can be done on any note in your range.
I don't think the video is clear. When I sing high notes with easy I always though it was in falsetto. In my chest voice, I think, I can hit a C5 with extreme difficulty and tension and little power. With "falsetto" I can sing it with extreme easy and virtually no tension. The range is about a G3 to G5 but starting near D5 I start to have the airy sound you mention for falsetto(but not for the lower notes).
I have no idea if I'm singing in head voice or falsetto or if there is a mixture.
I would like to ask a question. As I dont have a high vocal range (though I can do falsetto), can I still train my vocal cord to sing head voice? Is vocal range a limitation to sing head voice?
Ok im kind of confused, when i say falsetto i think its by going higher than full voice like the voice crack then suddenly falsetto but i still dont understand the difference because from what i think is falsetto (could also be head voice not entirely sure) i can make it sound like you did at the end like the 80s scream
@iamskilled5 - what I do at the end of this video isn't really that hard - its singing from low and middle range notes up to those high without cracking that takes technique.
@iamskilled5 = falsetto has NOTHING to do with high notes. Falsetto is a tonality that can be song on low notes as well. The "break" you experience is simply a lack of proper breath support.
@MyOttoLink - it all depends on the context of the note. One can sing head voice notes loudly, medium volume or low volume depending on the song.
Remember with head voice / higher notes its NOT about the amount of air you use but how much you compress it inside your midsection. High notes do not require a lot of air, they do require a solid press from the body.
What's going on with the people that try this head voice you're talking about, that they encounter severe vocal fatigue at the end of an hour-long session?
@MyOttoLink - their breath support is insufficient or lacking completely. If you support the voice correctly from your abdomen the voice takes hours to fatigue.
Hah, I did not know that there was a difference. I thought falsetto was the same as head voice and that the "breathy" and "powerful" variation was just a variation on the falsetto/head voice. Thanks for uploading this!
@Sjoera - the reason I made this video is precisely because so many people believe what you believe based on what they've read or heard. The difference between falsetto and head voice are merely different states of vocal cords closure.
"Falsetto" was invented as a term a long time ago to describe high notes of males. This was before modern technique when it was discovered one could sing from low to high and stay in full voice through support and resonance shifting.
Thank you! I was telling a guy about head voice and he's kind of a know it all and he refered to it as falsetto. I told him there was a diffrence but he didn't believe me! Ugh sometimes guys can be so condescending even when they are wrong! Lol ... yes I'm female :)
@gcbigkid - he's using an outdated term for head resonance that goes back to times when only men for allowed to perform in Opera. They had to sing all the parts, even the females, so that high voice was considered a "false voice" hence the term "falsetto". Skip ahead to the 20th century and you STILL have people referring to it as such even though it has been proven scientifically to be two very different things.
Hi again kevin, just wondering. I can hit those high notes too (maybe struggle on the A5) but i would like to know how to add distortion to my head voice? so i can sound like a rock singer :P
@TheDarkDimensions - thats a loaded question. There are several means to add distortion - palate trilling, glottal compression, throat compression, fry phonation - none are right for everyone not work for everyone. There are 1000 ways to do it wrong and only a few to do it right. In my experience people who can distort their high notes can do so naturally without thinking or a technique. Its a natural part of their voice.
Falsetto is not Head voice. I am training to be an professional operatic countertenor so I have some practical experience and knowledge about how the singing voice is produced. Although I am being formally trained in opera, my modern singing voice has also come on leaps and bounds. I can hit the 'screaming' rock notes in my head voice that I struggled with before my classical training began. And I can change and colour my head voice depending on whether I'm singing opera or rock/metal.
falsetto is easier on your vocal cords because, as he says in the video, your vocal chords are wide open with falsetto, whereas with head voice the vocal chords are touching most of the way which lends the potential for them slapping together if done wrong and hurting your cords. when wide open, like in falsetto, the chances of slapping the cords together are less.
@sheichet Couldn't disagree more. It's a myth that cords together is more unhealthy than cords apart. Breath the flows thru the cords can damage the cords. Sound is made when they are together. This is not a belief, it is a fact, learned thru many years of experience.
ok, that makes sense.. I guess that's why they say whispering is very bad to do when on vocal rest unlike many people think. Is that the same principle, because whispering is passing the air through the cords?
@sheichet You're exactly right with the whispering.....and louder more forceful whispering is THE worst thing you can do. Just do this when you go to sing: Very firmly contract your abs and just start making sounds. That's it. Keep the firm contraction with the abs before you sing and while you sing. You will be AMAZED at what develops. The firm abs close the cords and that relationship is the most important one of all. Abs are very firm, neck muscles, face muscles are very relaxed.
Nice video! Adam Lambert is my favorite singer and he sings really high often. Like in thw video of him doing Born To Be Wild live on American Idol.
At 1:37 of the most viewed video on YT of it and towards the end he hits some really high notes. I'm not sure if those are mixed tones or head tones. What are they?
@Kipicus - ok lets get this straight for all you post internet younger people - Wikipedia is NOT the greatest nor most accurate place to get information. Its NOT the only place to get information. Most of the info on Wikipedia for singing is outdated, obsolete and useless for the modern singer.
@RocktheStageNYC Also, I wanted to point out that my comment was intended to be ironic. However, if you DO disagree with the information posted on Wikipedia, you can change it, and post your sources. (Kind of like a really current encyclopedia.) BUT, this also leaves a lot of elbow room for bullshitters, idiots, and unintended liars, so no, not the best place to rely on for facts, alone. This being said, I didn't take your comment as a personal jab at me, I'm just reinforcing what you said. :)
Let me just start with your first statement-"if you close your vocal chords all the way you have a full voice sound". What do you mean by this? That it won't sound "falsetto"? Are you saying that if you automatically close the vocals chords you get a full sounding voice no matter what pitch you are on? Common sense would tell you that partially closed vocal chords result in a breathy sound in any range.
@KaleidoscopeAct - Falsetto has EVERYTHING to do with breathy because of the lack of complete cord closure. The gaps create a "breathy" tonality. But you are right, it can be done in any register.
Umm, I have a whole channel here of full voice high notes. why don't you look.
@RocktheStageNYC I'm sorry. Could you recommend any full voiced videos? I've been watching like four or five and I can't find any. Everything sounds like a loud falsetto.
@RocktheStageNYC I'm also confused about your understanding of falsetto. Falsetto is just an overdone thinning of the vocal chords and a super fast vibrating of them. Not closing them all the way is a choice, which you can do in any register. A countertenor in classical music has to close their vocal chords all the way to sing in falsetto or they wouldn't be able to get the resonance needed to fill the house. I think you are confusing style choices with the science of what is happening.
@KaleidoscopeAct - uh know. I have researched vocal technique for over 10 years. Falsetto is a partial closing of the cords. The technique you speak of for countertenors is called adducted head voice. They are two separate things. If you close your cords all the way you have a full voice sound.
You are using an obsolete terminology for upper and lower register singing. Not all notes about the modal voice are falsetto. Falsetto is a tonality not a register or place you sing in.
I am confused how you define tone. Falsetto is a register shift if you define tone as a change in sound quality. You can open up the soft palate/back the mouth/head and get a different tone. If you define tone as a change in color because of singing location then I agree with you. Please recommend a video on your page(I can't find one)where you demonstrate singing in full voice. I have been watching quite a few and have not heard a full voiced sound in your head register or head tone.
@KaleidoscopeAct - check out any that have to do with head voice, high notes, belting etc. Tonal shifts occur because of placement of resonance. Sing too far forward or high in the vocal tract and you sound nasal, too far back or in the throat and your tone is too "woofy" or covered. Falsetto is a tonality and nothing to do with registers. Falsetto is a partial closing of the cords. Head voice is a fully connected glottis vibrating as chest voice would but in an upper resonance.
I'm pretty suprised you can make a A5 sound like that i thought at that point it would sound more of a soprano voice even for a male i mean it does for me. but i am not a screamer/rock singer so i guess that it why mine sounds like i'm a soprano but i don't know. very nice though
i'm no music expert but i'm a music lover. i've listened to a lot beegees songs which are riddled with falsettos. franki vali and his group did it first before the beegees. the simplest definition of falsetto is - it means false voice which is beyond the singer's natural voice comfort zone. it has less resonance compared to head voice and chest voice which are within a singer's comfort zone. can't be any simpler than that.
@bigfucker2010 - Not really no. Frankie Valli actually sang his highest notes with a pharyngeal head voice not falsetto. The Bee Gee alternate between pharyngeal head voice and falsetto.
Falsetto has NOTHING to do with vocal range (comfort zone or not), its about a lack of vocal cord closure.
@RocktheStageNYC can you find me a link where at least one of the beegees mentioned that they were using pharyngeal head voice. i remember one interview that is not on youtube where barry only mentioned falsetto but not the other. as far frankie, i heard on the radio where they were considered to be the first to use falsetto, not the beegees. not that i don't believe you but the thing is i've never heard from either frankie or the beegees or from any source about pharyngeal head voice.
@bigfucker2010 - I know exactly what The Bee Gees and Frankie Valli are using based purely on their sound and my 20 years of vocal technique research. I have never seen an interview with either where they talk about their singing techniques. What people called "falsetto" 50 years ago is not what we call falsetto today. The Bee Gees used both techniques but Frankie Valli is pure pharyngeal head voice on his high notes - that's why its so piercing and powerful. His tonality gives it all away.
GREAT VIDEO, finally somebody explaining, what REALLY physically happens when we sing in different registers/modes... I could never understand why I couldnt get a clear head voice and connect it to my chest voice... Neither did my numerous teachers know.. Well it was my falsetto, not head voice!! Now other dimensions opened up in my voice..
I think most people have a misconception about this, if you look up "Alicia Keys Gwen Kiss" on here, in the beginning she changes between head and falsetto?
@luisastephanie - actually I have backed away from the idea of vocal registers. I believe compartmentalizing the voice into registers is just confusing and actually inaccurate. We all sing in one register with variances in resonance. Talking about chest, middle, head registers separates the voice in such a way that is scientifically false. The vocal cords do not disconnect or shift gears at certain notes, they merely stretch. The illusion of registers is created by poorly developed support.
Granted I'm trained as a musician an not a vocalist, but I'm confused when you refer to falsetto as "a tone." To most musicians it's a term conjoined with "note" and "pitch," so it feels like calling falsetto a tone is like calling an octave or a scale a tone.
If I understand this right perhaps falsetto might be better described as a set of tones in the higher end of the "head voice" which lacks the vocal support normally used when singing?...Or do vocalists use the term "tone" differently?
@Garonyldas - when I say "falsetto is a tone" I am referring to the fact that is has no set note or pitch or set place in the vocal range. Falsetto is found in both low & high notes. Falsetto is a vocal tonality like twang, sob, distortion etc.. It is a vocal tonality or sound you apply to your voice. It is NOT a place you can go.
Like with a guitar you have a tone or sound when you play. Your "tone" is how the instrument sounds based on your equipment, its settings , what effects you use etc.
@Garonyldas A note is a term applied to a specific frequency while a tone is a collection of different frequencies that make up a sound.. A note would be a specific Hz, while that note played at the base of the grand canyon would give you tons of reverberations and would change the pitch a thousand times being reflected off stone wall before your mind can place it all together as one tone. So tone is more than just the fundamental frequency, it's everything else that goes with it.
@Prosopagnosia11 - I don't know of these singers but I'm sure they do. Stylistically, Soul & R&B singing uses both head voice and falsetto for song dynamics. People like Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Beyonce, all use it.
LOL the only reason why I see that these guys still argue about the non existence of head voice is because they have not gained access into theirs yet. The feeling is TOTALLY and 100% different.
Just stumbled upon this and it is very interesting and instructive. I love music but have no knowledge of the mechanics or techniques involved. It reminds me how little one actually knows about things they don't know about. Great job!
@Eternionland - well its not been thrown aside. There is a debate in the vocal teaching community on "where" it happens, not "if" it happens. There is debate on whether the zipping effect happens after chest voice or only at the higher end of vocal range near whistle/flagiolet.
@RocktheStageNYC Oh I was thinking of something else. I think that that's one singer who actually does utilize falsetto come to think of it.
Do you have any videos of yourself doing slides from chest voice into head voice? They used to call it a Jim Gillette slide but now apparently it's a Stu Block slide.
@RocktheStageNYC You said "Falsetto is a vocal mode like Sob, Twang and Distortion.". I think that's the problem. For a lot of people and for our purpose, you have a modal register and a falsetto register, and the two overlap, etc. So you should say that since you consider falsetto as a vocal mode like distortion, your video show the difference. But, it's not correct from a classical point of view.
@Albertolo1928 - This is where classical teaching has to join the 21st century. FALSETTO IS NOT A REGISTER. If it is a register, explain how I can sing with a falsetto tone on high and low notes? There are ONLY TWO registers - chest & head. That's it. Everything else is based upon resonance.
Just as I can use modes like sob, twang, distortion on high & low notes, so can I use falsetto. It is NOT a place or register - it is a vocal tonality.
@RocktheStageNYC I know this. I know falsetto is not head voice. But the two exemples you do; one is the falsetto operistic like, and the other is falsetto like belting of the broadway musicals. It's a common mistake, I undesrtand, but it's dangeours spread a teach like this; you could "RIP" people's voice. Read more about contertenors (that's NOT, NOT, NOT fisically especific kind of voice, it's only technique), more about bel canto, and make a comparsion with your belting techniques. Grazie!
@RocktheStageNYC And I could send a video to you doing that A5 you do with "falsetto", and with the same timbre as yours. And look your age and mine, as you said! The problem it's not technic, is the style. You don't even know a fonoaudilogic process, besides you still call "singers" as "vocalist". by the way, that's why rockers voices lost their resistence, their power and their intensity so fast. It's out of question and, for me, the debate is really over. Don't mind to not answer...
@lecobrazil - its my video and I can answer if I want. Why do you insist Rockers lose their voices? I've been singing for longer than you've been alive and my voice is STRONGER now than it was when I was your age. In many ways this technique has strengthened my vocal abilities. I have MORE power, MORE range and MORE longevity. I used to be spent as a singer after 40min, now I can sing for hours without any fatigue.
Your statements aren't based on fact, but opinion.
I love your comments here, I especially love your clarification of falsetto vs. head voice. I have struggled with falsetto for years; I can't seem to stop singing this way! A former choir director (if you could call it that) complained that too many were singing falsetto, but never offered direction on improving. What advice would you give a 36 year old lady, with a decent voice, who wishes to belt it out?
Sorry, friend. The both techniques you show as exemple are falsetto. The first it's backward, the second forwards. Nothing more. It's this kind of mistakes of mixed voice in belting techniques that destroy much of great voices of the scene.
@lecobrazil - sorry "friend" but neither of these is falsetto. Secondly there is no such thing as backwards or forwards falsetto.
I've been singing this way longer than you've been alive and my voice is stronger now than it was 20 years ago. Your understanding of the voice is incomplete and outdated.
@RocktheStageNYC Ok, right. You think your voice is "strong" because its age make it naturally more heavy. The blend - timbre - when you sing your "head voice" is unmistakable: falsetto, but "backwards", or intubated, or closed back and under the upper palate, if you preffer. But as a singer teacher you should know that belting techniques are only complementary, it NOT develops the vocal musculature as when you study, for EXAMPLE, bel canto. That's it. But you could continue deceive people.
@lecobrazil - my voice is strong because I can 1) sing for hours with no ill effects. 2)sing loudly for hours with no hoarseness. 3) my voice is flexible through most if my range without a warm up. 4) My voice is better now than 20 years ago.
You are assuming you know my voice by one video. Try looking at the whole channel.
My demonstration was to show that falsetto cannot be this loud or powerful.
I know Bel Canto technique. This is a Rock singing, not Bel Canto. Do not compare the two.
@BlessixDreamix - how is classical your "only option". Says who?
Singing with a quiet voice/piano takes control of both breath pressure and laryngeal muscle control. The less air you blast at the vocal folds, the more the muscles surrounding the larynx have to pick up the slack and take control. Its delicate technique and actually takes more practice than singing at full volume.
A good place to start is with vocal fry. Do scales with a light vocal fry. This is laryngeal muscle control
Love this video, finally clears up a lot of the misconception on youtube. I have a question for you:
I find when singing in my higher chest register (or possibly in my falsetto, not so knowledgeable about the whole singing thing), I find I often switch to head voice without trying. While I can hit some pretty nice notes with my headvoice, It's a little squeely sounding (not so melodic haha) and I don't like it unless a song asks for it, or I am fooling around.
@Jamezzzuh - there's no way for me to give you a straight answer without hearing what you're doing. Why don't you post a video or audio of an example to your channel (make it private and send me the URL) and I can tell you whats happening.
@BlessixDreamix - those muscles should be trained indirectly by simply allowing your voice to do what its designed to do. Purposely targeting those muscles is pointless. You're wasting time. Train them through exercises that target proper breath support and resonance blending. People make singing to be much more complicated physically than it needs to be. Your body pretty much knows what to do to sing, it just needs some guidance and the proper intensity of breath. The rest falls into place.
@joiemoie - thats because Nick is not singing in falsetto. It is very light head voice. He just changes resonances and sounds "girlish" - but his vocal cords are still fully connected.
hey kevin ...i have a little question when you are on head voice...how should it feel? I mean ...what shouldn't be felt or done when you are on head voice?
@totoman12 - Great Question! - What you SHOULDN'T feel in head voice is any tension or strain in the neck, no feeling of self strangulation on the interior on the throat. It should feel above the throat and inside your mouth and behind the cheeks. The absolute best place to feel the sensation of head resonance notes is at the back of the roof of the mouth (the soft palate) - that is the ideal spot for head voice resonance.
@RocktheStageNYC you know..thank you...no one had answer me ever...i mean not even eric arcenaux... and he supposely likes to check his email..Thanks!
@nightofear This is not necessarily true. There are different terminologies of head voice and falsetto. For me and many others falsetto means non-modal notes whereas head voice is twangy and light modal (aka, full) voice.
@BlessixDreamix - depending on the repertoire and skill level, a Soprano can do one or all of those things listed but in most cases they will choose to relax and go for a light head voice - although it sounds falsetto in tone it is very light head voice.
@BlessixDreamix - absolutely not. In fact your vocal cords perform better at normal levels. Shouting is unnatural and dangerous to the voice. That blast of air creates a glottal shock where the cords sloam together - very bad for the voice.
The ultimate goal of a singer is to be able to sing almost every note in your range at low, normal and high volume.
LOL and that wasn't a G5 and THAT SURE AS HELL wasn't an A5, check your damn ears! lol It wasn't above an F, so do not kid yourself please, Okay? Okay xD
@lightningshock12 - check it against a piano before you comment like this. I did before I added the notations at the bottom of the video. You just made yourself look extremely uninformed.
That's precisely what I did. That most definately wasn't an A5. You should check it again. I've heard plenty of A5's, ACTUAL A5. That most definately wasn't. Please, do not fool the users on YouTube. That's very deceitful and plain wrong. Or maybe you just don't know the extent of vocal capacity.
@lightningshock12 - hmm what A5 are you referring to because on my piano an A5 is two A's above middle C and that's what that note is. I've done it a 100 times.
I've been singing and studying singing longer than you've been alive. Now go back and listen to some more Hannah Montana Jayden.
@RocktheStageNYC Singing and studying does not prove you're capable of understanding and replicating what is taught, it just means you go to classes/lessons/read articles regardless of what you benefit from it.
@MorkaGraven - true. "Knowing is not enough, one must apply" - Bruce Lee. One can read a book on flying planes for years but until you sit in the cockpit you don't really know what its like.
The ability to teach effectively comes from having the experience and knowledge to grasp the concepts, replicate the techniques, then break them down so that others can learn and understand them as well. I do that 5 days a week with my students and to millions here on YouTube.
Thanks for help
CrossBonesAlex 5 days ago
AWESOME LOCATION !
aranveda 1 week ago
hey NYC, let me say yet again i would never want to get in a debate with you over your knowledge of the voice etc, you know your stuff. If your not completely sold on SLS (I AM)
give me a couple of Riggs ideas that you would say are no doubt good ones. you cant deny the guy knows how to get singers singing better. thanks
ronaldo101000 1 month ago
@ronaldo101000 - some SLS ideas that are good are the lips roll and tongue trill stuff ( good for warm up), the vocal fry stuff (good for teaching scales without tension), and some of the speech exercises like Mum, Noh etc. These are good at helping people understand proper compression levels. BUT if you want to sing Rock or Metal, you need substantial breath and sub glottal compression. You cannot get that from SLS. SLS is good for lighter styles of music like Pop, Jazz, Country
RocktheStageNYC 1 month ago
again, there's no doubt you know your stuff, but your "A5" sounded just like a shorten cord that was kinda thin but very edgy with bite and clear as a bell which again sounded just like when i use the SPEECH LEVEL SINGING TECHNIQUE!! Just come on board bro.
ronaldo101000 1 month ago
@ronaldo101000 - a high, clear tone with twang in head resonance is NOT exclusive to speech level singing. Its a very old method in pure Bel Canto - which is what SLS was based on.
The difference however is I'm using sub glottal compression for adduction whereas SLS uses the musculature of the larynx to get it.
Pure Bel Canto = intercostal diaphragmatic singing = Good
SLS = laryngeal singing = Bad
No thanks, I'll stick with the original method and not stray to the dark side.
RocktheStageNYC 1 month ago
Sooo, would Norah Jones typify a falsetto sort of sound then?
ach1088 1 month ago
@ach1088 - sometimes, but sometimes she uses a very light, connected head voice. She uses falsetto in her style for certain light parts of songs.
RocktheStageNYC 1 month ago
The video on my channel...the main one...is it head voice of falsetto? Cause I sing really high.
eddiesamuel1 1 month ago
@eddiesamuel1 - its hard to hear exactly because of the audio of the recording but it sounds more like head voice because even thought the notes are high they are full and have a solid core.
Its a great rendition. Nice work!
RocktheStageNYC 1 month ago
@RocktheStageNYC Thank you,sir! :D
eddiesamuel1 1 month ago
Hmmm I don't know if I agree with falsetto not being a register, but I definitely agree head voice is completely different.
I can sing with a loud falsetto but only quietly with my head voice though the ranges overlap.
BlakiepooTube 1 month ago
@BlakiepooTube look at it this way; Since falsetto is merely a lack of full connection of the vocal cords and this can be done on low, middle and high notes than your entire singing range should be considered falsetto. Falsetto is not restricted to just high notes if you can make the same sound on low and middle notes, hence it is a vocal mode like fry, sob, and distortion.
RocktheStageNYC 1 month ago
This guy is full of shit, everything he said was wrong. This guy: ''Falsetto is not a register''
Wikipedia: Vocal registers: Whistle Falsetto Modal Vocal fry
Head voice is Pavarotti singing his second vincero in nessun dorma, Falsetto is the Bee Gees. That note this guy sang at the end was falsetto and not head voice.
Florencione 1 month ago
@Florencione - Wikipedia? Really? That's your source? Your lack of imagination in finding the truth is astounding. I suggest you read "How to Sing" by Lilli Lehrmann or any of the other actual BOOKS on singing written by master vocalists.
Head voice is any note sung outside the modal resonating in the head cavity. Falsetto is a partial closing of the folds which can be applied to any note - low or high. Its a mode
Go tell Maestro Tenelli falsetto is a register. He'll laugh at you.
RocktheStageNYC 1 month ago
@RocktheStageNYC I suggest you look up 'Fallacious appeal to authority'.
Right, head voice is outside the modal register.. So Pavarotti's highest note in Nessun Dorma doesn't resonate in his head? Because that note sure as hell is in his modal register and not in falsetto.
Florencione 1 month ago
@Florencione - the Bb4 at the end of "Nessun Dorma" is a full blown head voice note. It sounds like chest voice but is actual a head voice note with a lot of dark timbre. Anything past F# is technically a head tone since its past the passagio but if you darken it enough it will sound like a high chest voice note.
A lot of really old terminology about registers and vocal modes is still out there confusing singers everywhere.
RocktheStageNYC 1 month ago
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@RocktheStageNYC That note is definitely in his modal voice and connected to his chest voice. It is head voice, that was my exact point. You CAN ONLY sing head voice in your modal register. ALL high notes in modal register are head voice.
Falsetto is not connected to your chest voice because, as you rightly point out, it is partial closing of the vocal cords. Modal voice is full closure of the vocal chords and so is head voice. Therefore Falsetto is a different register.
Florencione 1 month ago
@Florencione - Falsetto CANNOT be a register if it can be applied to low, middle and high notes. That would basically be saying your entire range is falsetto. Falsetto is a tone applied to a note by partially closing the folds. It has nothing to do with range.
We ALL sing in one register but with various resonances. Throat & Head. That's it. Anything else is a mode. Fry, Sob, Falsetto, Distortion.
THAT is the modern way to clarify the voice. The old way is too confusing.
RocktheStageNYC 1 month ago
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@RocktheStageNYC Through puberty men develop longer vocal chords and because of that their voice deepens. The reason you can hit soprano notes in this video is because you use falsetto through which you only partially disclose your vocal chords. This makes the instrument you use for your tone, your vocal chords, shorter, and because of that the tone is higher. It is not full voice. If it were full voice you would be a male soprano.
Florencione 1 month ago
@Florencione - You are confused on two things. In puberty the larynx grows and the folds become thicker - hence a deeper voice.
My loud, high notes (G5 & A5) here are FULL VOICE. There is no partial closing. The glottis is shortening for high notes, but the folds stay connected through the use of compression. Therefore - FULL voice.
Being able to sing high notes has nothing to do with voice types - it has to do with training and understanding the process of full voice phonation.
RocktheStageNYC 1 month ago
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@RocktheStageNYC If your head voice would be able to hit A5, then your highest full voiced note would be similar to Michael Jackson's one, who could hit B5 according to his voice teacher, and was a freakishly high tenor.
Florencione 1 month ago
@Florencione - They are ALL full voice. B5, A5 etc. The process is called adduction and its been used for centuries. It has nothing to do with one's voice type (baritone, tenor, countertenor etc.) it has to do with the ability to adduct the folds and keep them connected as you shorten the glottis through diaphragmatic and sub glottal compression.
You are mixing terms - head voice and full voice are 2 different things. "Head" refers to resonance, "full" refers to fold closure
RocktheStageNYC 1 month ago
sooo...does Ian Gillan use head voice or falsetto, do you know Ian Gillan?
ArpeggioBear 1 month ago
@ArpeggioBear - Gillan usus both falsetto and head voice. A perfect example is the song "Child in Time". He begins the high notes in falsetto, then switches to a pharyngeal head tone for the highest notes.
RocktheStageNYC 1 month ago
your high head voice notes sound very much like heavy metal or hardrock music
you should do an ACDC cover i think you would manage that well
JakobRobert00 1 month ago
@JakobRobert00 - considering that I AM a rock singer I should hope so.
RocktheStageNYC 1 month ago
That is the singularly coolest fucking T-shirt on the planet.
burpo 1 month ago
Cool demo. How would u sing those lower falsetto notes in head voice? The scream isn't hard for me, but where u go from chest to head is. Take the chorus of Journeys Open Arms. First part is chest. Second part seems to be head. How would u approach that?
brywool 1 month ago
@brywool - well lower notes (depending where they are) may or may not be able to be sung in head voice. "Open Arms" has chest, mix and head voice notes all in one song.
Transitioning smoothly from chest to head voice is a learned skill that's takes a lot of practice and patience. Its easy to flip or jump from chest to head but sing smoothly from one to other takes skill. Knowing how to keep the vocal cords connected while switching resonances. Its tricky but not impossible
RocktheStageNYC 1 month ago
It'd be cool to see a demo of that. The chorus of Open Arms is a great example. The first part of the chorus is in chest, the second in probably head voice. But it's very tricky to do. It'd be great to see how you would handle that section.
brywool 1 month ago
@brywool - it would sound different than how Perry sings it because Perry's voice is naturally higher than mine. What is chest voice for him is lower head voice for me. It IS tricky to do if you don't have Perry's high tenor voice.
RocktheStageNYC 1 month ago
@RocktheStageNYC Oh, of course it'd sound different. You wouldn't LOOK like him either. haha. I see a lot of these singing lessons on Youtube (not necessarily yours, which I think are super good, by the way) some of them lead you to believe that if you "just use your headvoice, you'll have that full sound in those upper registers". That rock banshee scream is something that's fairly simple. But actually singing lyrics with that headvoice is really tricky and I don't see it addressed much.
brywool 1 month ago
@brywool - well you see A LOT of other singing channels on YouTube are put up by teachers who really were never actively performing in a real world situation. Never paid their dues singing 4 nights a week. They are "teachers" with music degrees who think they can teach people out of a book. Or they are "coaches" without any real technique knowledge.
Singing lyrics in head voice is tricky but not impossible. If you can sing single notes in head, lyrics are not that far a stretch.
RocktheStageNYC 1 month ago
Cool vid.... good info...thx
microphonegarage 2 months ago
I can sing higher notes in my falsetto than my chest voice. Is this normal or theoretically everyone is supposed to be able to hit the highest note done in falsetto with one's chest voice as well? Sometimes when I cannot hit a high note or am not confident I can hit that high note I use my falsetto to hit that note. Is this lack of vocal training? If I have proper vocal training will I be able to hit that high note which I can do in falsetto with my chest voice? Thank you.
sabathiel01 2 months ago
@sabathiel01 - its natural to go higher in a falsetto tone than in chest voice. Now whether or not you'll be able to sing that note in chest depends on what you consider a "high note".
RocktheStageNYC 2 months ago
@RocktheStageNYC I see so I'm normal and because I proper vocal technique. But doesn't that make falsetto a separate vocal register since it goes to a higher vocal register? By "high" note I mean the notes that you struggle when hitting in a non falsetto tone. Also does measuring one's vocal range such as determining if one is a tenor, alto, baritone etc include hitting notes in a falsetto tone?
sabathiel01 2 months ago
@RocktheStageNYC Oops I meant to say "I see so I'm normal not because I lack proper vocal technique".
sabathiel01 2 months ago
What's the difference between falsetto and just any breathy voice then?
snoopyflick 2 months ago
@snoopyflick - None. A breathy sound means your vocal folds are not completely engaging to make sound - there are gaps. This is the definition of falsetto.
RocktheStageNYC 2 months ago
I just found this:
"In this case, in addition to breaking apart to relieve the pressure from the lungs, they actually change their thickness (they thin themselves out--the equivalent to changing to a thinner guitar string in middle of a song to reach a higher note!) "
which goes against what you have said to some degree or, at least, you left out the thickness part.
I would say I'm singing in falsetto simply because I don't have the resonance that I feel in chest voice.
Acmicon 2 months ago
@Acmicon - my point of this video was not to address the thickness or stretching of the vocal cords - because thats not what falsetto is. My point of this video was too demonstrate the difference in power of high notes sung with a falsetto configuration and notes sung with fully closed vocal cords.
RocktheStageNYC 2 months ago
and, by your description, it should be easier to sing long notes in head voice, which for me, I can hold those high notes for ever so I must be in head voice. But this goes against everything I have read.
Acmicon 2 months ago
@Acmicon - low notes are not head voice - but chest voice.
RocktheStageNYC 2 months ago
Easy = ease ;/
Anyways, Either falsetto and head voice overlap or falsetto is an extension of chest(which seems to be the case by your description, which is the exact opposite of which I've read elsewhere).
Maybe you could sing a scale starting in chest and going into falsetto first and then starting in chest and going into head.
Also, is it more difficult to sing in falsetto or head? I've never had issues "singing like a girl" but I'm pretty sure it has to be falsetto.
Acmicon 2 months ago
@Acmicon - falsetto has NOTHING to do with range or a how or how high a note is. Falsetto also has NOTHING to do with head voice. Falsetto is a partial closing of the vocal cords. That can be done on any note in your range.
RocktheStageNYC 2 months ago 3
@RocktheStageNYC So falsetto is really a technique, not a range. Like the difference between slap bass and plucking..?
burpo 1 month ago
@burpo - yes. Falsetto is like rolling your palm onto the bridge to mute the strings. Its a technique to change the tonality of your sound.
RocktheStageNYC 1 month ago
I don't think the video is clear. When I sing high notes with easy I always though it was in falsetto. In my chest voice, I think, I can hit a C5 with extreme difficulty and tension and little power. With "falsetto" I can sing it with extreme easy and virtually no tension. The range is about a G3 to G5 but starting near D5 I start to have the airy sound you mention for falsetto(but not for the lower notes).
I have no idea if I'm singing in head voice or falsetto or if there is a mixture.
Acmicon 2 months ago
I would like to ask a question. As I dont have a high vocal range (though I can do falsetto), can I still train my vocal cord to sing head voice? Is vocal range a limitation to sing head voice?
wildfission 2 months ago
@wildfission - nope. vocal range does not limit your ability to sign in head voice. Only your desire to train properly will limit you.
RocktheStageNYC 2 months ago
Ok im kind of confused, when i say falsetto i think its by going higher than full voice like the voice crack then suddenly falsetto but i still dont understand the difference because from what i think is falsetto (could also be head voice not entirely sure) i can make it sound like you did at the end like the 80s scream
iamskilled5 2 months ago
@iamskilled5 - what I do at the end of this video isn't really that hard - its singing from low and middle range notes up to those high without cracking that takes technique.
Look at my video "why your voice breaks".
RocktheStageNYC 2 months ago
@iamskilled5 = falsetto has NOTHING to do with high notes. Falsetto is a tonality that can be song on low notes as well. The "break" you experience is simply a lack of proper breath support.
RocktheStageNYC 2 months ago
In your technique, do you avoid pushing the air as quickly when you're using this head tone (as you do in chest voice)?
MyOttoLink 2 months ago
@MyOttoLink - it all depends on the context of the note. One can sing head voice notes loudly, medium volume or low volume depending on the song.
Remember with head voice / higher notes its NOT about the amount of air you use but how much you compress it inside your midsection. High notes do not require a lot of air, they do require a solid press from the body.
RocktheStageNYC 2 months ago
What's going on with the people that try this head voice you're talking about, that they encounter severe vocal fatigue at the end of an hour-long session?
MyOttoLink 2 months ago
@MyOttoLink - their breath support is insufficient or lacking completely. If you support the voice correctly from your abdomen the voice takes hours to fatigue.
RocktheStageNYC 2 months ago
Hah, I did not know that there was a difference. I thought falsetto was the same as head voice and that the "breathy" and "powerful" variation was just a variation on the falsetto/head voice. Thanks for uploading this!
Sjoera 3 months ago
@Sjoera - the reason I made this video is precisely because so many people believe what you believe based on what they've read or heard. The difference between falsetto and head voice are merely different states of vocal cords closure.
"Falsetto" was invented as a term a long time ago to describe high notes of males. This was before modern technique when it was discovered one could sing from low to high and stay in full voice through support and resonance shifting.
RocktheStageNYC 3 months ago
he just sung a saprano A O_O
Memoreism 3 months ago
Watch the video and think about Silent HIll: The room :))
quangvinh2689 3 months ago
All the haters need to watch this video haha
vanhalenfannumber1 3 months ago
I have no idea which I can do. It's like my entire register is shifted. If I sing the same note as someone else, I sound much higher pitch.
chiffmonkey 3 months ago
that was freaking nice :D lought my ass off :D
RinaldsH 3 months ago
Thank you! I was telling a guy about head voice and he's kind of a know it all and he refered to it as falsetto. I told him there was a diffrence but he didn't believe me! Ugh sometimes guys can be so condescending even when they are wrong! Lol ... yes I'm female :)
gcbigkid 3 months ago 2
@gcbigkid - he's using an outdated term for head resonance that goes back to times when only men for allowed to perform in Opera. They had to sing all the parts, even the females, so that high voice was considered a "false voice" hence the term "falsetto". Skip ahead to the 20th century and you STILL have people referring to it as such even though it has been proven scientifically to be two very different things.
RocktheStageNYC 3 months ago
I have a question about former pantera phil anzelmo's high notes at the end of "cemetary gates". can you perform a "cover" of these notes? because
it seems like many people think anzelmo did those in falsetto, but after watching
this video, it seems that they actually were sung in head voice indisputably,
which is insane. by the way this
/watch?v=ZfHkb9wkqhQ is the only recorded performance including
the high notes at the end, not as extremely high as the studio version, but damn
fucking good.
tbktb 3 months ago
@tbktb - those are head voice notes - very open with a little grit.
RocktheStageNYC 3 months ago
Hi again kevin, just wondering. I can hit those high notes too (maybe struggle on the A5) but i would like to know how to add distortion to my head voice? so i can sound like a rock singer :P
TheDarkDimensions 3 months ago
@TheDarkDimensions - thats a loaded question. There are several means to add distortion - palate trilling, glottal compression, throat compression, fry phonation - none are right for everyone not work for everyone. There are 1000 ways to do it wrong and only a few to do it right. In my experience people who can distort their high notes can do so naturally without thinking or a technique. Its a natural part of their voice.
RocktheStageNYC 3 months ago
OMG The scream was insane!
mayorde18 4 months ago
1:59 no i don't see the difference,but i can hear it!
yufeyrufgs 4 months ago
Falsetto is not Head voice. I am training to be an professional operatic countertenor so I have some practical experience and knowledge about how the singing voice is produced. Although I am being formally trained in opera, my modern singing voice has also come on leaps and bounds. I can hit the 'screaming' rock notes in my head voice that I struggled with before my classical training began. And I can change and colour my head voice depending on whether I'm singing opera or rock/metal.
AlbaCountertenor 4 months ago 4
@AlbaCountertenor - right on.
RocktheStageNYC 3 months ago
is fal good for your vocal cords i don't think it's bad..
chrisstevensjunior 5 months ago
@chrisstevensjunior
falsetto is easier on your vocal cords because, as he says in the video, your vocal chords are wide open with falsetto, whereas with head voice the vocal chords are touching most of the way which lends the potential for them slapping together if done wrong and hurting your cords. when wide open, like in falsetto, the chances of slapping the cords together are less.
sheichet 5 months ago
@sheichet Couldn't disagree more. It's a myth that cords together is more unhealthy than cords apart. Breath the flows thru the cords can damage the cords. Sound is made when they are together. This is not a belief, it is a fact, learned thru many years of experience.
rovingdesertfox 4 months ago
@rovingdesertfox
ok, that makes sense.. I guess that's why they say whispering is very bad to do when on vocal rest unlike many people think. Is that the same principle, because whispering is passing the air through the cords?
sheichet 4 months ago
@sheichet You're exactly right with the whispering.....and louder more forceful whispering is THE worst thing you can do. Just do this when you go to sing: Very firmly contract your abs and just start making sounds. That's it. Keep the firm contraction with the abs before you sing and while you sing. You will be AMAZED at what develops. The firm abs close the cords and that relationship is the most important one of all. Abs are very firm, neck muscles, face muscles are very relaxed.
rovingdesertfox 4 months ago
Nice video! Adam Lambert is my favorite singer and he sings really high often. Like in thw video of him doing Born To Be Wild live on American Idol.
At 1:37 of the most viewed video on YT of it and towards the end he hits some really high notes. I'm not sure if those are mixed tones or head tones. What are they?
Malc230692 5 months ago
That is extreme head voice!
Christsremnant 5 months ago
You are awesome. You are MORE clear on what Falsetto is than Wikipedia. lol.
Kipicus 5 months ago
@Kipicus - ok lets get this straight for all you post internet younger people - Wikipedia is NOT the greatest nor most accurate place to get information. Its NOT the only place to get information. Most of the info on Wikipedia for singing is outdated, obsolete and useless for the modern singer.
RocktheStageNYC 5 months ago
@RocktheStageNYC Also, I wanted to point out that my comment was intended to be ironic. However, if you DO disagree with the information posted on Wikipedia, you can change it, and post your sources. (Kind of like a really current encyclopedia.) BUT, this also leaves a lot of elbow room for bullshitters, idiots, and unintended liars, so no, not the best place to rely on for facts, alone. This being said, I didn't take your comment as a personal jab at me, I'm just reinforcing what you said. :)
Kipicus 5 months ago
@Kipicus - Good, because I wasn't making a personal comment to you but to people in general about sourcing from the internet and wikipedia.
RocktheStageNYC 5 months ago
Oh I think Im in love with you! finally someone who knows what they are talking about. I am now a faithful follower. Thanks for the great tips.
DanniShanea 5 months ago
Let me just start with your first statement-"if you close your vocal chords all the way you have a full voice sound". What do you mean by this? That it won't sound "falsetto"? Are you saying that if you automatically close the vocals chords you get a full sounding voice no matter what pitch you are on? Common sense would tell you that partially closed vocal chords result in a breathy sound in any range.
KaleidoscopeAct 5 months ago
Both of those are falsetto. Falsetto has nothing to with "breathy". You can be breathy in any register. Please show us full voiced!
KaleidoscopeAct 5 months ago
@KaleidoscopeAct - Falsetto has EVERYTHING to do with breathy because of the lack of complete cord closure. The gaps create a "breathy" tonality. But you are right, it can be done in any register.
Umm, I have a whole channel here of full voice high notes. why don't you look.
RocktheStageNYC 5 months ago
@RocktheStageNYC I'm sorry. Could you recommend any full voiced videos? I've been watching like four or five and I can't find any. Everything sounds like a loud falsetto.
KaleidoscopeAct 5 months ago
@RocktheStageNYC I'm also confused about your understanding of falsetto. Falsetto is just an overdone thinning of the vocal chords and a super fast vibrating of them. Not closing them all the way is a choice, which you can do in any register. A countertenor in classical music has to close their vocal chords all the way to sing in falsetto or they wouldn't be able to get the resonance needed to fill the house. I think you are confusing style choices with the science of what is happening.
KaleidoscopeAct 5 months ago
@KaleidoscopeAct - uh know. I have researched vocal technique for over 10 years. Falsetto is a partial closing of the cords. The technique you speak of for countertenors is called adducted head voice. They are two separate things. If you close your cords all the way you have a full voice sound.
You are using an obsolete terminology for upper and lower register singing. Not all notes about the modal voice are falsetto. Falsetto is a tonality not a register or place you sing in.
RocktheStageNYC 5 months ago
I am confused how you define tone. Falsetto is a register shift if you define tone as a change in sound quality. You can open up the soft palate/back the mouth/head and get a different tone. If you define tone as a change in color because of singing location then I agree with you. Please recommend a video on your page(I can't find one)where you demonstrate singing in full voice. I have been watching quite a few and have not heard a full voiced sound in your head register or head tone.
KaleidoscopeAct 5 months ago
@KaleidoscopeAct - check out any that have to do with head voice, high notes, belting etc. Tonal shifts occur because of placement of resonance. Sing too far forward or high in the vocal tract and you sound nasal, too far back or in the throat and your tone is too "woofy" or covered. Falsetto is a tonality and nothing to do with registers. Falsetto is a partial closing of the cords. Head voice is a fully connected glottis vibrating as chest voice would but in an upper resonance.
RocktheStageNYC 4 months ago
I'm pretty suprised you can make a A5 sound like that i thought at that point it would sound more of a soprano voice even for a male i mean it does for me. but i am not a screamer/rock singer so i guess that it why mine sounds like i'm a soprano but i don't know. very nice though
maddog8757 5 months ago
You're cool. That is all.
TheLennyPanda 5 months ago
Wow, this really helped a lot, thanks!
GreaseThunderBird 5 months ago
You just changed my life
VonGizzle 5 months ago
Finally someone makes sense
omnicide213 5 months ago
yeaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh he sounds in the number of the beaast Bruce Dickinson Head voice
cerberuuss 5 months ago
@AlochEX music is life to me, and life is music
AlochEX 6 months ago
i'm no music expert but i'm a music lover. i've listened to a lot beegees songs which are riddled with falsettos. franki vali and his group did it first before the beegees. the simplest definition of falsetto is - it means false voice which is beyond the singer's natural voice comfort zone. it has less resonance compared to head voice and chest voice which are within a singer's comfort zone. can't be any simpler than that.
bigfucker2010 6 months ago
@bigfucker2010 - Not really no. Frankie Valli actually sang his highest notes with a pharyngeal head voice not falsetto. The Bee Gee alternate between pharyngeal head voice and falsetto.
Falsetto has NOTHING to do with vocal range (comfort zone or not), its about a lack of vocal cord closure.
RocktheStageNYC 6 months ago 3
@RocktheStageNYC can you find me a link where at least one of the beegees mentioned that they were using pharyngeal head voice. i remember one interview that is not on youtube where barry only mentioned falsetto but not the other. as far frankie, i heard on the radio where they were considered to be the first to use falsetto, not the beegees. not that i don't believe you but the thing is i've never heard from either frankie or the beegees or from any source about pharyngeal head voice.
bigfucker2010 6 months ago
@bigfucker2010 - I know exactly what The Bee Gees and Frankie Valli are using based purely on their sound and my 20 years of vocal technique research. I have never seen an interview with either where they talk about their singing techniques. What people called "falsetto" 50 years ago is not what we call falsetto today. The Bee Gees used both techniques but Frankie Valli is pure pharyngeal head voice on his high notes - that's why its so piercing and powerful. His tonality gives it all away.
RocktheStageNYC 6 months ago
@RocktheStageNYC Nice! Finally someone gets it! Great explanation!
dyllungarrett 5 months ago
@flyingblosom - its light connected head voice with some pharyngeal resonance in places.
RocktheStageNYC 6 months ago
GREAT VIDEO, finally somebody explaining, what REALLY physically happens when we sing in different registers/modes... I could never understand why I couldnt get a clear head voice and connect it to my chest voice... Neither did my numerous teachers know.. Well it was my falsetto, not head voice!! Now other dimensions opened up in my voice..
I think most people have a misconception about this, if you look up "Alicia Keys Gwen Kiss" on here, in the beginning she changes between head and falsetto?
luisastephanie 6 months ago
@luisastephanie - actually I have backed away from the idea of vocal registers. I believe compartmentalizing the voice into registers is just confusing and actually inaccurate. We all sing in one register with variances in resonance. Talking about chest, middle, head registers separates the voice in such a way that is scientifically false. The vocal cords do not disconnect or shift gears at certain notes, they merely stretch. The illusion of registers is created by poorly developed support.
RocktheStageNYC 4 months ago
@metalmachine00 - well all of it is his "normal" voice, (is there such thing as an un-normal voice?") but the high notes are head voice.
RocktheStageNYC 6 months ago
Granted I'm trained as a musician an not a vocalist, but I'm confused when you refer to falsetto as "a tone." To most musicians it's a term conjoined with "note" and "pitch," so it feels like calling falsetto a tone is like calling an octave or a scale a tone.
If I understand this right perhaps falsetto might be better described as a set of tones in the higher end of the "head voice" which lacks the vocal support normally used when singing?...Or do vocalists use the term "tone" differently?
Garonyldas 6 months ago
@Garonyldas - when I say "falsetto is a tone" I am referring to the fact that is has no set note or pitch or set place in the vocal range. Falsetto is found in both low & high notes. Falsetto is a vocal tonality like twang, sob, distortion etc.. It is a vocal tonality or sound you apply to your voice. It is NOT a place you can go.
Like with a guitar you have a tone or sound when you play. Your "tone" is how the instrument sounds based on your equipment, its settings , what effects you use etc.
RocktheStageNYC 6 months ago
@Garonyldas A note is a term applied to a specific frequency while a tone is a collection of different frequencies that make up a sound.. A note would be a specific Hz, while that note played at the base of the grand canyon would give you tons of reverberations and would change the pitch a thousand times being reflected off stone wall before your mind can place it all together as one tone. So tone is more than just the fundamental frequency, it's everything else that goes with it.
sexiewasd 6 months ago
do soul/RnB singers like Philip Bailey, Daryl Hall, Mick Hucknall utilize both head voice and falsetto?
Prosopagnosia11 7 months ago
@Prosopagnosia11 - I don't know of these singers but I'm sure they do. Stylistically, Soul & R&B singing uses both head voice and falsetto for song dynamics. People like Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Beyonce, all use it.
RocktheStageNYC 7 months ago
LOL the only reason why I see that these guys still argue about the non existence of head voice is because they have not gained access into theirs yet. The feeling is TOTALLY and 100% different.
jinjo22 7 months ago
Just stumbled upon this and it is very interesting and instructive. I love music but have no knowledge of the mechanics or techniques involved. It reminds me how little one actually knows about things they don't know about. Great job!
usnmustang1 7 months ago
I've heard that the "cords zipping" theory is now thrown aside because of its misconception? Could you enlighten me on that?
Eternionland 7 months ago
@Eternionland - well its not been thrown aside. There is a debate in the vocal teaching community on "where" it happens, not "if" it happens. There is debate on whether the zipping effect happens after chest voice or only at the higher end of vocal range near whistle/flagiolet.
RocktheStageNYC 7 months ago
can you sing She's gone by Steelheart?
okoloptttify 7 months ago
@okoloptttify - why would I? I hated Steelheart.
RocktheStageNYC 7 months ago
@RocktheStageNYC because it's goddamn impossible to sing XD
srs7593 7 months ago
@srs7593 - not impossible - just pointless.
RocktheStageNYC 7 months ago
@RocktheStageNYC Oh I was thinking of something else. I think that that's one singer who actually does utilize falsetto come to think of it.
Do you have any videos of yourself doing slides from chest voice into head voice? They used to call it a Jim Gillette slide but now apparently it's a Stu Block slide.
srs7593 7 months ago
@srs7593 - its' nobody's "slide" It's a vocal exercise called "sirening". Look at my video on octave slides.
RocktheStageNYC 7 months ago
Didn't hear any difference apart from one being louder. :/
Could you make a comparison between a quiet head voice and a quiet falsetto?
Because this gives me an impression that the head voice is a loud falsetto.
KeistasZmogelis 7 months ago
@KeistasZmogelis - follow the link to my follow up video on this. I do a better demonstration of the two sounds.
RocktheStageNYC 7 months ago
@RocktheStageNYC You said "Falsetto is a vocal mode like Sob, Twang and Distortion.". I think that's the problem. For a lot of people and for our purpose, you have a modal register and a falsetto register, and the two overlap, etc. So you should say that since you consider falsetto as a vocal mode like distortion, your video show the difference. But, it's not correct from a classical point of view.
Albertolo1928 7 months ago
@Albertolo1928 - This is where classical teaching has to join the 21st century. FALSETTO IS NOT A REGISTER. If it is a register, explain how I can sing with a falsetto tone on high and low notes? There are ONLY TWO registers - chest & head. That's it. Everything else is based upon resonance.
Just as I can use modes like sob, twang, distortion on high & low notes, so can I use falsetto. It is NOT a place or register - it is a vocal tonality.
RocktheStageNYC 7 months ago
@RocktheStageNYC I know this. I know falsetto is not head voice. But the two exemples you do; one is the falsetto operistic like, and the other is falsetto like belting of the broadway musicals. It's a common mistake, I undesrtand, but it's dangeours spread a teach like this; you could "RIP" people's voice. Read more about contertenors (that's NOT, NOT, NOT fisically especific kind of voice, it's only technique), more about bel canto, and make a comparsion with your belting techniques. Grazie!
lecobrazil 7 months ago
I think I'm go to start calling people who think males cannot sing above a Male high C without the use of falsetto "head voice deniers".
RocktheStageNYC 7 months ago
@RocktheStageNYC And I could send a video to you doing that A5 you do with "falsetto", and with the same timbre as yours. And look your age and mine, as you said! The problem it's not technic, is the style. You don't even know a fonoaudilogic process, besides you still call "singers" as "vocalist". by the way, that's why rockers voices lost their resistence, their power and their intensity so fast. It's out of question and, for me, the debate is really over. Don't mind to not answer...
lecobrazil 7 months ago
@lecobrazil - its my video and I can answer if I want. Why do you insist Rockers lose their voices? I've been singing for longer than you've been alive and my voice is STRONGER now than it was when I was your age. In many ways this technique has strengthened my vocal abilities. I have MORE power, MORE range and MORE longevity. I used to be spent as a singer after 40min, now I can sing for hours without any fatigue.
Your statements aren't based on fact, but opinion.
RocktheStageNYC 7 months ago
I love your comments here, I especially love your clarification of falsetto vs. head voice. I have struggled with falsetto for years; I can't seem to stop singing this way! A former choir director (if you could call it that) complained that too many were singing falsetto, but never offered direction on improving. What advice would you give a 36 year old lady, with a decent voice, who wishes to belt it out?
admurph 8 months ago
Sorry, friend. The both techniques you show as exemple are falsetto. The first it's backward, the second forwards. Nothing more. It's this kind of mistakes of mixed voice in belting techniques that destroy much of great voices of the scene.
lecobrazil 8 months ago
@lecobrazil - sorry "friend" but neither of these is falsetto. Secondly there is no such thing as backwards or forwards falsetto.
I've been singing this way longer than you've been alive and my voice is stronger now than it was 20 years ago. Your understanding of the voice is incomplete and outdated.
RocktheStageNYC 8 months ago
@RocktheStageNYC Ok, right. You think your voice is "strong" because its age make it naturally more heavy. The blend - timbre - when you sing your "head voice" is unmistakable: falsetto, but "backwards", or intubated, or closed back and under the upper palate, if you preffer. But as a singer teacher you should know that belting techniques are only complementary, it NOT develops the vocal musculature as when you study, for EXAMPLE, bel canto. That's it. But you could continue deceive people.
lecobrazil 8 months ago
@lecobrazil - my voice is strong because I can 1) sing for hours with no ill effects. 2)sing loudly for hours with no hoarseness. 3) my voice is flexible through most if my range without a warm up. 4) My voice is better now than 20 years ago.
You are assuming you know my voice by one video. Try looking at the whole channel.
My demonstration was to show that falsetto cannot be this loud or powerful.
I know Bel Canto technique. This is a Rock singing, not Bel Canto. Do not compare the two.
RocktheStageNYC 7 months ago
@BlessixDreamix - how is classical your "only option". Says who?
Singing with a quiet voice/piano takes control of both breath pressure and laryngeal muscle control. The less air you blast at the vocal folds, the more the muscles surrounding the larynx have to pick up the slack and take control. Its delicate technique and actually takes more practice than singing at full volume.
A good place to start is with vocal fry. Do scales with a light vocal fry. This is laryngeal muscle control
RocktheStageNYC 8 months ago
Hey Kevin,
Love this video, finally clears up a lot of the misconception on youtube. I have a question for you:
I find when singing in my higher chest register (or possibly in my falsetto, not so knowledgeable about the whole singing thing), I find I often switch to head voice without trying. While I can hit some pretty nice notes with my headvoice, It's a little squeely sounding (not so melodic haha) and I don't like it unless a song asks for it, or I am fooling around.
Any advice?
Jamezzzuh 8 months ago
@Jamezzzuh - there's no way for me to give you a straight answer without hearing what you're doing. Why don't you post a video or audio of an example to your channel (make it private and send me the URL) and I can tell you whats happening.
RocktheStageNYC 8 months ago
@BlessixDreamix - those muscles should be trained indirectly by simply allowing your voice to do what its designed to do. Purposely targeting those muscles is pointless. You're wasting time. Train them through exercises that target proper breath support and resonance blending. People make singing to be much more complicated physically than it needs to be. Your body pretty much knows what to do to sing, it just needs some guidance and the proper intensity of breath. The rest falls into place.
RocktheStageNYC 8 months ago
Oh yeah, apologies for this totally unrelated stuff on your comments page Kevin. A very useful and informative video :D
KingTwili 8 months ago
thanks for the video, but i have just one question: is it easier to hit a note in falsetto than head voice?
MrSoulshock4444 8 months ago
@MrSoulshock4444 - yes, because falsetto take less physical work but your end result is weaker and less full sounding.
RocktheStageNYC 8 months ago
If falsetto is breathy mostly, how does Nick Pitera 99% of the time sing it thickly and powerfully?
joiemoie 8 months ago
@joiemoie - thats because Nick is not singing in falsetto. It is very light head voice. He just changes resonances and sounds "girlish" - but his vocal cords are still fully connected.
RocktheStageNYC 8 months ago
hey kevin ...i have a little question when you are on head voice...how should it feel? I mean ...what shouldn't be felt or done when you are on head voice?
totoman12 8 months ago
@totoman12 - Great Question! - What you SHOULDN'T feel in head voice is any tension or strain in the neck, no feeling of self strangulation on the interior on the throat. It should feel above the throat and inside your mouth and behind the cheeks. The absolute best place to feel the sensation of head resonance notes is at the back of the roof of the mouth (the soft palate) - that is the ideal spot for head voice resonance.
RocktheStageNYC 8 months ago
@RocktheStageNYC you know..thank you...no one had answer me ever...i mean not even eric arcenaux... and he supposely likes to check his email..Thanks!
totoman12 8 months ago
I didn't even know what head voice was. Didn't even know it was a thing. So now if anyone ever says it, I will know. Thanks bro
nightofear 9 months ago
@nightofear This is not necessarily true. There are different terminologies of head voice and falsetto. For me and many others falsetto means non-modal notes whereas head voice is twangy and light modal (aka, full) voice.
GoodGuitarSolos 8 months ago
@BlessixDreamix - the glottis closes smaller and smaller as you sing higher - this is called "shortening".
RocktheStageNYC 9 months ago
@BlessixDreamix - depending on the repertoire and skill level, a Soprano can do one or all of those things listed but in most cases they will choose to relax and go for a light head voice - although it sounds falsetto in tone it is very light head voice.
RocktheStageNYC 9 months ago
@BlessixDreamix - absolutely not. In fact your vocal cords perform better at normal levels. Shouting is unnatural and dangerous to the voice. That blast of air creates a glottal shock where the cords sloam together - very bad for the voice.
The ultimate goal of a singer is to be able to sing almost every note in your range at low, normal and high volume.
RocktheStageNYC 9 months ago
@lightningshock12 You're remarkably ignorant. He's very blatantly experienced and hitting exactly what notes he says he is.
Bloodsymple 9 months ago
LOL and that wasn't a G5 and THAT SURE AS HELL wasn't an A5, check your damn ears! lol It wasn't above an F, so do not kid yourself please, Okay? Okay xD
lightningshock12 9 months ago
@lightningshock12 - check it against a piano before you comment like this. I did before I added the notations at the bottom of the video. You just made yourself look extremely uninformed.
RocktheStageNYC 9 months ago 5
That's precisely what I did. That most definately wasn't an A5. You should check it again. I've heard plenty of A5's, ACTUAL A5. That most definately wasn't. Please, do not fool the users on YouTube. That's very deceitful and plain wrong. Or maybe you just don't know the extent of vocal capacity.
lightningshock12 9 months ago
@lightningshock12 - hmm what A5 are you referring to because on my piano an A5 is two A's above middle C and that's what that note is. I've done it a 100 times.
I've been singing and studying singing longer than you've been alive. Now go back and listen to some more Hannah Montana Jayden.
RocktheStageNYC 9 months ago 11
@RocktheStageNYC Singing and studying does not prove you're capable of understanding and replicating what is taught, it just means you go to classes/lessons/read articles regardless of what you benefit from it.
MorkaGraven 5 months ago
@MorkaGraven - true. "Knowing is not enough, one must apply" - Bruce Lee. One can read a book on flying planes for years but until you sit in the cockpit you don't really know what its like.
The ability to teach effectively comes from having the experience and knowledge to grasp the concepts, replicate the techniques, then break them down so that others can learn and understand them as well. I do that 5 days a week with my students and to millions here on YouTube.
RocktheStageNYC 5 months ago