By Jeannie Deva

August 2007

Head Voice, Chest Voice - what�s it all about?

In the final article of this four-part series, I�ll cover the myth of �Chest Voice,� �Head Voice� and �Falsetto.� We�ll see why these terms or their application can confuse you or limit your potential as a singer.

For many years, voice teachers have coined terms to explain and classify vocal range in an attempt to help singers develop their voices. Not all the vocal instructions were scientifically sound so while some of the terms may work, others have created new confusions.

The terms Chest and Head Voice as well as Falsetto were born hundreds of years ago. They meant something entirely unscientific. By this I mean the terms had nothing to do with how the voice works to sing.

When you sing in that range of your voice spanning from a few notes above to about an octave below the pitch of your speaking voice, you often feel sensations in the breastbone and thus developed the classification �chest voice.� Likewise, the head voice was so named due to the experience of sensations in the head when singing approximately 6 to 8 notes higher than the pitch of one�s usual speaking voice. Between chest and head was designated as the �middle register� � just to have a name for it. For men, the falsetto lies above the head register; while for women it is named the whistle register (Mariah Carey�s highest range).

The name falsetto can be especially misleading since �false� is defined as unreal or imaginary. In fact, the name originates from the Italian masters of the early Bel Canto school of voice technique. They considered the highest notes of a male voice unnatural and a false voice and named it accordingly. (They were probably the same ones who proclaimed �real men don�t cry!�) It�s too bad this biased classification has carried forward into the present.

Now-a-days these terms are used to mean one thing by some teachers and other things by others. The variation of terms creates a great deal of confusion and if you have come across them and have found yourself confused and possibly uncertain as to what is the right approach as you sing low and high in your range, this is possibly the reason!

The Problem with Range and Registers

The problem with using these categories in vocal training is that it can encourage you to think of your voice in sections. This sectionalized approach can lead to the idea that you must make something happen in order to bridge the gap between your �different voices.� And in fact, this is how many singers are taught.

After working with thousands of singers around the world who were confused and plagued with needless maneuvers and manipulations between their registers, I decided not to perpetuate this fallacy of thought and instruction. Through my research on the body, I have come to have a clear understanding of the vocal anatomy and its interactive relationship in creating the singing voice.

My discoveries have validated the way I prefer to think of the voice - as having an expanse of range within which the singer is free to create sounds appropriate to their own self-expression and communication. However, there are several factors which would hinder this reality and if not understood, they would cause someone to think otherwise about range and even their own vocal potential.

If too much air is released when you sing and this is not addressed and handled, you have to compensate for this problem. You may not know this is the underlying reason for the symptoms you experience. You may not have recognized that this is behind various limitations of your voice. You may not even be aware that you are not singing with your full potential.

The result is usually an unconnected range that is stronger in the lower notes and lighter, weaker, breathier or without �body� as you sing higher. This usually leads to the confirmation and supposed proof that there is such a thing as �Chest voice� and �Head voice.� From this, systems were designed to �bridge� each section and try to fool people that one does not have these sections. It�s like creating a problem and then developing �techniques� to mask the problem that was never solved from the beginning.

However, this one cause has many symptoms. Most singers spend most of their energy working to solve or compensate for this problem without knowing that is what they are doing. In fact there are voice techniques designed to compensate (not fix) this problem that in fact do not recognize this is what they are doing.

Is There Hope?

I have discovered a breath management technique that works naturally and automatically. As a result, you don�t have to think about breathing when singing. You don�t even need to do �breathing exercises.�

To experiment and begin to get a sense of what it might feel like to sing with less air coming out try this:

EXPERIMENT: Put the backs of your hands against either side of your body. Slide your hands backwards until you are feeling the sides of your back, left and right. Now push your sides (these are your ribs) outwards against your hands, side to side. Once done, take a quick, tiny breath and sing something. Try to keep your sides out against your hands as you sing and let your stomach remain relaxed: do not push your stomach in or out.

This is not easy and this is not one of my exercises. I am only trying to give you a sense of what it might be like to not push out your breath as you sing, and see if you notice some kind of improvement, no matter how slight.

To understand this natural breath support fully, do it correctly and receive the complete benefits of this approach (ribcage expansion technique), you will find the complete theory and exercises in my �Contemporary Vocalist� Volume One home study course book and CDs.

Have a great month!
Jeannie Deva