Human voice

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Human voice consists of sound made by a person using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, screaming or crying. The vocal folds in combination with the teeth, the tongue, and the lips, are capable of producing highly intricate arrays of sound, and vast differences in meaning can often be achieved through highly subtle manipulation of the sounds produced (especially in the expression of language). These differences can be in the individual noises produced, or in the overall tone in which they are uttered.

The tone of voice may suggest that a sentence is a question, even if grammatically it is not, and can display emotions such as anger, surprise, happiness. In a request, the tone can reveal much about how much one wants something, and whether it is asking a favor or more like an order. The tone of saying, for example, "I am sorry" can change the phrase's meaning dramatically: it may vary from a sincere request for forgiveness to implying something like, "I have the right to do this even if you do not like it".

Singers use the human voice as an instrument for creating music.

Contents

1 Voice registers

1.1 Chest voice
1.2 Middle voice
1.3 Head voice
1.4 Falsetto

2 External links
3 See also

Voice registers

The human voice is a complex instrument. Humans have vocal cords which can loosen or tighten or change their thickness and over which breath can be transferred at varying pressures. The shape of chest and neck, the position of the tongue, and the tightness of otherwise unrelated muscles can be altered. Any one of these actions results in a change in pitch, volume, timbre, or tone of the sound produced.

One important categorization that can be applied to the sounds singers make relates to the register or the "voice" that is used. Singers refer to these registers according to the part of the body in which the sound most generally resonates, and which have correspondingly different tonal qualities. There are widely differing opinions and theories about what a register is, how they are produced and how many there are. The following definitions refer to the different ranges of the voice.

Chest voice

The chest voice is the register typically used in everyday speech. It is so called because it can produce the sensation of the sound coming from the upper chest. This is because lower frequency sounds have longer wavelengths, and resonate mostly in the larger cavity of the chest. A person uses the chest voice when singing in the majority of his or her range.

The tonal qualities of the chest voice are usually described as being rich or full, but can also be pushed or belted by shouting or screaming.

When talking about a singer's vocal range, usually only the chest voice is counted. When a singer or person shouts or screams, this is in the chest voice; however, screaming above a singer's natural range is highly damaging in long term overuse and should be brief and occasional.

Middle voice

The middle voice, also known as the "blend", is the term used to describe the range of notes which marks the crossover between the chest and head, or "falsetto" voice. It may be a distinct change (a passaggio) or a more gradual blending. With training, many singers can choose whether to sing notes in this range in the head or chest voice. In the male baritone this range falls between G3-E4, typically.

Head voice

The head voice is similar to falsetto. It is sometimes heard when a woman shouts or is highly excited, and is less common in men unless they are deliberately accessing the range.

Head voice is different from falsetto in that it is connected to the chest voice. That is, the singer's head voice & chest voice are linked and sound bridged; in transition the voice doesn't cut out or make any audible changes in harmonics. This range is accessible with training, and it is possible to learn to use your falsetto in this way as a "head voice" without being taught conventially, notably as Freddie Mercury did.

In order to have a head voice you must have discovered how to eliminate your passagio, the two are mutually exclusive in a singer's voice - however it is still possible to have passagio breaks in your voice as before if you conciously choose to make the passagio audible.

The tonal qualities of the head voice are usually described as being sweet, balladic, lilting, lyrical, or pure. On the negative side, especially in men, on very high notes this register may sound light, squeaky, or breathy. It may not be as loud as the chest voice. Good examples of head voice are the verses of Bohemian Rhapsody in which Mercury sings in a soft voice between D4 and G#5, this is his head voice. Usually when the voice sounds more harsh it is referred to as a falsetto, although this can be the singers head voice as well depending on whether they are trained to eliminate their passagio.

Falsetto

Falsetto is a higher range than the head voice, although the only difference between the two is the force at which air is pushed through the folds, as anatomically they are produced in the same way. It relies on completely relaxed vocal folds and may sound breathy. The sound of the falsetto voice can be exemplified by the Bee Gees singing "Stayin' Alive", or Axl Rose singing in much of Gun's 'n Roses material. It is generally more obvious when men use it, but women, in the higher voices, usually use falsetto voice adjustments. It is a difficult register to sing accurately in, and it tends to be rather soft, except when there is amplification through careful practice, or a heavily compressed and amplified microphone setup. It is a quite distinct range from the head voice, and generally when singers describe their range they exclude the falsetto voice. A male singer who routinely sings using the falsetto is called a countertenor.

External links

http://www.vocalist.org.uk/voice_registers.html