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Revision as of 18:33, 29 December 2007 by Nrswanson (talk | contribs) (revert due to pre-emptive merger. please discuss merger before attempting to do so.)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The falsetto register is a vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal cords, in whole or in part. The characteristic sound of falsetto is inherently breathy and flute-like, with few overtones present. The falsetto voice is more limited in dynamic variation and tone quality than the modal voice in both speaking and singing. Both men and women can phonate in the falsetto register.
Physiological process of the falsetto register
The essential difference between the modal and falsetto registers lies in the amount and type of vocal cord involvement: in falsetto, only the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds enter into vibration-the main body of each fold is more or less relaxed; in modal voice, the wavelike motion involves the whole vocal cord, with the glottis opening at the bottom first and then at the top. When the transition from modal voice to falsetto takes place, the main body of each vocal cord or the vocalis muscle relaxes its resistance to the pull of the cricothyroid muscles enough for the vocal ligaments to be stretched still further. Vennard describes this process as follows:
“With the vocalis muscles relaxed it is possible for the cricothyroids to place great longitudinal tension upon the vocal ligaments. The tension can be increased in order to raise the pitch even after the maximum length of the cords has been reached. This makes the vocal fold thin so that there is negligible vertical phase difference. The vocalis muscles fall to the sides of the larynx and the vibration take place almost entirely in the ligaments.”
Research has revealed that not all speakers and singers produce falsetto in exactly the same way. Some speakers and singers leave the cartilaginous portion of the glottis open (sometimes called mutational chink), and only the front two-thirds of the vocal ligaments enter the vibration. The resulting sound, which is typical of many adolescents, may be pure and flutelike, but is usually soft and anemic in quality. In others, the full length of the glottis opens and closes in each cycle. In still others, a phenomenon known as damping appears, with the amount of glottal opening becoming less and less as the pitch rises, until only a tiny slit appears on the highest pitches. The mutational chink type of falsetto is considered inefficient and weak, but there is little information available about the relative strengths and weaknesses of the other two types.
The falsetto register in women
The issue of the female falsetto voice has been met with some controversy, especially among vocal pedagogists. Many books on the art of singing completely ignore this issue, simply gloss over it, or insist that women do not have falsetto. This controversy, however, does not exsist within the speech pathology community and arguments against the exsistance of female falsetto do not allign with current physiological evidence. Motion picture and video studies of laryngeal action reveal that women can and do produce falsetto, and electromyographic studies by several leading speach pathologists and vocal pedagogists also confirm this fact.
One possible explanation for this failure to recognize the female falsetto is the fact that the difference in timbre and dynamic level between the modal and falsetto registers often is not as pronounced in female voices as it is in male voices. This is due in part to the difference in the length and mass of the vocal folds and to the difference in frequency ranges. It is an established fact that women have a falsetto register and that many young female singers substitute falsetto for the upper portion of the modal voice. Some vocal pedagogists believe that this failure to recognize the female falsetto voice has led to the misidentification of young contraltos and mezzo-sopranos as sopranos, as it is easier for these lower voice types to sing in the soprano tessitura using their falsetto register.
The falsetto voice in singing
Falsetto is more limited in dynamic variation and tone quality than the modal voice. Most trained singers have at least an octave of range that they can sing in either modal voice or falsetto. In this overlapping area a given pitch in modal voice will always be louder than the same pitch sung in falsetto. The type of vocal cord vibration that produces the falsetto voice precludes loud singing except in the highest tones of that register; it also limits the available tone colors because of the simplicity of its waveform. Modal voice is capable of producing much more complex waveforms and infinite varieties of tone color. Falsetto, however, does involve less physical effort by the singer than the modal voice and, when properly used, can make possible some lovely tonal effects.
That being said, the falsetto voice has a number of highly specialized uses within a musical context. The following list includes the most common ones:
- in male choirs, to enable the first tenors to maintain the very demanding tessitura.
- in yodeling
- for comic effect in both operas and musicals
- by some lyric (Irish) tenors, folk singers, and so forth
- by falsettists or countertenors
- for pitches which are above the range of the modal register
- for pianissimo tones that would be difficult to execute in the modal register
- for vocal development
Falsetto voice in speech
The ability to speak within the falsetto register is possible for almost all men and women. The use of such speach, however, is uncommon, and is usually employed within the context of humour. Some people, however, speak frequently or entirely in the falsetto register. This behavior is identified by speach pathologists as a type of functional dysphonia.
See also
References
- McKinney, James (1994). The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults, cited below
- Large, John (February/March 1972). "Towards an Integrated Physiologic-Accoustic Theory of Vocal Registers", cited below
- McKinney, James (1994). The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults, cited below
- Vennard, William (1967). Singing: The Mechanism and the Technic, cited below
- McKinney, James (1994). The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults, cited below
- Vennard, William (1967). Singing: The Mechanism and the Technic, cited below
- Greene, Margaret; Lesley Mathieson (2001). The Voice and its Disorders, cited below
- Van den Berg, J.W. (December 1963). "Vocal Ligaments versus Registers", cited below
- McKinney, James (1994). The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults, cited below
- McKinney, James (1994). The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults, cited below
- Cooper, Morton (1973). Modern Techniques of Vocal Rehabilitation, cited below
Further reading
Cooper, Morton (1973). Modern Techniques of Vocal Rehabilitation. Charles C. Thomas. {{cite book}}: Text "ASIN: B000JC1U76" ignored (help)
Greene, Margaret (2001). The Voice and its Disorders. John Wiley & Sons; 6th Edition edition. ISBN 13: 978-1861561961. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
Large, John (1972). "Towards an Integrated Physiologic-Accoustic Theory of Vocal Registers". The NATS Bulletin. 28: 30–35. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
McKinney, James (1994). The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults. Genovex Music Group. ISBN 13: 978-1565939400. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
Van den Berg, J.W. (1963). "Vocal Ligaments versus Registers". The NATS Bulletin. 19: 18. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
Vennard, William (1967). Singing: The Mechanism and the Technic. Carl Fischer. ISBN 13: 978-0825800559. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)