Can anyone learn to sing falsetto?

[Super 8]

Is it something you have to be born with, or can you learn it?

I've always wondered how some of these guys, even some of the soul singers with lower voices can hit those notes.

 

Anyone know anything about this?

[td5_23]

I think learning to sing fasetto has the same challenges as learning to sing regularly. Everybody has their own physical, vocal, limitations, however most people are not able to pull it off without practice or training. I've been trying to improve my falsetto recently, and although my progress is limited, I do seem to be making some progress.

 

I'm also interested in this. Lets get some vocal coaches in this thread.

[flatfinger]

Can anyone learn to sing falsetto?

 

Chicks can't:lol:

[elsongs]

Can anyone learn to sing falsetto? Chicks can't:lol:

 

That's not true at all.

[Tedster]

What Elsongs said. Ladies have falsetto too, or "head voice".

 

This is something that does interest me, because, for a long time, outside of R&B or Beach Boys stuff...it seemed to be underutilized. But, I've always used it as an option in singing high harmony parts.

 

It's a bit different to control than one's normal range. Too often, people who try to sing falsetto get an obnoxious, harsh "Frankie Valli-Big Girls Don't Cry" sound rather than a pleasing Al Green sound.

[rasputin1963]

I'd say most male singers, with a little practice, can sing falsetto... Tenors are probably more naturally equipped to sing this way than basses. Nothing more glorious than a white falsetto (as in the Beach Boys, Robert John and The Four Seasons) or the great, great black falsettos (Aarion Love of The Stylistics, The Delfonics, Maurice White III of Earth, Wind and Fire).

 

The black falsetto is a tradition that goes back to Africa.... it was considered there a man's privelege to sing in falsetto, and was not considered effeminate at all... au contraire: The black African tribes greatly honored young men who could sing in falsetto...

 

Even today, in black Gospel and R&B settings, the man with a beautiful falsetto is considered a great treasure, and can mesmerize the knickers off the female contingent in the audience.

 

If you want to sing falsetto, there are some songs you should sing along closely with:

 

"Hey There, Lonely Girl" By Eddie Holman, Sr.

"You Make Me Feel Brand New" "Betcha By Golly, Wow", "People Make The World Go 'Round", and "Break Up To Make Up" by The Stylistics

"Have You Seen Her?" by The Chi-Lites

"Let's Hang On" by The Four Seasons

"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" by The Tokens

"Reasons" and "Fantasy" by Earth, Wind and Fire

"Natural High" by Bloodstone

"Didn't I Blow Your Mind (This Time)" by The Delfonics

"Lightning Strikes Again" by Lou Christie

"Sad Eyes" by Robert John

 

The thing about male falsetto is, it has to be done with great confidence and power and verve and pitch accuracy, with no shame or self-consciousness... maybe after an alcoholic beverage or two, give it a try... You can't "think" it, just do it, and do it big! Your falsetto range at the high end will definitely improve the more you sing this way. If you're a man, you'll definitely feel that break in your voice, leaping off the back of your hard palate at a certain point in your range.... the feeling is as though you've lept from your Adam's apple... up into your nose. A falsetto is produced with much reverberation in your nose.

 

Now here's a great piece of trivia: The word "falsetto" is Italian, of course, meaning "in a false voice". In a male, it means, singing in a woman's range.

 

BUT---- in a woman, it means singing in a male's range, or attempting to. That's the "falseness" of it.

[shniggens]

Just cut your balls off! Or tie a rubber band around them.

[Tedster]

Answer me a question...

 

Listen to Brian Johnson (AC DC) talk. The guy's got a deep, bassy, growly voice.

 

Now...has he (and other through-the-roof rock singers) developed a way to put gravel and grit on a falsetto, or do they have that range in their normal voice? To me...it sounds like he (and others...old Robert Plant comes to mind) have put overdrive on their falsetto rather than having this incredible natural range. I really have no idea...

[Super 8]

If you want to sing falsetto, there are some songs you should sing along closely with: "Hey There, Lonely Girl" By Eddie Holman, Sr. "You Make Me Feel Brand New" "Betcha By Golly, Wow", "People Make The World Go 'Round", and "Break Up To Make Up" by The Stylistics "Have You Seen Her?" by The Chi-Lites "Let's Hang On" by The Four Seasons "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" by The Tokens "Reasons" and "Fantasy" by Earth, Wind and Fire "Natural High" by Bloodstone "Didn't I Blow Your Mind (This Time)" by The Delfonics "Lightning Strikes Again" by Lou Christie "Sad Eyes" by Robert John The thing about male falsetto is, it has to be done with great confidence and power and verve and pitch accuracy, with no shame or self-consciousness... maybe after an alcoholic beverage or two, give it a try... You can't "think" it, just do it, and do it big! Your falsetto range at the high end will definitely improve the more you sing this way.

 

The problem with this is that I don't think I can do it. I mean, when I try to sing or talk in, what I call a 'girl' voice, nothing really comes out but air and a few squeaks. Once in a while I can go "whew" in a falsetto, but that's about it. So I'm wondering if this is just something I can't do.

 

I have a lower voice. Not Barry White low, but must pop/rock songs need to come down a bit for me to be able to sing comfortably with them. I think of my vocal range as being right there with Jim Morrison and Neil Diamond. So maybe this is something I just cannot do, which is a bit of a bummer. Or, maybe I just don't know how to do it yet???

[philbo]

I don't know - - I have a friend who claims it is impossible for him. But I know, from martial arts training, that seemingly impossible physical feats are attainable with proper training and skill development.

 

It's a little like wiggling your ears - - everyone has the muscles to make it happen, but unless you consistently try, you never find out how to control them.

 

I've always been able to do falsetto - - but I'm Swiss by heritage, and yodelling was in both my genes and my early childhood.

 

One option is to take a plank, a bicycle, a few cinder blocks, and make a mini-Evel Knievel ramp in your back alley, get up to speed, shut your eyes, and... Nah, bad idea....

[nat whilk II]

In my rather informal experience, I seem to come across two ways of treating falsetto:

 

1. don't worry about the Frankie Valli effect. Let it resonate like crazy in your sinuses and nose. This is easy for me to do, and it's like a different voice, it really resonates strongly. Lots of fun to do - people really notice and either laugh or dig it.

 

2. I've heard people with more formal voice training talk about learning to blend their falsetto into their normal range, so they can make a seamless move into and out of falsetto. I think John Sebastian can, or at least used to be able to, do this very well. The idea is also to practice falsetto using voice relaxing methods and warmups to develop the tone to match as closely as possible to the normal range.

 

Interesting that there are current singers who don't seem to worry about the little "crack" between falsetto and normal - like Coldplay's Chris Martin. He doesn't make any attempt at all to hide his falsetto, once he's above a certain range he cracks into that whispery, thin tone. Just becomes part of his style.

 

I have a really limited regular range. Like only Bb below middle C and 14 or so half-steps above that, depending. But with falsetto I can tack on another octave easily. So it's vital to me in order to handle any song with any kind of range.

 

When I get some time back in the studio, I think I'll start using it more...

 

nat whilk ii

[elsongs]

 

What Elsongs said. Ladies have falsetto too, or "head voice".

 

 

Contamporary Examples: Nelly Furtado's "Promiscuous," and nearly every Sarah McLachlan song.

[elsongs]

 

I If you want to sing falsetto, there are some songs you should sing along closely with: "Hey There, Lonely Girl" By Eddie Holman, Sr. "You Make Me Feel Brand New" "Betcha By Golly, Wow", "People Make The World Go 'Round", and "Break Up To Make Up" by The Stylistics "Have You Seen Her?" by The Chi-Lites "Let's Hang On" by The Four Seasons "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" by The Tokens "Reasons" and "Fantasy" by Earth, Wind and Fire "Natural High" by Bloodstone "Didn't I Blow Your Mind (This Time)" by The Delfonics "Lightning Strikes Again" by Lou Christie "Sad Eyes" by Robert John

 

 

I can't believe you didn't mention any Prince songs.

[kurdy]

This is interesting, because I've always had a totally different perspective on falsetto. I've always assumed it was simply something anyone could do, and didn't take a great amount of skill. I figured male vocalists who sang falsetto did so because they simply lacked the vocal ability to hit the high notes with their regular voice. I considered it "cheating", in a sense--using a "fake voice", instead of singing properly.

 

Now I've come to realize, like any other technique, it's just another element to add to your repetoire. But still, I never really thought it required any special skill to do. Guess I was wrong.

[elsongs]

This is interesting, because I've always had a totally different perspective on falsetto. I've always assumed it was simply something anyone could do, and didn't take a great amount of skill. I figured male vocalists who sang falsetto did so because they simply lacked the vocal ability to hit the high notes with their regular voice. I considered it "cheating", in a sense--using a "fake voice", instead of singing properly. Now I've come to realize, like any other technique, it's just another element to add to your repetoire. But still, I never really thought it required any special skill to do. Guess I was wrong.

 

Anyone can do falsetto. But it does take special skill to make it sound not annoying

[Terry Allan Hall]

The problem with this is that I don't think I can do it. I mean, when I try to sing or talk in, what I call a 'girl' voice, nothing really comes out but air and a few squeaks. Once in a while I can go "whew" in a falsetto, but that's about it. So I'm wondering if this is just something I can't do. I have a lower voice. Not Barry White low, but must pop/rock songs need to come down a bit for me to be able to sing comfortably with them. I think of my vocal range as being right there with Jim Morrison and Neil Diamond. So maybe this is something I just cannot do, which is a bit of a bummer. Or, maybe I just don't know how to do it yet???

 

Invest in a couple month's worth of voice lessons, after explaining your vocal "goals" to the instructor...you just might surprise yourself at what you'll then be able to do!

[Rudolf von Hagenwil]

Freddie Mercury's range from tenor to high flasetto

 

 

for anything higher, you have to cut off everything before coming into puperty, well, at least that's what I heard. I wonder how the Gibb's brothers or Jon Anderson managed to do that R&B falsetto register. I mean the hobby acustician would expect, as larger body parts are as lower the resonance...

 

.

[Tedster]

Interesting that there are current singers who don't seem to worry about the little "crack" between falsetto and normal - like Coldplay's Chris Martin. He doesn't make any attempt at all to hide his falsetto, once he's above a certain range he cracks into that whispery, thin tone. Just becomes part of his style.

 

The difficult part is controlling precisely where you want your voice to be on the other side of that "crack". Once you've got that...it's okay...but different instances can have different degrees of trickiness.

 

Actually, if you want to hear the "crack" and good control over either side of it...listen to someone who can yodel. Seriously.

[Rudolf von Hagenwil]

Actually, if you want to hear the "crack" and good control over either side of it...listen to someone who can yodel. Seriously.

 

for yodeling it is enough to keep both hand in the pocket

 

 

.

[Tedster]

There ya go! A master yodeling class from our own Swiss yodeler, Angelo!!!

 

And if you REALLY wanna hear some yodeling...they'll put their hands in each other's pockets!!! AAAAGGGHHH...

[crossways]

Yes you can learn falsetto. Though some vocal ranges produce different tonal qualities in a falsettist. Basses usually have very rich falsetto. Tenors are generally lighter and more akin to that "boy" soprano range.

 

Many A cappella groups use a "counter tenor". The King's Singers is one that comes to mind. Most of those groups will use that range at one time or another.

 

There are a few "professional" counter tenors that sing exclusively in that range because they have developed that register. In fact the Bernstein choral work called "Chichester Psalms" requires an extended boy soprano solo. Due to it's complexity there aren't many kids that can do it. So many ensembles employ a counter tenor. Depending on the performance those guys have been paid quite a large sum for their work.

[thankyou]

for yodeling it is enough to keep both hand in the pocket .

 

Angelo, thanks for that pic, you party animal.

[dughaze]

There are some basics to singing that any good vocal coach can teach you and the falsetto is one of those basics. The three basic voices are chest, mixed (some call it middle), and falsetto.

[nat whilk II]

for yodeling it is enough to keep both hand in the pocket .

 

Angelo - which one are you in the picture?

 

nat whilk ii

[Rudolf von Hagenwil]

 

Angelo - which one are you in the picture? nat whilk ii

 

 

If I remember right, I'm the shemale with the red dress in the center

 

Well, all nice people, and I have no idea who they are.

 

.