An Explanation of the Sameness and Differences in Head Voice and Falsetto.

(This might seem arrogant, but I'd quite like this to be stickied.)

Hey,

I tend not to go on here so much any more because most threads tend to revolve around either getting raspy vocals, breathing from the diaphragm or a confusion as to the nature of head voice and falsetto. I'm going to explain the latter for you.

If you are confused as to whether women have a falsetto or if men have a head voice or if registers even exist, then you are as confused as the entire singing community.

There is no definite school of thought when it comes to singing - there is a dispute going on and it probably won't die any time soon.

Classical teaching:

Vocal Fry - Chest Voice - Mixed Voice - Head Voice - Whistle Voice (Women)

Vocal Fry - Chest Voice - Mixed Voice - Falsetto. (Men)

This is disputable even within classical circles, but it's not massively important.

Modern teaching, with SLS (speech-level singing) commonly regarded as the flagship, say that

'Vocal Fry - Chest Voice - Mixed Voice - Head Voice - Whistle Voice'

Is the case for both men and women because the muscle co-ordination behaves in the same way. Falsetto, according to this school of thought, is a light, airy tone that allows air to pass by the vocal folds. In classical thought, men use only falsetto, women don't.

What modern teachers tend to call 'falsetto', classical teachers would probably call 'airy head voice'.

I, being a bloke, refer to it as my head voice most of the time and might refer to it as falsetto in a choir to avoid the faux pas of suggesting that I have a head voice.

Ultimately, it doesn't matter what you call it... but it helps to know what your singing teacher is talking about.

I'm confuse too with the 2

I personally consider head voice and falsetto to be two different things. I can sing the same thing in head voice and then falsetto, and not only will the sound be quite different, but the feeling is very different. The vocal cord coordination and the feeling of resonance (particularly seeing as falsetto has very little resonance, basically only in the mouth) are very different between the two. An airy head voice to me does not sound the same as a falsetto, and a less airy falsetto doesn't sound like head voice. Also, because of the big air usage, I can only sustain falsetto for a few brief seconds (I have no lungs) but can sustain head voice the same way I can chest, i.e. a lot longer.

Also, while I see why vocal fry is listed as the lower register, it's not limited to just those lowest notes you can hit. I can fry up higher than my head voice will go (haven't developed the coordination to turn it into a pure head note yet).

I personally consider head voice and falsetto to be two different things. I can sing the same thing in head voice and then falsetto, and not only will the sound be quite different, but the feeling is very different. The vocal cord coordination and the feeling of resonance (particularly seeing as falsetto has very little resonance, basically only in the mouth) are very different between the two. An airy head voice to me does not sound the same as a falsetto, and a less airy falsetto doesn't sound like head voice. Also, because of the big air usage, I can only sustain falsetto for a few brief seconds (I have no lungs) but can sustain head voice the same way I can chest, i.e. a lot longer. Also, while I see why vocal fry is listed as the lower register, it's not limited to just those lowest notes you can hit. I can fry up higher than my head voice will go (haven't developed the coordination to turn it into a pure head note yet).

I've been curious about this for a while. I'm not sure if I'm using falsetto or head voice. The light-high mode that I'm using is actually as loud (in overall volume) as my full voice and the higher the note the longer, which I can hold it at least 10 seconds. It actually uses less air than my full voice. Though I can only make the sound carry properly on an 'oo' / 'u' vowel. While I can bring down this light voice mode down quite low, like to a D or E below middle C.

Got any idea what this is?

Head voice and falsetto are just names. There is no right view on what each one is - they are just different names given to either different or identical things depending on who you talk to.

Brett Manning did a great video on turning vocal fry into super head.

Would you care to demonstrate what a 'high' vocal fry is? It's generally accepted to be bursts of air with no real resonance.

I've been curious about this for a while. I'm not sure if I'm using falsetto or head voice. The light-high mode that I'm using is actually as loud (in overall volume) as my full voice and the higher the note the longer, which I can hold it at least 10 seconds. It actually uses less air than my full voice. Though I can only make the sound carry properly on an 'oo' / 'u' vowel. While I can bring down this light voice mode down quite low, like to a D or E below middle C. Got any idea what this is?

Certain vowel sounds are easier to keep connected. Being able to make other vowels in the register will come with practise as you strenghten your coordination of the cords. As you go higher you use less of your vocal cords, so if you're using good technique, you actually need less air for higher notes.

The 10 second thing throws me off a bit though. I doubt I can hold a note in falsetto for 10 seconds, but someone with a healthy lung capacity might be able to. I really wouldn't know, so someone else might have to chime in on that. In head voice, I can hold a note for maybe double that, and again, I have rubbish lung capacity. So if you are in head voice you might be using too much air still. Hard to say.

Falsetto IMO has a very different feeling to head voice. Falsetto should feel quite loose and airy, whereas head voice in comparison will feel (vocal cord-wise) distinctly connected. Falsetto also isn't a very resonant sound, and the most resonance you'll really get is from changing the shape of your mouth. Head voice will be a lot more resonant, and have a lot more scope for expanding on and moving that resonance around.

This is all of course just IMO.

They are indeed just names, and someone who insists on saying there's no male head voice, only falsetto, might just be grouping what others would refer to as head voice in with falsetto. Or with mixed, or whatever. IMO though, these things are worth giving separate names as they are different and require different coordinations.

I couldn't explain in terms of what is actually happening physically with a "high vocal fry". I wouldn't describe it as bursts of air (perhaps more like little vocal air bubbles), but the no real resonance part of it sounds about right. It's something I do to irritate the crap out of one of my friends, and only later stumbled across the likes of Brett Manning and other vocal people actually using it in their teachings. Possibly if I have some time tonight when I get home from work I could do a quick clip to just show what I'm talking about. Basically while it's not a resonant sound, there is still a tone behind it, and it's how I first knowingly got into my head voice. I'm guessing you know what I'm talking about anyway. Any of the videos or clips that demonstrate sliding up from a low fry to a higher fry in order to learn how to get into head voice would show what I'm talking about I guess.

Well, I'm glad this is FINALLY all cleared up.

ONCE AND FOR ALL.

So what's the difference...just kidding

Not to steer of topic but Brett Manning was brought up. I've watched his youtube videos and the exercises are pretty much the same as the SLS coach I am going to. I'll give the guy props, I saw his "5 octave" video, but he rubs me the wrong way...both him and one of his instructors on the videos. Kinda seems like a pompous ass...idk, may just be me?

Do you mean using vocal fry to get into a really light heady tone?

Head voice is where you resonance is focused mostly for pitches in your higher register. Falsetto describe the quality of a high pitch breathy voice! To sing full voice in head voice, the voice must be placed in the mask!

Read the OP.

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.

Hey bro I convinced Anderton to make a tips and tricks

sticky up at the top of this forum...

So would you mind please reposting this in that section?

it would be the first one and it really helped me to understand.

Sure.