falsetto and head voice in the male voice 9 Minutes 10 Seconds
falsetto and head voice in the male voice YouTube link
Author
jowox
Created
January 27, 2008
Updated
December 2, 2008
Length
9 Minutes 10 Seconds
Rating
4.81
Views
60,331
Description
OK folks, time for the big debate(and my longest video!): falsetto or not? Let me first say that I have nothing against falsetto as such. It can add much beauty and emotion to a note but I don´t like whiny falsettos used just for reaching high notes that are harder to reach by mixed voice. Mixed voice is used by mixing the normal speaking voice (chest voice) with head voice (very simply put: singing from the throat), btw head voice is not falsetto but the term is often used as such in classical singing. Head voice is sometimes referred to as "open throat falsetto" because the vocal chords are kept "wide open" in contrast to falsetto where they are "folded".
I may not have 100% correct answers here but I´m pretty sure about THESE notes. Some notes and singers are very hard to tell though (e.g. Tim Owens, Steven Tyler, Brian Johnson, "painkiller" voices used in speed metal etc.). While the difference between strong mixed voice and weak falsetto is obvious it´s much harder to differentiate between weak mixed voice and strong/raspy falsetto. So, how does one go about? I use these criterias: 1/ does it sound very different from the singer´s normal voice? 2/ is the note way beyond the singer´s singing range? 3/ Does it have an airy/unconnected/ethereal sound?.
Here are some (the list is a non-exhaustive example!) famous singers who many people think use falsetto on the high notes but they don´t:
William Matteuzzi, Russell Oberlin, Rob Halford, Geoff Tate, Michael Matijevic, Mark Slaughter, Jim Gillette, Freddy Curci, Bobby Kimball, Robert Plant.
And here are some singers who use falsetto on the high notes (but in some cases not always):
Ian Gillan (only one exception recorded, the hey, hey HEY scream up to Ab5 at the end of Strange kind of woman from Made in Japan), Glenn Hughes (almost all high notes), David Byron (all high notes), Steve Perry (all extra high notes).
1. Dennis Deyoung demonstrates first mixed voice and then soft falsetto, both notes are C#5 and the song is "Don´t let it end".
2. A bit harder to discern is the same principle executed by "natural" counter tenor Russel Oberlin.
3. Time now for opera tenors and the elusive high F (F5), first Pavarotti with a falsetto F5, from Credeasi misera from I Puritani.
4. Same passage but in weak mixed voice by William Matteuzzi.
5. Same note but with strong mixed voice by Matteuzzi, from opera La scala di seta.
6. Time now for counter tenors who purposely sings in falsetto to avoid strain and screaminess, first Aris Christofellis with a scale up to C6, from song "Il tenero momento".
7. Same note by metal singer Mark Boals, a bit more screamy and strained but in mixed voice!
8. Same note (he starts at B5 though) by modern pop counter tenor Vitas. This note is in falsetto but the strain is gone, song is Ulybnis.
9. Now we move into rock and metal: Steve Perry with a solid F5 at the end of the scale. Notice the smooth scale with no register breaks. Song is patiently live 1980 from Houston.
10. Steve again but this time in falsetto, an ethereal passage of F5:s and a sustained A5 at the end.
11. Steve again, first singing in mixed voice and then utilising (weak) falsetto for the G#5:s, song is La do da.
12. The famous A5 from Number of the beast, first by Bruce Dickinson in falsetto and then...
13. by James Labrie in mixed voice (the note is a bit flat though).
14. Glenn Hughes does first a G5 in strong falsetto from Burn live in japan.
15. and then same note from "only women bleed" in mixed voice.
16. A weak but loooooong G5 in mixed voice by Freddy Curci, a live version of "kept me coming".
17. a very strong F#5 in falsetto by Ian Gillan from "strange kind of woman" from Made in Japan.
18. A strong mixed voice F#5 by Mark Boals from song "Fly".
19. A very chesty G5 by in mixed voice by Robert Plant from "Since I´ve been loving you".
20. A falsetto G5 (ending on A5) by Freddy Mercury, from "under pressure".
21. A A5 in weak mixed voice by freddy curci from "you remind me".
22. same note by Glenn Hughes in falsetto, from "from now on" live in japan.
23. A A5 in strong mixed voice by Mark Boals, from "far away from here" from the Genius Pt. 2 CD.
24. Steven Tyler singing in his trademark raspy falsetto voice G#5:s from "Back in the saddle".
25. Roberto Tiranti singing a long passage in falsetto. A single note falsetto doesn´t need to sound alien in regards to the other notes but a long passage like this one surely does!
26. At last, the great "Child in time" passage where Ian Gillan soars first to F5 and then all the way to A5, all in falsetto.
27. Mark Boals in the same passage (one semitone lower though) but in mixed voice, the difference is very clear I think but the drama and intensity of gillan´s falsetto wails is gone.
Enjoy and let the debate begin!
PS. See watch?v=SJDHd3ax8qY for Tony Harnell´s head voice take on the Child in time wails!
DS