The singing voice is generally assigned to one of four categories: of for women, soprano and contralto; for men, tenor and bass. These four divisions signify the high and low registers respectively in each sex. In reality, there should be six divisions of voices (true for all singing); many people find their best range is in between the usual four categories. This central range is called mezzo-soprano for women and baritone for men. Such middle voices may not have the brilliance of very high or low notes, and often are not given equal billing with the top or low voices, but they are just as important.

The natural span of an untrained voice is about an octave and a half. An operatic voice should have a range of at least two octaves. (Extraordinary voices have had ranges up to three octaves.) Many of the great singers of the past have been able to sing in almost any register, even though technically they were in one of the usual categories; increase in vocal range usually comes from training and discipline.

Perhaps even more important than range is the quality of a voice. A tenor inherently has a lighter color to his voice than a bass, a soprano than a contralto. (It is better to use the word contralto for a woman’s low voice rather than alto, which should mean a boy’s low voice, even though the two words are generally used interchangeably.) No matter in what register a voice falls, it can usually be characterized as a heavy or light voice according to its weight, volume, and sonority. This distinction is particularly important in opera where voices are commonly labeled dramatic or Lyric according to their quality. A dramatic voice is a heavier, bigger one, capable of carrying over the orchestra by itself or in an ensemble; a Lyric voice is lighter, sweeter, more gentle—it cannot be forced or pushed too far or it loses its quality and becomes shrill and ugly. This characterization holds true for both women’s and men’s voices, but it is largely applied to the upper voices (sopranos and tenors) rather than to contraltos and basses.

Just as everyone has a distinct timbre to their voice, every voice fits into a vocal range (see Yudkin p. 48). You will need to know these basic vocal ranges for the progress test. But Yudkin doesn’t quite tell the whole story. First, vocal ranges are a result of physiology. The longer and thicker the vocal cords, the deeper or lower the voice and vice versa. Think about the vocal range you would expect to hear from Joe, a 6’9", 300 pound, male football player. Now think about the voice you would expect to hear from Dominique, a 5', 80 pound, female gymnast. If Joe had a squeaky little voice you would probably be just as surprised as if Dominique had a James Earl Jones, "This is CNN" voice.

Vocal ranges can dictate timbre. If Joe and Dominique sing the exact same pitch (we’ll get to the definition in a couple of lessons, but for right now, a pitch is a musical sound), it would probably be low in Dominique’s range and at the extreme top of Joe’s range. If a composer wanted to convey tension and struggle in the music, he might ask Joe to sing this pitch. If he wanted a more relaxed and "beautiful" sound, he would probably write it for Dominique.

Yudkin says that by using a falsetto (false voice) a man can sing in the soprano range. To find your falsetto men (sorry ladies, women just sing high, they don’t have a falsetto range), sing a comfortable low pitch. Now start sliding up. At some point toward the top of your range you will hear a break, almost like a car shifting gears. This is your falsetto. Falsetto is not a range like tenor, baritone or bass. Rather it is the top part of any of these male vocal ranges. Men who sing falsetto all the time are a type of soprano called a countertenor. There are a couple other types of male sopranos. The first is the boy soprano. Before a boy’s voice changes, he almost always has a pure soprano voice (listen to example on supplemental tape). Mercifully the other kind of male soprano is no longer existent. That was the castrato. Yes, the root comes from the word castrate. A long time ago some people castrated boys before their voices changed, so that effectively they would remain man/boy sopranos for the rest of their lives. Go to p.153 in your textbook to read more about these people. (There was one castrato recorded in history. This recording is from 1902. You can hear him on the supplemental tape.)

The countertenor voice is the highest of male voices. The voice of a true countertenor is one with the same vocal breaking points as those of a mezzo-sopranos. One of my favorite counters is David Daniels. Yet while they are frequently compared, the voice of a countertenor is quite different from that of a mezzo. When I turn the phrase, true countertenor I am, in fact, arguing that there do exist fakers. A faker can still have excellent technique and presence, but he is not a true to life countertenor. Fakers are men who manipulate their falsetto voice in order to produce the unique countertenor sound. A common misconception about countertenors is that all of them, deep down, are baritones. This is not true. Real countertenors are men whose voices are naturally able to sing in the countertenor range. This "range" came into existence during the baroque period with the advent of the castrato. Due to obvious physical and ethical reasons castrati are no longer "bred." I am able to make these bold statements about the truth of the countertenor voice because I am a true countertenor. My speaking voice has changed, yet I have never sung a note in the falsetto range. In attempts to sing in the baritone or tenor range, I have found that, for me, singing that way is comparable to the way in which a female produces the pop "belt" sound. With the recent resurgence of baroque music popularity, countertenors are moving up in the world of music. Once considered specialists, countertenors are being widely accepted as true singers.

Countertenors are nothing new in classical music. From the mid-16th century to the end of the 18th century, the high male voice was in such demand that boy sopranos who showed some promise were castrated before puberty to prevent their voices from changing. These castratos were primarily used in church music and opera roles. On the opera stage they performed both heroic roles written for their unique voices and female roles, owing to a papal ban on women appearing on stage.

Handel wrote roles for countertenors, as did many of his contemporaries. Composer Henry Purcell was a countertenor himself. It was between 1650 and 1750 that countertenors, most of them castratos and the vast majority of them Italian, had their glory days. The 1994 film "Farinelli" and Anne Rice’s 1982 novel "Cry to Heaven" offer glimpses into the world of the castrato.

Although countertenor roles appeared in a few new operas as late as the early 19th century and continued to find a home in church music after that, the voice’s popularity began to wane. The last known castrato, Alessandro Moreschi, died in 1922. His voice was recorded, albeit crudely, about 1902.

Countertenors, whether castratos or "falsettists," those men who could sing in the alto or mezzo soprano range without surgical help, had fallen so far out of fashion by the end of the 19th century that a 1904 edition of the "Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians" simply directs one to the entry for alto, and spends most of the definition on the voicing of string instruments. It contains no entry for castrato.

But times and tastes change. In the 1960s the opera world turned its attention to baroque opera once again.

"For a long time those baroque operas were really out of favor," said Patrice Michaels, professor of voice at Lawrence University in Appleton and a soprano herself. In fact, when the operas were performed, countertenor roles often were sung by baritones who simply sang an octave lower than the part was written. "Marilyn Horne took a lot of those male roles and put them back where they belong.

For the purposes of this page, a countertenor is an adult male having a vocal center of gravity around an "a" 440Hz or higher. Under this definition, men who rarely sing higher than a tenor high C (512Hz) could count - it’s really much more about tessitura than range. Jon Anderson, Stevie Wonder and Paul Elliot are people I would consider to be of this ‘haute contre’ type of countertenor.

The discussion starts getting really cute once terms for vocal ranges from different traditions are thrown in to the mix. American popular music can get particularly confusing. For instance, tenors in small a cappella ensembles often sing in what is considered a classically countertenor range (barbershop, doo-wop).

The term ‘male alto’ get’s a little funny too, but makes a lot more sense than calling a woman an alto. While alto means ‘high’, the female contralto is an extremely low voice. There’s a little bit about the history of the word ‘alto’ in the discussion

One of the more interesting developments of the last decade has been the emergence of the countertenor voice into the mainstream of the active opera repertoire, breaking out of the ‘Early music’ limitations imposed upon it by tradition. The countertenor voice literally means "in opposition to the tenor" or "above the tenor", and it is in fact the highest male voice. Due to strictures against women singing in churches from the middle-Ages onward, this style of males singing in the falsetto range, with the total absence of chest resonance was indispensable to the religious music of Machaut, Lully, des Pres, and later Monteverdi. This style of singing, which vaults over the normal speaking range, is not to be confused with the Castrati, who flourished in Italy in the 1700’s, and who were in fact sexually altered males, who sang with the power and chest resonance of adult males, allied with the true soprano range of women.

Though the countertenor voice has limited possibilities for volume due to the physics of singing in the falsetto register, with exacting training, they can produce a well focused tone that while not of enormous amplitude can often meet or exceed the volume of a tenore di grazia. That countertenors have successfully sung in recent years in the vast auditorium of the Metropolitan Opera is ample proof that a solid technique can project even the most slender sound with success.

The range for a countertenor is generally that of a lyric soprano, or bottom ‘A’ in the treble clef, to perhaps the ‘C’ above the staff. The quality of the tone in general, though often criticized as ‘hooty’ or ‘hollow’, has an otherworldly, elegiac quality which can be quite effective. One of the most difficult technical challenges is the need to switch into the speaking register for the lowest notes, which if not handled skillfully could sound uncomfortably like a Swiss yodel!

Deconstructing the Western European Countertenor

This may be review for many of you musicologists, but here goes. Tenor means ‘hold’ and was the name for the part which ‘held’ the melody in early polyphonic music (not necessarily vocal). The part pitted against the tenor was therefore ‘contra’ tenor. Contra tenor parts could actually be above (alto) or below (basso) the tenor line, or even at the same tessitura. By the renaissance, however, ‘basso’ by itself signified the lower part, leaving people to assume countertenors were ‘alto’ singers.

There was a bit of divergent evolution on the word ‘alto’, thanks to a natural cultural barrier called the English channel. The Anglican church used high-voiced adult males between the tenors and the boy trebles. In order to reconcile the difference between men’s and boys’ voices, these ‘altos’ generally attempted to isolate their falsetto registers. On the European mainland, mixed voice choirs became the norm, with women (usually the more mature ones) singing the line between soprano and tenor. Parts written for these ‘altos’ were really for mezzos rather than true contraltos (quite a rare voice type).

Naturally, the countertenor ‘revival’ came from the British Isles. Alfred Deller started doing the solo thing and even created the role of Oberon for Benjamin Britten’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. Alfred Deller felt OK about calling himself a countertenor because in England, the assumed church countertenor range was between "a" and "d".

David Daniels... is an opera star. He’s in tremendous demand on the opera and concert stages, and has three solo CDs to his credit.

What makes his success newsworthy is the fact that this bearded singer is a countertenor. He sings in the high-pitched range of a mezzo soprano.

Daniels will perform Tuesday with the Canadian string ensemble Les Violons du Roy at the Pabst Theater.

"David Daniels is really riding the crest of a wave that began in the ’60s when Jeffrey Gall was first presented at the Met," Michaels said, explaining that Daniels is actually part of the third modern generation of countertenors and male altos. "Drew Minter, who is still singing but has been around for some time, would be what I would call the second generation."

Vocal changes

Daniels spent a number of years preparing for a career as a tenor before shifting to countertenor.

"I actually started out as a boy soprano," he said during a phone interview from his Maryland home.

"I sang up to 13, maybe 14 as a boy soprano. Then when the voice changed, it was time to become a tenor because that’s just what you do. I started formal lessons as a tenor at 17."

Both of Daniels’ parents were voice teachers. He did his undergraduate work at the University of Cincinnati Conservatory as a tenor. Still singing tenor, he went on to graduate school at the University of Michigan.

"Singing tenor was just a real struggle for me," he said. "It never felt comfortable. The countertenor sound was always the most natural to me, but it wasn’t until ’92 that it sort of hit me.

"Publications that do interviews with me speak of me becoming a countertenor in ’92. They make it sound as though that was the first time I had sung a note as a countertenor. When the voice changed at 13 or 14, I kept singing in the same sort of production that I had as a boy soprano - when I wasn’t struggling through voice lessons as a tenor."

The fact that he continued singing with the same vocal production he had used as a boy soprano sets him apart from many of the countertenors out there today. Many men can reach notes in alto or mezzo range by singing in a falsetto, a type of production in which only the edges of the vocal chords meet. There is a lot of air in that timbre, and it is not a particularly colorful sound.

Don’t call him falsetto

Daniels does not sing in a falsetto and is a little uncomfortable with the term.

"I don’t get angry about it, but the connotation (is it’s) a false voice, and there’s just a negative feeling to that. I don’t think I would have the palette of different colors and the ability to sing Berlioz’s ‘Les nuits d’t’ over a big orchestra if I was singing in a falsetto."

Listening to his most recent recording, "Serenade," it’s clear that this is not a falsetto voice. Daniels sings with a rich sound that is full of nuance and color. His voice has a resonance that sets it apart from its female counterpart.

"I do use the terms head and chest voice to describe my voice, as a mezzo soprano would talk about hers," he said. "My chest voice is slightly more baritone-ish than most mezzos, except maybe Marilyn Horne. Anything under the heading head voice, for myself, is the male alto sound. I use chest voice, but I use it very sparingly."

Daniels has, of course, found a home in the Baroque literature that was written for countertenor voices. But he also has ventured into German lieder with great success, as well as other areas of vocal literature that are not usually the purview of countertenors.

Andreas Scholl... was born on 10 November 1967 into a musical family of Kiedrich im Rheingau, a Catholic town of 4,000 inhabitants in the wine-growing region around Wiesbaden in Germany. The town is famous for its Gothic church which contains the relics of St Valentine and boasts the oldest playable organ in Germany. His sister is Elisabeth Scholl, the soprano, while his brother, physician Johannes, is an amateur baritone and his merchant father is a tenor.

Growing up right next door to the church, Andreas Scholl was enrolled at the age of seven into the Kiedricher Chorbuben, first documented in the year 1333 as a schola of ‘men assisting the priests on all Sundays, singing the Gregorian chants.’ Later, it became a boys’ choir school. In the nineteenth century, Sir John Sutton, an English baronet, fell in love with the organ, choir and church, which he found while cruising down the river Rhine. The foundation which he set up for the Chorbuben enabled the engagement of teachers and the construction of school and rehearsal facilities, and also paid for the reprinting of ancient books of Gregorian music. The street in which the church stands was re-named after Sutton, who is buried in the garden of the church. As boys, Andreas Scholl’s father and grandfather were both members of the Chorbuben. Scholl says: ‘For me, the most wonderful thing about this choir was the amount of Baroque and Renaissance music it performed. This means I never grew up thinking of "early music" as some special category. To me it has always been as familiar as Beethoven and Mozart.’

Throughout his ten years in the choir school, the boy Andreas learned to love sacred music and he still gets goose bumps recalling the joy of singing the final part of the closing chorale from Bach’s St John Passion at the age of seven or eight, although he sang less Bach at this time than work by other composers like Schütz and Pergolesi. At the age of thirteen, he sang the second boy (Elisabeth sang first boy) in Mozart’s Magic Flute at the Wiesbaden Staatstheater. That same year, Andreas was one of some 20,000 choristers from all over the world gathered in Rome for a festival. He was chosen to sing solo at Mass on Sunday 4th January 1981 and on the following day, accompanied by his choirmasters, he met Pope John Paul II. Even after his voice broke at 13, he went on singing soprano or alto. ‘We were all great friends in this choir, so nobody joked about it. To me it just came naturally. I never felt comfortable in a tenor or baritone and I think it has helped my technique that I never had a phase of singing in those ranges.’

As a teenager, he was into pop and electronic gadgets - and he still is. Today he has a complete recording studio in his home, but aged sixteen, equipped with no more than a Casio synthesizer and a Commodore 64, he and a friend performed their own pop songs at a few rock festivals and later made a couple of records for Polydor. ‘Terrible music!’ he says, now.

He was seventeen, just one of the boys in the choir, playing football and working for his exams, when his natural gift as a countertenor was identified by the Chorbuben’s voice coach from the Darmstadt Music Academy who said: This sounds more and more like a countertenor voice, not a boy alto.’ Andreas Scholl adds: "She told me it was rare that someone keeps a voice of such quality through adolescence and I should think about that,’ and now he began to consider a professional singing career. His father was doubtful, concerned that his younger son might not be able to earn a living in music. Scholl had been thinking about entering the Salesian order as a priest or possibly becoming a professional soldier but eventually he decided that he did not have a religious vocation and, in the event, poor eyesight meant that his military career amounted to two years’ compulsory service. One day - under orders - he sang a Gregorian setting of the Ave Maria for the men in his barracks, stunning them with his amazing voice. He had expected them to laugh but they were impressed.

Philip Wilder’s*... voice, which during his teens developed into a countertenor — a very high voice that his mother called "angelic" — can sing the alto or soprano lines.

"As a young boy you sing soprano, and you probably move into singing alto along the way," he said. "Some guys’ voices might drop significantly, but mine dropped to alto, not to baritone. It’s a part of the voice that every man really has. When you develop it, it’s not the same thing as a falsetto; it can be a really serious singing voice."

Daniel Taylor’s... ability to sing as a countertenor is an extension of his days as a boy treble. When my voice broke, I was still able to vibrate at the high frequencies. I trained that ability but intrinsically it was always there. I think that there are lots more people who can do this. Taylor admits this isn’t great news for mezzos. There are people who just want a countertenor, any countertenor. Personally, I think [Canadian mezzo] Catherine Robbin sings the alto in Messiah better than anyone in the world.

Contrary to the wisdom that countertenor singing is a form of falsetto, Taylor says, I had my vocal cords filmed by Dr. Chagnon. The cords come together and vibrate essentially like other singers. I don’t believe in three different registers. Either it is all the same register or every note has its own register. The video showed me that if I approached a note with an aspirated attack, I could have a healthier sound that would carry better. The glottal attack produces a louder sound at closer range but does not carry. You can hear the difference between British, German, and North American countertenors. I sang in the recent production of Rinaldo at the New York City Opera with two other countertenors. David Daniels has no hint of falsetto and Christopher Josey has a lot. I use falsetto if I want to colour a note a certain way. My natural speaking voice is a baritone. I use this when I want to create an effect if there is a mad scene, it is perfectly adequate, or when a character is a villain.

An answer by Fabrice di Falco

Sopranist: this term commonly refers to a male singer (whether it is a child, a castrato or a falsettist) whose tessitura, when he sings, is equivalent to that of the female soprano, whereas counter-tenors' or haute-contre's voices are similar to the female alto or counter-alto's voices.

A sopranist is in fact a falsettist who can use his falsetto voice because he was gifted a fine and expressive one. The falsetto compass ranges between the chest voice's and the head voice's.

The specific character of the sopranist is his ability to pass from the chest register (the more natural and powerful one) to the falsetto (which is equivalent to a female head voice). The male voice, which is not very powerful (and is not to be compared with a female medium) is not to be mistaken with the falsetto, which may reach a stronger intensity.

Each and every sopranist has his own voice. Sopranist voices are all different from one another. The voice reflects the singer's personality. This is the reason why we enjoy so many various vocal colours, tones, and for every morphology, a different range of properties. You may find sopranists singing with a voice close to a child's, others very similar to that of a soprano coloratura (which performs notes well above the High C ) and some sounding like a mezzo-soprano (which combines a deep register, a quality in tone, resounding high notes and plenty of chest). Those female mezzo soprani, such as Lauren Hunt, Anne-Sophie Von Otter, and Cécilia Bartoli are chosen in preference to perform the castrato repertoire written by Broschi, Porpora, or Haendel.

The pitch of the note depends on the tension and the length of the vocal cords. Fabrice di Falco has long and thin vocal cords which enable him this plain voice, rich in harmonics, easily moving from the deep notes to the high-pitched tones of the female mezzo-soprano. The quality of a voice indeed depends on the number of harmonics: (less than 9, the voice is hollow; more than 14, it's strident).

The sopranist, who's got a miraculous voice, is able to revive the castrato repertoire, but would and could not pretend to rebuild their vocal technique. The castrato used to perform according to the real female octave. Some parts could then indifferently be taken either by a sopranist or a female soprano. Still, even if he vocally brightens up through years and years of intensive work with a teacher, a sopranist will never reach such a voice, nowadays.

Prof. Alessandro Moreschi... (1858-1922) was born in Montecompatrio (near Rome) and died in Rome, where he was the last castrato at the Cappella Sistina from 1883-1913 as the conductor since 1898. When he began his studies in 1871 it was already difficult to find a teacher. In 1914 Franz Haböck's plan of a "Farinelli revival" failed, his range had become already too low. He sang liturgical music only. His speaking voice was that of a high tenor and his range was about: 

c' - e''' (C4 - E6)

Patrick Husson... was born in Ammerschwihr near Colmar, France on July 26, 1960. He sang as a soloist in several church choirs, where his "angel like" soprano voice (it is said that his voice never broke), was discovered. He studied at Colmar conservatory and went to Basel/CH in order to improve his vocal technique at the Schola Cantorum Basilienis. He sings sacred music and modern arrangements of classical arias, his range is that of a true soprano:

c - e''' (C4 - E6).

Edson Cordeiro... was born in Santo André (São Paulo/Brazil) on February 9, 1967. He started to sing at 6 years old when he joined a church choir called "Cordeirinhos do Senhor". He left school already at the age of nine and later, he became a famous street singer. With his own version of the aria of the Queen of the Night (W.A. Mozart) he had his first TV performance. In 1996, he won the "Prêmio Sharp" for the best Brazilian pop singer. He sings nearly any kind of music, but mainly pop music. His range of four octaves is the highest of male sopranos:

G - g''' (G2 - G6)

Gregarious Behavior Can Be Dangerous

You must never delude yourself. The cause of nodules, polyps, and chronic laryngitis, hoarseness and other unpleasant vocal disorders is usually overuse and abuse of the voice. . When you talk or sing, the vocal folds vibrate. The only way to heal the folds is to avoid hitting them together temporarily. This article is aimed at YOU.

Be very vigilant! If the voice is already under stress — hoarse, tired, fatigued, gravelly — a physical condition such as asthma, sore throat and allergies, may escalate the vocal problems, but it does not cause them. You may unconsciously compensate by replacing correct vocal technique with incorrect technique. For example, nodules do not form if the voice is used sensibly and correctly.

Most vocal technique, speaking or singing, is comprised of learned responses; for better or worse. When vocal technique becomes automatic, one is seldom aware of how the voice is being used. Always be alert to the warning signals that your instrument is not working normally. Don’t wait until disaster strikes. Cut back drastically on vocal use the minute you recognize symptoms of vocal fatigue and stress. Social talking should be eliminated until the voice is better. Listed below are some clues to help you recognize problems:

One of the most damaging vocal behavior I know is speaking at the incorrect optimal pitch, usually too low. (Vocal Fry) More women than men have this problem. A soprano with vocal problems may have a speaking pitch around C or D below middle C! When I vocalize them in this area, they claim it is too low, but that is where they are speaking. This causes register interference (discrepancy) - usually affecting bridging between registers and seriously affecting the ability to sing in the upper voice. There can be little hope of successfully rehabilitating the singing voice until the optimal pitch is raised appropriately.

Learn your correct optimal pitch and use it all the time. If your voice is gravelly and hoarse, it is probably too low. When the optimal pitch is used, the quality of the voice is clear and does not tire as quickly. Not very scientific, but a way to find your approximate optimal pitch is to hum, sliding upward until the voice is clear. This will be close to the optimal pitch.. Become aware of that approximate pitch and continue to speak there, never allowing the voice to gradually "anchor" on the very low, damaging pitches. When speaking, the voice pitch encompasses a range of a fifth or more, but the optimal pitch is the most frequently used pitch. Begin by using mainly head voice for speaking — it may sound childlike to you. The phrasing must be legato, sustained and well supported, using no excessive force or pressure. Until the voice is healthy, do not use your projected, "performing voice."

Glottal initiation of words and phrases is another surefire way to finish off your voice. It occurs when the delivery is staccato, breaks after almost every word and is disjointed, not legato. The louder the voice, the harder the folds collide; the higher the pitch, the more frequently the folds slam together. In glottal initiation of words or phrases (glottal attack) the glottis closes firmly before breath pressure is applied. To make a sound, the folds must explode open against muscular resistance, causing great muscular tension and vocal fatigue. Glottal Initiation of words or phrases is quite common among speakers whose speaking pitch is too low and those with voice disorders. The damage to the folds causes trauma, irritation and swelling. Hard, fast glottal attacks for 20 minutes may cause hemorrhaging of the vocal folds and even 24 hours of complete voice silence may not repair the damage. Unfortunately, most habitual voice abusers cannot be persuaded to rest the voice until they can hardly croak.

To correct this problem, begin the breath before the initiation of sound. Try saying /singing "hum" as you begin the phrase. Speakers and singers often use glottal initiation in an attempt to speak more distinctly and project the voice. Instead, the disjointed delivery often interferes with the audience’s understanding of the thoughts being expressed. Convey the meaning and emotion of a song or speech by placing emphasis only on the important words, not every word; use the appropriate emotion in the voice; appropriate body action; and use variety of vocal pitch.

Lloyd W. Hanson 1998

I would add my opinion to the discussion of falsetto and head voice. It is based on some 40 years of teaching voice and the good fortune of studying with some excellent teachers. Much of the this material can be found in Richard Miller’s "The Structure of Singing" and in Barbara Doscher’s "The Functional Unity of the Singing Voice" and in Berton Coffin’s "The Sounds of Bel Canto". I am also drawing on my own research survey of concepts about falsetto which was published in the NATS "Journal of Singing".

Any discussion of head voice and falsetto involves a basic consideration of vocal phonation. Resonance, of course, has an effect on phonation in these areas, as it does in all areas of singing, but the primary differences between falsetto and head voice are phonational. The modern definition of falsetto is a voice production in which the vocalis muscles (for simplicity’s sake the thyro-arytenoids) are inactive and lengthened greatly by the action of the crico-thyroid muscles which are at their nearly maximum contraction. The sound is produced by the air blowing over the very thin edges of the thyro-arytenoids and the pitch is controlled mostly by a regulation of the breath flow. If, at any time, the thyro-arytenoids began to resist this extreme lengthening of themselves and provide some resistance to the action of the cryco-thyroids, the vocal mechanism begins to move into head voice.

The sound of the falsetto voice is weak in overtones and produces no singer’s formant. This is because the very thin edges of the lengthened vocal folds, which do not display any tension in opposition to the stretching action of the thyro-arytenoids, are easily blown open by the breath and offers little resistance to the breath flow.

The sound of the head voice, however, is richer in overtones and has the potential to produce a substantial singer’s formant. In other words, it has a "ring". This is caused by the increased tension of the thyro-arytenoids which creates a ‘tighter" and more substantial edge to the vocal folds which, in turn, resists the flow of breath and builds a more noticeable pressure below the vocal folds (subglottal pressure). The male singer can easily sense this difference in breath pressure between the true head voice and the falsetto.

It is possible to move gracefully between the falsetto and the head voice. If the male singer can gradually increase the activity of the thyro-arytenoids in resistance to the stretching action of the crico-thyroids the tone will change from the flute-like quality of the falsetto to the ringing sound of the head voice and the singer will also experience the increase in subglottal pressure. It is a bit of vocal gymnastics that not all singers can achieve. It is also an ability that is not necessary. This change from falsetto to head voice (or, for that matter, from head voice to falsetto) is not the heart of the mezza-voce or sotto-voce sound. These latter techniques have much to do with a change in the resonance spaces for the singer. In other words, mezza-voce and sotto-voce are more involved with changes in resonance of the voice than they are with phonational changes of the voice.

The vowels have a strong effect on the transition from chest voice to head voice. The point at which the male singer enters into a "call" or "shouting" voice as he ascends the scale on the [a] vowel is usually considered to be the lowest or first point of his passaggio or bridge into head voice [primo passaggio]. The singer may be able to extend this "call" voice about another fourth upward at which point he will usually switch into falsetto (if he is an untrained singer) or head voice (if properly trained) and this is his topmost or second point of his passaggio or bridge into head voice [secondo passaggio]. The difference between these two register activity points is known as the "zona di passaggio". However, if the same exercise is attempted in the [i] vowel the male singer will move into "call" voice and change into head voice about a minor (or major) third lower. This is the effect of the vowel on the register change.

Closed vowels such as [i] and [u] tend to lower the register change points. It is believed this is caused by the difference in acoustic "load" these vowels provide for the vocal folds. In effect, this increased acoustic load allows the vocal folds to make their adjustment more easily because they are not required to be the sole engines of resistance to the increased breath pressure as the pitch rises. The acoustic load provides some of the resistance necessary.

This is one of the reasons that men generally prefer closed vowels in the passaggio and above. The other primary reason for this vowel preference is the availability of a rich harmonic environment in the male voice which is able to activate the first and second natural resonance's of the vocal tract (formants). An excellent article on this effect in the male passaggio can be found in the latest issue of the Journal of Singing (the official publication of the National Association of Teachers of Singing).

How much a singer is using falsetto or how much he is using head voice is not difficult to determine in most cases. If there is any ring to the tone, it is likely that the thyro-arytenoids are somewhat active and the transition has been, or is being made to head voice. If the tone is fluty and disembodied it is likely falsetto. But it is all a matter of degree.

Yma Sumac... is a Peruvian singer with one of the most spectacular ranges and styles ever heard. Her given name is Zoila Augusta Emperatriz Chavarri del Castillo; Ima Sumack (or Imma Sumack in other parts of South America) is her stage name, based on her mother’s name. She is from Ichocán, Peru, a town high in the Andes. At an early age, she was ‘discovered’ and performed on radio, in movies and made records throughout South America.

What Is Her Voice Range? Yma’s voice is reported, on various record jacket liner notes and biographies, to be anywhere from four to over five octaves. Yma herself insists that her range is five octaves. Published details of her range state that it is from B below low C to A above high C which makes it four and a half octaves. Another source published a staff of her range in a German book some years ago. It compares, from left: a ‘normal soprano’; a ‘good soprano’; German coloratura Erna Sack and Yma Sumac.

Yosef Synovec... is a young singer of the Post World War II generation and comes from a truly international background. He speaks five languages and sings in eight. He had his first contact with music at the age of four. He began then to study violin and was considered as a child prodigy at the age of 5-1/2.

Later on, his talents mixed with his academic and athletics interests. At the same time he received a considerable medical education and pursued extensive musical studies at the Prague Conservatory of Music, where he was even granted a Doctor of Music Degree. Besides his studies, he also got involved in athletics, not without notable results.

Strangely enough his musical studies met with the highest marks in all fields of music with the sole exception of singing. His professors at the Conservatory of Music could not fit his voice in any vocal category: for a baritone his top notes were too much like a tenor; for a tenor, they were too much like mezzo-soprano. Actually, this voice does not have any register breaks but the smoothest continuity from the lowest notes to the highest ones.

The range of his voice exceeds five octaves, without the slightest falsetto, but goes without any effort throughout the entire range. This is the most extraordinary and unique vocal range existing throughout the world, without excepting the famous range of the lovely Inca singer, Yma Sumac.

In the meantime, his career as a violinist brought him to the U.S.A. where he pursued his musical studies and became a citizen. His vocalizing, however, drew the attention of many musicians and the strong persuasion of an old friend, Holly Woodlawn, convinced him that this extraordinary voice should be revealed to the public.

On the occasion of two concerts featuring the talented Yma Sumac at Town Hall last year, he came in contact with her manager, American Copyright Society, Inc., who immediately recognized a talent superior to that of any other artist and agreed to present his extraordinary voice to the public without any other comments, because there are no words high enough to describe his voice and no better demonstration than hearing him in person.

Yosef Synovec was killed in a fire sometime in the ’70s. It is not known if any recordings of his wonderful voice exist besides the single demo that he made.

Yosef Synovec - Vocalist (Excerpt from Chapter 9 "Remember" from Yma Sumac, The Art Behind the Legend) During rehearsals for her (1975) Town Hall concerts, Yma was re-introduced to a young man, Yosef Synovec. Small and lithe, with dark eyes and dark, curly hair, Yosef had been a medical student in Czechoslovakia when Yma sang in that country during her Russian tour in the 1960s. After one of her concerts in Czechoslovakia, Yosef had presented Yma with a huge bouquet of flowers - acting as a representative for a group of admiring students. Later, Yosef left Czechoslovakia and moved to New York City. He smuggled a tape of Yma into the US of Yma performing during live concerts in Czechoslovakia. Musically gifted, Yosef was proficient on the violin as well as the voice and when settled in Manhattan he made the decision to drop his medical studies and concentrate on music. Working at Schirmer’s Music Store, he joined the ranks of thousands of other free-lance musicians in that city and tried to obtain work. Yosef was a protégé of Holly Woodlawn, the inveterate talent scout and female impersonator who had appeared in several Andy Warhol movies, who heard him vocalizing as he worked away painting a bathroom... Holly determined, then and there that he had uncovered a future star... (Michael’s Thing 4/76)

Yosef’s singing talent was specialized, however. He had an unusual voice of tremendous range, and a startling proficiency in mimicry and excelled in Yma Sumac imitations. He had always been a great admirer of the Peruvian singer and had assiduously studied her recordings for years. He had become amazingly adept at re-creating her particular tonal quality and resonance's. Yosef idolized Yma so much that he changed the J of his first name to Y to further emulate the Peruvian diva. An eccentric, he often told people that it was him singing on the smuggled-in tape.

New York based Gerard Della Chappell represented Yma around the time that Yosef was perfecting his Sumac imitation, and he got wind of this unusual talent. After his disastrous attempt to represent Yma failed, Gerard decided to undertake Yosef’s representation. Realizing that Yosef needed suitable musical arrangements to highlight his gifts, he contacted Herman Bran by phone, explaining that he had something very special for Herman to hear. After playing a tape of one of Yosef’s songs over the phone, Herman, who was completely baffled, asked, "When did Yma record that?" Gerard quickly explained and arranged for Herman to meet with Yosef.

He really was amazing, remembers Herman. He knew all her songs and could imitate her almost perfectly. I had never heard a woman - much less a man - who was able to do such a thing. The voice was strange. It had this long range and no perceptible break into the falsetto.

With Herman's help, Yosef made a demo disc that was to be used for auditioning. Made around Labor Day of 1975, Herman provided arrangements for the two songs chosen and hired the back-up musicians. Gerard, who was in charge of the entire project, must have thought Herman was doing this out of love for the art since Herman was never paid for his work. He also covered the costs of the musicians hired to record the demo as well. The two songs recorded at the Abrahamson Studio on West 76th Street were Sooner or Later, Herman's adaptation of a theme from Tchaikovsky’s ballet, Swan Lake, and the Theme from Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. Both pieces were wordless vocalizes in the Yma Sumac style and displayed Yosef’s virtuosity in elaborate runs, jazz-scatting, high soprano staccati, and low, contra bass notes. The demo disc, which has survived Yosef, is as impressive as it is outré. Around this time Yma was re-introduced to Yosef but she had never heard any of his work so she ignored him.

After dropping Yma, Gerard began to concentrate on Yosef’s career. On April 12, 1976, Gerard sent out a news release under the auspices of the American Copyright Society, announcing Yosef’s booking on April 18th, for two sets at the See-Saw Club at Lexington Avenue and 81st Street (now defunct). The release had typical biographical magnification and an attempt to bind the names Synovec and Sumac together. "The range of his voice exceeds five octaves without the slightest falsetto, but goes without any effort throughout the entire range. This is the most extraordinary and unique vocal range existing throughout the world, without excepting the famous range of the lovely Inca singer, Yma Sumac."

Unfortunately, Gerard’s power in important musical circles was as limited as his managerial abilities and there was little he was able to do for Yosef. During 1976, Yosef did, however, make a few appearances in small New York cabarets.

Because of the nature of his gifts and the way they were exhibited, Yosef’s popularity was confined to the Gay subculture of New York City. It was hoped that as he grew and matured as an artist and expanded his repertoire, he would be more widely accepted. The few reviews he received applauded his voice and technique. The only fault found was his rudimentary stage demeanor.

Gerard Della Chappell agreed to play a tape for me from June 16, 1976, made during one of Yosef’s sets at the Tijuana Cat Club. Performing with piano, flute and percussion, Yosef offered an eclectic program that leaned heavily on Sumacian material, including "Ataypura" (High Andes) - in faultless mimicry, "Sooner or Later", the tenor aria from Bizet’s opera, "Pecheurs des Perles", "Send in the Clowns", "Invisible Love" (a Sumac-like obstacle course), "Snake" (the same as Yma’s Calls from the Andes), and "Chunchu!" (Jungle Creatures) (patterned after Yma’s performances in Chezchoslovakia). Listening to the tape was an errie and in some ways unsettling experience, so perfect was his imitation of the Sumac voice and technique. Yosef’s gift was real. With uncanny clarity he reproduced similar mouth, head and chest resonance's that Yma used, as well as her vocal effects, including high, pecked-at staccati, the "growl" and amazingly, even the double-voiced trill found at the climax of Chunchu!

Unwittingly, Herman's artistic assistance and musical contributions to Yosef’s club acts signaled a connection for many between Yma’s "Incan" songs and Herman's contributions to her music during her heyday. Because of the similarity between many of Yma’s most famous pieces and the music used by Synovec for his act, the magnitude of Herman's importance to Moises and the Sumac troupe during the 1950s became apparent. A similarity that was too obvious to be coincidental, proving that much of Yma’s most popular numbers had actually been penned by Herman, not Moises.

Despite the specialty flavor of Yosef’s act, because of his obvious gift and his dedication, it was hoped he would mature into a successful and distinctly unusual, entertainer. Unfortunately, Yosef was killed in the tragic fire that destroyed the Everad Baths in Manhattan, on May 27, 1977.

Copyright 1998 N Limansky - used with permission