From: Tako Oda
To: VOCALIST <vocalist>
Subject: Re: Questions...(whistle voice)
Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>

AQueenTeen-at-aol.com wrote:
> Do you know how to sing the "whistle tone", cuz I know it's a different
> technique, and I would love to learn how to do that

You might want to learn how to use flageolet, but you probably want to
steer clear of whistle voice. It's distinct from flageolet in that it
cannot reconcile with lower registers. Also, the ability to produce it
is often associated with abused vocal cords.

My guess is that Mariah Carey is using whistle - she never blends it to
her lower voice. I also get the impression her cords get a lot of abuse.
I used to be able to produce whistle tones, but only after thrashing my
voice considerably attempting to sing in the wrong fach! Hope this
helps!

Tako Oda
Graduate Student in Composition
Mills College Music Department
http://www.mills.edu/PEOPLE/gr.pages/toda.public.html/music/singer.html