To: "VOCALIST (E-mail)" <vocalist>
Subject: Registers 1, 2 and falsetto
Date sent: Tue, 28 Dec 1999 13:29:17 -0000
Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>

Dear fellow musicians,

I have recently joined Vocalist, and found a lot of answers to a lot of
questions, but now I would like to post a question myself.

I am a 19 year old guy living in London, UK.

I have been singing for quite a while now, but never professionally. I have
quite an impressive voice range, but I fear, after having read many previous
postings, that I have stretched - what I learnt you call - register 1,
instead of learning to change to register 2. I am still not sure about which
one is which though, so I need a little explanation.

I can clearly sing in 3 different ways: first is the one I use for speaking
- so I assume this is register 1, the second way has a higher range, from
about middle C to C two octaves above. I think this might be my register 2.
The third way is very light - indeed it sounds like a woman - and its range
is the same as my register 2, perhaps a bit more on each side.

But some things, when I sing, do not agree with what I have read here.

First, when I go down from register 2, my voice breaks somewhere on F4 and
drops to register 1 on about C4. I have read that you can go down from
register 2 to register 1 easily. If I sing really really lightly, I can go
from register 2 to register 1, but it is very difficult for me to do.
The same happens going up, if I don't sing really lightly on around E4, then
my voice stays in register 1, and I can keep going up to C5 sometimes, even
though most of the time it will jump somewhere between F4 and C5 to register
2 to about 5-7 semitones higher than it was on register 1 at the moment of
'jumping'. I can never change from one to another if I sing loud/strong -
which I find unfortunate and disappointing.
My register 2 can be quite strong from G5 upwards, but unfortunately I have
to really tense it if I go down from G5, and still it usually breaks and
drops to register 1.

Second, my falsetto is not as dynamically handicapped as you all seem to say
it should be. I can do quite a strong falsetto, especially in the A4-F5
range, where it can sound quite dramatic, especially if I add vibrato.
I can change from falsetto to register 2 and back on the higher range as
well. But I can never change from falsetto straight to register 1.
If I go down from about A4 from falsetto, and if I don't tense the throat,
then it will drop 1 octave to register 1 at around middle C.

I have been listening to Freddie Mercury most of my life and have always
tried to sing like him. He tends to, it seems, sing with register 1 mostly,
stretching it even up to C5 occasionally (for example, in "You're my best
friend"). And, trying to imitate how he sung, I can stretch my register 1 up
to C5, but only very occasionally, and usually only once in a certain period
of time.

What I would like to know is, firstly, whether I have correctly identified
register 1, 2 and falsetto. If I have then how come there is such a clear
break between registers 1 and 2, and how do I learn to make it seamless.
Perhaps I have damaged the ??passagio?? by singing too high with register 1?
Finally, I would like to know whether I am a bass, baritone or tenor.
I do not have the time or the money to take up a professional teacher, so I
am relying on you lot.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.
I would appreciate it if every one, who has at least some hint about what I
am talking about, would reply.

Yours musically,
Roni L.Q.