Dear Kyle,
There's going to be a lot of disagreement on this, but I'll tell you
what I think ;-)
As I understand it, pure falsetto is a register in which the folds
are full length and loose. The pitch is determined natively by the
gauge of the folds, but also by breath pressure on the fly. Because
there is very little muscular involvement, there is a limit to how
high this register can go, hence the similar falsetto ranges with
your friend and you.
Most "classical" solo-caliber countertenors are using what some call
a "reinforced falsetto" because there is muscular activity, evident
in the singer's ability to control dynamics in addition to pitch. One
might also call it a light head voice - IMO, it's mechanically
similar to what very high lyric tenors and hautes contre use in their
uppermost voices.
As for discovering your countertenor potential, yes, just try and
find out! If you are a tenor, I'd take a break from tenor singing for
a few days first, because in my experience, the two techniques are
almost mutually exclusive... confusing for the brain to keep track
(I'm not the only one who has had this experience!). Unless, of
course, you are a haute contre, and have a really easy transition
from even high chest voice into the upper registers.
Join us at TheCountertenors if you have more questions:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheCountertenors/
Tako Oda,
countertenor
--- In vocalist-temporary@y..., consalus@h... wrote:
> I've noticed that despite having ranges differing by a P5 or so,
> my friend and I have about the same falsetto range. I've noticed
> this in with a number of other guys too. How is falsetto
> range related to the size of your vocal folds?
> Also, how does one identify a person who has good countertenor
> potential? Do people just have to try it and find out?
> Just curious.
>
>
> Kyle
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