Dear Mike and Vocalisters:
Head voice is what one hears when an opera singer sings in full voice
above his upper passaggio point. This would be about G above middle
C for the tenor and E or F above middle C for the Baritone. It is
the voice we hear in all, I repeat ALL, operatic male singers such as
Björling, Tucker, Peerce, Domingo, Pavarotti, etc. and Warren,
Milnes, Hampson, etc. It is a powerful voice that is recognized by
its ring, its strength of tone and the singers ability to change its
dynamic level from pp to fff without any change of vocal quality nor
any sense that the vocal production has changed from one vocal
function to another during dynamic or tonal changes within the head
voice range.
All of the singers you mention, Mike, including counter tenors, do
not use this vocal production but, instead, produce a tonal quality
that is a form of falsetto function which, though benefiting from
resonance emphasis, is not capable of producing the head voice
quality because the vocal folds are not capable of of producing the
rich harmonic spectrum that is found in the head voice vocal fold
configuration.
Head voice is an achieved vocal fold function that requires sustained
and consistent practice under the direction of a properly prepared
teacher or vocal coach and will only appear in the male voice when
that voice has achieved the necessary maturity to allow that function
to be produced. Many non-operatic singers have achieved successful
careers without accomplishing the skill of singing in head voice and
this is not a condemnation of them nor is it a pejorative comment on
their singing abilities or singing careers. I only wish to state
that after having listened to most of the popular singers that have
been mentions on this list as those who possess a head voice, I must
clearly state that I do not find any of them, in my opinion, to have
produced a true head voice even though I like and admire many of
their accomplishments.
All of this is simply to help make clear what the head voice quality
is , its unique vocal function, and remove the false idea that
enforced or what is sometimes called "supported" falsetto is the same
as head voice. Any singer who can do both head voice and supported
falsetto will tell you there is a world of difference between these
two completely different vocal functions.
--
Lloyd W. Hanson
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