mike wrote:
> the primary difference, in my experience with singing both ways, is that
> singing as women or, counter-tenors would, means going to what i call
> 'falsetto' from chest or speaking voice and having to deal with negotiating
> that break smoothly. singing as men would, it is more like extending the
> lower range rather then going into something else. how this extension is
> made is then the prime concern.
I think it sorta depends. To my ear, some tenors switch to the light
mechanism (i.e. same as a countertenor) completely by Bb. Others manage
to bring their middle voice (which is still strongly related to chest
voice -- I'd guess there's still significant TA activity, but that's
total speculation) up to C or Db. IMO, that's Pavarotti's claim to fame.
He is also quite capable of the light mechanism, which he used to be
able to bring to a high F. His ability to go back and forth between
these registers is spectacular.
So the world according to Tako: The principle difference between tenors
and countertenors is the strategy for crossing the line between the
heavy and light mechanisms.
1) Countertenors usually do it low, like lyric female voices.
2) Tenors do it high. Some have high enough voices they never have
to switch completely to light while singing the usual repertoire.
3) Hautes contre do it somewhere in between.
Tako
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