David Cox <davidcox@c...> wrote:
> > A falsettist does, as you say, use only the
> > edge of his full-length vocal cords, using breath pressure as the
> > primary determinant of pitch--
>
> I don't understand falsetto as operating like this. I thought that the
> primary determinants of falsetto were: the lack of complete adduction
> (leading to the often perceptible breathiness of tone) and the stiffness of
> the vocal fold covering layer (leading to a less rich source spectrum).
Dear David,
I hope someone can jump in about falsetto - I am no expert on this
particular function, not to mention the fact I personally do not seem to
be able to produce it! The part where I'm sure we're in agreement is
regarding the incomplete adduction of the cords. My conception of why is
that the cords are not pliable in this state (whether it is because they
are lax or stiff, I'm not certain, but the end result is the same -
inadvertant breath admixture).
> However, as far as I was aware, pitch is still controlled in the normal
> way. I do notice that I can vary breath pressure greatly with no effect
> on pitch at all. Conversely, dramtic chamges in pitch do not seem to be
> correlated to changes in pressure (although I have no measurements of this
> and could of course be completely mistaken!).
See, I bet most trained singers who have any access to their head voice
have difficulty producing a clinically pure falsetto. Their laryngeal
control is sophisticated enough to introduce muscular tension to this
register so that it evolves into another mode of phonation which can
modulate pitch and volume simultaneously.
Most everyone I know can learn to make small dynamic changes to their
upper voice - technically impossible according to the formal definition
of falsetto...
-Tako
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