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From:  "Tako Oda <toda@m...
Date:  Wed Feb 5, 2003  5:06 pm
Subject:  Re: Pavarotti Mezzo Falso

John,

I actually think the underlying mechanism has some foundation in what
many people call "chest" voice. I put that in quotes because it of
course is resonating in the head despite the mechanics of the larynx.

Many tenor pedagogues might call this head voice, and that's fine
with me, but it's definitely different from falsetto, and it's also
probably different from the light head voice that countertenors use.

The only note I heard that I think crosses over into a different
(lighter) laryngeal mechanism is the very last one in your clip.
Pavarotti uses that register to go past high C# when singing the very
high rep. IMO it's the same voice as used by countertenors. He's very
good at switching back and forth to this voice, even high in his
range.

Tako Oda
Countertenor




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