On Wed, 6 Dec 2000, Caio Rossi wrote:
>> Dre To Tako: Why would a tenor that has a register (head voice) with
>> which he can do everything in a sublime way, use falsetto?
>
> But Tako advocates that what you call a falsetto voice is actually a
> countertenor register!
I don't think that's what Dre is saying. The falsetto is separate from
either of the head voice types. Tenors generally need to use what Dre
calls "supported" because otherwise it won't blend seamlessly into their
chest voices. If the support is not there, it will be too soft and not
complex enough timbrally to mix.
No one really uses falsetto anymore, except cathedral altos and some types
of a cappella. It's fallen out of fashion, and as Dre says, why would
anyone use it when there are more useful registers in the same range?
The other mode of head voice is what I believe most classically trained
women use (as do most countertenors). It's not that it's unsupported... it
is. It simply doesn't have the same sort of mass in the cords, hence the
simpler timbre. Since the focus is on height rather than mixing with
chest, it's like playing on the E string on a violin rather than the
thicker A string. They are still the same basic phonational mechanism. One
just has a heavier vibrational body than the other.
As many hautes contre and chesty contraltos prove, however, it is possible
to transition to this lighter head voice (circa G4) given good chops,
natural ability and a chest voice with a similar spectrum to the head. It
usually helps to have a higher chest range and lower head range for the
timbres to match.
Tako
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