Producing reinforced falsetto

Lately I've taken an interest in learning how to produce the countertenor reinforced falsetto, frequently used by the highest voice in the barbershop style. I've noticed people (incorrectly?) refer to it as "head voice", which I distinguish as the lighter, airy voice (even with full support).

My understanding about the male voice is that it has several registers, some of which overlap.
  • Vocal Fry: the ridiculously low register that has a popping or crackling quality (since it involves producing notes at the low end and beyond the low end of tonal sounds). This is outside of the scope of this post, but I wanted to make note of it.
  • Modal voice: the chest voice which overlaps with your speaking voice, usually topping off around E4 (E above middle C). This voice feels like it resonates in the chest or throat.
  • Head voice: a higher voice that takes over around E4. This equally powerful but less effort-intense voice feels like it resonates in the head and not in the chest, but it is not falsettoIt can sound indistinguishable from modal "chest" voice, so I consider it the upper part of one's "full voice".
  • Falsetto register: a generally higher voice that overlaps with the range of head voice and sounds like a flute. Though it can overlap with about an octave of chest voice, it has a light, breathy, or "hooty" quality, depending on the vowel target, and it requires less physical effort to produce. Barbershoppers seem to call this "head tone", since it too feels as if in your head, though it lacks the strength of full voice. 
  • Countertenor (reinforced falsetto) voice: the other "false" voice with a significantly stronger ringing voice (earning the name "reinforced falsetto"), which overlaps with head, falsetto, and the upper part of modal voice. It is used predominantly by singing countertenors and overlaps with the female alto range. However, I'm led to believe it is produced quite differently from falsetto to attain that "Mickey Mouse"-like sound. The voice feels as if it is produced in the back of the head and resonates at the very top, as if above the head. This is what barbershoppers simply refer to as "falsetto".
  • Whistle register: the ridiculously high voice that lies above head and falsetto, sounding much like a whistle. It's more apparent in children and females, though males have it too. This is outside of the scope of this post, but I wanted to make note of it.
I am most interested in the countertenor voice, which is the one register I should be able to access as a tenor but haven't tapped into since joining the Barbershop Harmony Society.

Here are some links I've come across that have been helpful, though I still have plenty to figure out.
I also found some interesting reading at The Counter Tenor: Vocal Issues and Answers.



If you're wondering what I'm aiming for, here are some characteristic videos, featuring well-trained singers around my age:

Here are some examples with guys around my age:

No comments:

Post a Comment