The Chest/Head/Mixed Voices Explained
Singing is a personal and creative endeavour. You don't need technical training to enjoy singing or be a good singer. But if you have taken lessons, you've probably been confused about the registers.
What is a register? The short answer is this: A register is a particular mechanism and timbral method of vocalizing.
The long answer has – believe it or not – been a source of contention in the vocal community for centuries.
The registers have gone by many names over the years, and the most commonplace terms are chest voice (the lower register), head voice (the higher register) and mixed voice (the blending of the other two). Depending on your experience, you've likely used your registers to help express feelings vocally. If you've ever screamed on a roller coaster, you've probably experienced high register. If you've ever had a stern talk with someone, you've probably done so in the low register. If you've ever used baby talk – to talk to babies or otherwise – you've probably used something in between.
The word 'register' in-and-of-itself means different things to different people. In its simplest form, registration refers to how a singer (or speaker) navigates between the lower and higher registers. There are two main complicating factors to consider when discussing the registers:
There are multiple definitions of the word "register."
The terms by which the registers are classified (e.g. chest, head, modal, falsetto, etc) are inconsistent (and sometimes contradictory) between the various definitions of the word "register".
In 2020 Christian T. Herbst wrote an article in The Journal of Singing titled "Registers – The Snake Pit of Voice Pedagogy". He outlines some of the different ways to perceive and understand registration. It was this article that inspired this post. There are five well-documented ways in which the word "register" has been defined, and the registers themselves have been classified. Herbts outlines five classification systems for the registers that he calls proprioception, psycho-acoustic, laryngeal mechanisms, vocal tract effects and individual didactic systems. I have simplified some of the wording and included a contemporary perspective.
These are the methods of register classification based on Herbst's assessment. Proprioceptive, acoustic, mechanical, resonator shaped, and quantitative. (Click to Expand)
Herbst, Christian T. Registers- The Snake Pit of Voice Pedagogy, Journal of Singing Volume Volume 77, 2020, p. 175–190
Registration: The Controversy
Registration and using the registers is a bit of a controversial issue. This has been going on for years! Way back in 1896, Emil Behnke said this in his book titled Mechanisms of the Human Voice "We now proceed to study the Registers of the human voice. A very Bable of confusion exists on this important subject."
So, depending on who you talk to, you may get a different story on the registers and what constitutes "good" or "poor" technique. Let me provide a brief history of registration through a contemporary lens. We'll begin with European/Western art/Classical views of the registers and watch them transform over the years to modern classifications. Full disclosure, this is some high-octane-nerding-out. You do not need to understand the history of registration to be a good singer! If you've ever been confused by registration terms, keep reading to understand the root of all the confusion and the context in which I've chosen the words I use. (Spoiler alert: I use the terms chest, head, and mixed voices plus a few extras)
It's important to acknowledge that most of the research and study on the singing voice has been conducted at universities with exclusively European classical music departments. Its also important to recognize that many of these programs do their research through a euro-centric, white lens. Keep that fact in the front of your mind while reading through this timeline.
Where to begin?
Introducing Chest and Head Voice (also the Falsetto!)
*James Richard Joiner "The Vocal Principles of Garcia as Represented by his Pupils: Bataille, Marchesi and Stockhausen" LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses (1979) Louisiana State University
The Chest/Head Dilemma
Since the terms 'chest' and 'head' voice have been in use since the Renaissance. they have cemented themselves as the go-to terminology for the lower and higher registers. The dilemma that has plagued the vocal world since then is the misinformation that followed over the centuries. The terminology is technically flawed and doesn’t accurately represent the physiology of the voice. Both voices resonate in the vocal tract, not the chest or head exclusively. Many singers have been taught that the defining quality of the 'chest voice' is its resonance in the chest cavity and the defining quality of the 'head voice' is the resonance in the skull. This is not true but floats around as a pseudo-fact to this day.
The Desire To Be Accurate
Thin/Thick Vocal Folds & Laryngeal Musculature
In the mid and late 1800s, science and medicine were making great strides. Autopsies and dissections were being used to learn more about the human body and its functions. There was a global desire to understand the inner-workings of the body. For the first time, vocal professionals were looking directly into the voice box in an attempt to properly define the voice and its mechanisms, including the registers!
*Emil Behnke "Mechanisms of the Human Voice" (1880)
***J VAN DEN BERG "EXPERIMENTS WITH HUMAN LARYNGEAL PREPARATIONS Monatsschrift für Ohrenheilkunde und Laryngo-Rhinologie Volume 97: pages 522- 7 ( Nov-Dec 1963)
Head Vs. Falsetto Drama
The definition of head voice and falsetto has now changed. Garcia had classified it as the highest register for low male voices AND and the middle register for high male and female voices. Van den Berg went ahead and used the terms 'head' and 'falsetto' interchangeably to mean the higher register for all voice types.
A New Way Of Thinking…One Register!
Wait, maybe not…no… Chest, Head, Middle and Falsetto (with a new twist!)
*William Vennard "Singing: The mechanism and the Technqiue" (1967)
Head Vs. Falcetto Drama (cont.)
Now the falsetto had come to mean something different AGAIN! It was removed from the female voice entirely and used only to define the high register for male voices.
An Effort to Simplify
Pulse, Modal and Loft
**Harry Hollien "On Vocal Registers" Journal of Phonetics 2 (1974) 125-143
The Modal Voice and the Problem with “Normal”
The underlying issue is that 'normal' in classical styles vs. contemporary styles are fundamentally different. Both Vennard and Hollien only studied classically trained singers and the stylistic and phonatory qualities of euro-centric music. It's important to note that classical European style traditionally composes music for female singers in their higher register and for males in the lower register. In this way, Hollien made an assumption about what 'normal' is based on classical standards. In modern contemporary styles, both male and female voices were using the low register more often, creating different and more varied vocal qualities that didn't fit this definition. While the terms 'pulse' and 'loft' are sometimes used in modern vocal lessons, they have been somewhat lost to the echo chambers of time. The term 'modal' lives on, however, continuing to cause confusion for modern singers with any sort of classical training.
The Exclusion of Contemporary Styles
Keep in mind, at this point, register classification and vocal technique study was only happening in European classical styles. We're already in the 1980s! We are already decades past the cultural influences of non-European styles like the African American-born jazz and blues. Rock and pop are well into their hay-day, but they have yet to be integrated into the voice pedagogy lexicon! This can be viewed as somewhat narrow through the lens of history.
Bringing Back Old Classics
Chest, Medium, Head, Modal and Falsetto (except now they all mean different things)
*Johan Sundberg "The Science of the Singing Voice" (1987)
**Johan Sundberg "The Acoustics of Different Genres of Singing" The Oxford Handbook of Singing (2019)
The Vocal Community is Onboard! But Only for Classical Voices
So now, in the late 80s/early 90s, the registers were being defined by their acoustic qualities, everyone was pretty much on board with Sunberg and his classifications! They used familiar-sounding terms that kept everyone happy, but defined registers in a clear and concise way based on the sound qualities of the individual registers!
The problem however was this: It only applied to classically trained singers! Sunberg was actually quite careful to communicate that he meant to classify classically trained voices. (Though this clarification came later in his career when he wrote the paper "The Acoustics of Different Genres of Singing" ** in The Oxford Handbook of Singing in 2019.) In classical styles, the higher registers of male and female voices are used in such a way that have very different sound qualities, so categorizing them as different registers make sense in that context. However, the tonal qualities of the higher registers for male and female voices in contemporary styles are actually very similar, and therefore do not necessitate a differentiation in register terminology.
The sound qualities produced in modern genres were different than what Sunberg presented, but there was no research done at the time to fill in the blanks for modern singers. This left many unanswered questions: Does this mean modern singers need to define different registers altogether? Or perhaps it meant the word 'register' itself needed to be redefined once and for all!? The contemporary community all but gave up on trying to define the registers in a way that suited their style. Contemporary singers and their registers were simultaneously lumped in with classical and excluded from it.
An Effort to Include Modern Voices
Chest, Middle, Upper and Flageolet
*Donald G.Miller "Physical definition of the 'flageolet register'” Journal of Singing Volume 7, Issue 3, September 1993, Pages 206-212
Even More Head Vs. Falsetto Drama!
Miller continues Sundburg's definition of the falsetto as the highest male register but changed the meaning of head voice to mean the register below the male falsetto. He also added the word "full".
There is often confusion about the head voice and falsetto. Now you can see why! Sometimes it refers to the difference between female and male upper registers. Sometimes it refers to the various sound qualities of the higher register and furthermore sometimes that only includes male voices! It all depends on whom you ask and what strand of registration theory they were taught.
Make Way For Speech Level!
Chest, Head and The Mixed Voice
**https://www.riggsvocalstudio.com/
Why was the Mixed Voice so Groundbreaking?
The concept of a middle register or registers was not new. Garcia has his 'falsetto', Van der Berg simply called it "mid' register, Vennard's apt 'middle register'... However, in the past, the 'middle' register (by whatever name) was used to connect the lower and higher registers. It was referred to as the bridge or the passagio, which translates into a 'passageway". It was thought of as a path to get from one register to the other. The 'mixed voice' was not a path, but a destination. It was a register that could allow you to balance between low and high and create the powerful and highly sought-after belted sound!
The Trouble with Secret Knowledge
Seth Riggs successfully engaged contemporary singers in the conversation about registration that they were largely left out of. He also leveled the playing field between male and female singers. There were no more separate registers, unique to the sexes (Whether he knows it or not, he also opened the door for easier and more comfortable singing for trans singers who may feel lost in gender-defined registration) So what's the problem?
Many teachers, coaches, and singers who dislike Speech-Level-Singing point out that Riggs' methods exclude breath control from its methodology. He claims that control over breath has little to no impact on registration. A very controversial statement. (In my experience breath doesn't HAVE to impact registration, but it CAN. For example, if you're singing in an area of your range that could be sung in either the low or the high register, adding flow – or extra air – can facilitate a 'heady', 'lighter', or CT dominant sound. In this pedagogue’s humble opinion, breath is an integral part of technique as a whole)
Critiques also cite his overuse and prioritization of the chest voice as limiting to the singer. The method is called '"Speech" Level' because of the chest voice's proximity to a normal speaking range. While head voice has an important role in facilitating the mysterious mixed voice, it, by in large, was left out of the practical training. (In my experience, a strong and versatile head voice is a necessary colour on every singer's palate!)
The other common criticism of SLS is how it's been commercialized. Riggs copyrighted his methods and started offering training to teachers in SLS. The certification does not come cheap! This knowledge has been commodified, whereas traditionally, new research or prevailing ideas were shared openly through academia or through popular publications. Riggs publicly disdained this kind of institutionalized setting, and so kept much of his technique to himself and to those who paid.
As a result, the entire culture around SLS is somewhat ambiguous and gives the impression that those in the know hold a secret knowledge about the mixed voice that you'll only get if you pay top dollar. The method is exclusive and mysterious. This is great for the brand, but does nothing to relieve the already overwhelming confusion surrounding registers, their application, and their definitions!
Students of Riggs have gone on to expand on his ideas, but in much the same tradition, hold their cards very close to their chest in terms of sharing research and application. This has developed into a culture of secrecy and exclusivity. In this way, Riggs brought applicable modern vocal techniques to the forefront but also hid them from view.
Let’s Just Measure the Danged Things
M0, M1, M2, M3
*Bernard Roubeau "Laryngeal Vibratory Mechanisms: The Notion of Vocal Register Revisited" Journal of Voice Paris, (2008) France and Grenoble France
So Where Are We Now?
Despite Roubeau's mechanisms being the most accurate and neutral way of defining the registers, they never really took off in the average vocalist's lexicon. Most singers continue to use the terms that they learned from their teachers. Those teachers learned from their teachers and so on. Each singer tends to cling to their learned terminology with fervour! Coaches and teachers disassociate from people who use different terms. Registration has caused a real rift in the vocal community. No matter how you classify the registers, I think we can all agree on one thing; Registration is a pretty silly hill to die on.
A Personal Note on Registration
At the end of the day, registration is simply how we communicate to students how to access the different parts of their full range! As a teacher, I've found that figuring out how someone learns and what will help them is more important than winning the imaginary battle for "most accurate terminology".
As a coach who has taught hundreds of unique voices, my observation is that each person will have their own preferred way of identifying the registers, and that's ok! Some will more readily hear the differences, others will feel them. Some will gain contextual and helpful insight from knowing the inner workings of the larynx. Vowel shaping helps singers to settle into areas of registration with ease and confidence. If you walk away from this historical account with anything, let it be this: The way you define the registers – whatever way that is – is correct. It is right because it works for you.
What You Can Expect At My Studio
In a perfect world, I would not be redefining the registers AGAIN in any way. But because of the chaos and confusion outlined on the last few pages I, like every other voice teacher in the world, have had to make choices about the terms I use. So in an effort to be transparent and forthcoming, I've laid out the terms I use along with a brief description of why I use them. I use a mish-mash of proprioceptive, acoustic, and mechanical registration classifications to help each individual singer I come across understand and confidently access their full range! If you were to come by my studio and we were to talk registers and registration I would probably use these terms a lot: Chest, Head, Mixed, Transition Range, Fry, and Whistle.
DISCLAIMER
My goal was to choose terms that were familiar and user-friendly. This in no way is meant to be a finalized or official account of the registers.
The Registers
Chest & Head Voices
Like Zacconi, Garcia, Van den Berg, Vennard, Sunberg and Riggs, I use the term chest voice to describe the lower register and head voice for the higher register. I approach the registers the same regardless of sex, or gender. I also do not use the term falsetto so as to avoid further confusion. Like Benke and Van den Berg I define the source of the difference between the chest and head voices as the posture of the vocal folds AND laryngeal musculature. (Chest: Short/thick/square/TA dominant. Head: Long/think/triangular/CT dominant) I will also help my students understand the registers using whichever perception cue is most helpful to the individual. Either psycho-acoustic or proprioceptive. I will also help singers facilitate their desired registration via vocal tract shaping in the style of Riggs.
Mixed Voice (Heavy /Light) and the Transition Range
I use Rigg's mixed voice to describe a vocalized sound that is neither chest nor head voice, rather it is a blending of the other two. I use the term transition range to describe the pitches in one's range that can be produced in either chest or head voice. These pitches are often referred to as 'middle' notes. Training the mixed voice is done within the transition range! I've taken a page out of Vennard's book of ideal registration to describe the versatility within the mixed voice, calling a sound with 'more chest voice' heavier (closer to short/thick/square/TA dominant) and a sound with 'more head voice' lighter (closer the long/think/triangular/CT dominant).
Vocal Fry and Whistle Tone
Because of the fuzzy definition of the word "register" itself, there is some debate as to whether either of these can even be considered registers. Vocal fry is the low, low sound produced when air 'bubbles' between the vocal folds. It's the same as Hollian's pulse register or Roubeau's M0. Whistle tone is the highest, whistle-like sound that a human can produce while vocalizing. What's actually happening inside the larynx during whistle tones is yet to be studied. It's the same as Ven den Berg's whistle, Hollien's loft, and Roubeau's M3.
CLICK TO EXPAND
That’s it for now!
It's important to keep in mind how turbulent the history of registration terminology is when having a conversation about the registers. Each singer has their own unique experience with how they understand (based on what they've been taught), access (based on how they perceive), and use (based on practical application) the registers. There are no wrong answers, if my approach works for you, great! If not, no worries! What's important is that you feel free and comfortable using your full range with the tonal and timbral qualities you hope for!
