Singing using the upper range of the voice.

Head voice or Head Register The head register is a vocal mechanism used in singing. It is found in all voice types from the lowest male bass to the highest female soprano. It is not associated with any particular musical pitch, but rather with the position and use of the vocal cords and larynx. The human voice is commonly divided into two registers: the upper register called the head regisiter and the lower register called the chest register. When singing in the head register, laryngeal behavior is quite different from that of the chest register. The vocal cords are thin and have a wide amplitude. There is no firm glottal closure. The crico-thyroid muscles become much more active, while the action of the vocalis muscle decreases. All of the these actions reduce the volume and number of partial harmonics. The term head register reflects the perceptions of many singers who feel that when they sing in this register the sound vibrates in their heads rather than their chests. While scientists and physicians have disproved this idea, the term is still very common. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_voice

Singing using the upper range of the voice.

To determine Head vioce it is first important to dispell the common nyth that Head voice and Falsetto are the same thing.THey are NOT. Not only do they SOUND completely different and FEEL completely different, the very name suggests they are different. HEAD voice indicates that your resonance is in your "head" (that is your upper mouth, nasal and sinus cavities). FALSETTO (as the name suggests) is a false voice - different from normal. Head voice is a continuation or "connected" to CHEST voice (SPEAKING or MODAL voice). Your own distinct vocal character remains and you remain in full control of the note and can vary dynamics and you wish. In Falsetto the vocal cords do not vibrate alone their optimal length. This produces a "breathier" sound, which is not only more difficult (if not impossible) to add real dynamics to but is also hard to hold for an extended note, as the air is rushing out faster. THis can be desirable for effect or style. Listen to Alannis Morissette for obvious examples of flipping from Chest voice to FALSETTO. lower notes are rich and well controled and she suddenyl flips into a breathy, non-distinct sound, it is VERY different from her NORMAL voice, this is FALSETTO. Now listen to Emmy Rosum (Phantom of the opera). What difference do you hear between her high notes and Alannis' high notes? Hers are pure, clear, controled and distinctive. She is singing what is called PURE HEAD VOICE. Now listen to a classic gospel singer. What difference do you hear between them and Emmy? They are both singing similar notes and are both in HEAD voice as the notes are distinct and controled. But the gospel singers are not in PURE head voice, they are singing in a MIXED head voice. this means they are adding chest resonances to the HEAD register to porduce that deeper, more dynamic sound. See Brett Manning, Goodrich studio, Seth Riggs or any other SPEACH-LEVEL SINGING teacher (SLS). It will change your life (vocally speaking) Garanteed! Best wishes