
The Evolution of the Male Falsetto - Foe
https://frieze.com/article/evolution-male-falsetto
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frodo3212
This article mentions pop voice specifically, but doesn't delve into the
actual physiological phenomena associated with head voice/falsetto, in part
because of current limitations at understanding how we make sound. Male head
voice and falsetto are related to crico-thyroid (antagonistic muscles to vocal
folds) dominant phonation, as opposed to thyro-arytenoid (vocal fold) dominant
phonation. The differences from there can be attributed to a number of
additional factors, like subglottic air-pressure or pharyngeal shape. If
you're interested in further reading or research on the subject, the writings
of Richard Miller or Ingo Titze would be great places to explore.

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whiddershins
Falsetto in rock has a strong relationship to the low mid content of electric
guitars.

This means a vocalist needs to get in the upper register to have sonic space.

Some of the best rock vocalists of all time, for example axl rose and Chris
Cornell, are actually low baritones singing almost exclusively in an
idiosyncratic blended falsetto.

Related: pre distorted electric guitars, baritones were considered the most
attractive in pop music... Elvis was a tenor who sang in the baritone
register, I believe.

~~~
ksdale
The first time I heard Axl Rose speak in an interview I couldn’t believe how
deep his voice was! Listening to basically every GnR song had led me to expect
a much higher pitched voice.

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dehrmann
There's a bit of a debate over the definition of falsetto. It's either
synonymous with "head voice," or it's a breathy, disconnected head voice
sound. As long as it's connected, with a good singing, you might not even be
able to tell where it begins. It's like the difference between Journey and the
Bee Gees.

~~~
cynicalkane
Really?

I'm not sure where the debate would lie; falsetto is a clearly identifiable
physical voice register that, without deliberate training, sounds quite
different from the usual 'modal' voice. Futhermore, there is generally no 'in-
between'\--it's either one register or the other. Some singers can switch
between the two without audible seams, but it's very difficult.

~~~
jcobnl
When I sing a scale in head voice starting on a high note going down on
low/mid volume, it seems to be quite seemless. I suppose on higher volumes,
its easier to notice for me personally.

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YeGoblynQueenne
>> Plant is the original metal vocalist

Actually, Led Zeppelin are not metal. And it's strange to read an article that
praises male metal vocalists for their falsettos without even a passing
mention to the indisputable god of all metal falsettists, gay and straight
alike, whose name I don't even have to actually say. He is that conspicuous by
his absence in that article.

Oh, alright. I mean Rob Halford. Who writes an article about falsetto
vocalists and leaves out the man who sang this?

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM__lPTWThU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM__lPTWThU)
(Painkiller)

Or this:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGkRRdkPTtg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGkRRdkPTtg)
(Exciter)

Or this:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tv-e9DJqK4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tv-e9DJqK4)
(The Sentinel)

Or, well, this:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_1hLiqwq7c](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_1hLiqwq7c)
(Heavy Metal)

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Terretta
Makes me think of the “diva dance” song from Fifth Element, which was thought
couldn’t be sung.

Here it is sung by Dimash Kudaibergen, a 25 yo Kazakh:

[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=23HYymUjIHE&t=3m32s](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=23HYymUjIHE&t=3m32s)
(at 3m30s)

He is university trained in classical as well as in contemporary music and is
known for his wide vocal range of 6 octaves, from D2 to D8 (and 6 octaves and
5 semitones, from A1 to D8, with vocal fry). This spans from the bottom of the
bass range beyond the top of the soprano range.

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimash_Kudaibergen](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimash_Kudaibergen)

You can hear more typical range in the first half of that video.

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cafard
I find it odd that there is no mention of the counter-tenor voice in classical
music. I suppose that a lot of the parts now taken by counter-tenors were
originally written for castratos, but there have been quite a few pieces
written since those days.

~~~
mason55
Really good article about countertenor (both history and a current star) from
last month in the New Yorker[0]

[0]
[https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/07/22/a-millennial-c...](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/07/22/a-millennial-
countertenors-pop-star-appeal)

~~~
cafard
Most interesting, thanks.

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arcticgeek
It's disappointing there was no mention of King Diamond!

~~~
dehrmann
Can't say I really wanted to read about Adam Levine, so I'm happy he was left
out.

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notatoad
i'm assuming article is resurfacing now because of the vox earworm video from
earlier this week. if you haven't seen it yet, it's a good watch (like all the
earworm videos)

[https://www.vox.com/2019/8/13/20801974/we-charted-pop-
music-...](https://www.vox.com/2019/8/13/20801974/we-charted-pop-music-
falsetto)

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kazinator
The trick with falsetto is to transition flawlessly to and from. Singers have
to work on extending it downward. If you stay in falsetto while reaching for
low notes, that's when things can awkwardly falter. There has to be decent
overlap with the regular voice (" _modal voce_ "), for easy transitioning.

Singing with too much falsetto is annoying; it should just be used to reach a
few high notes, IMHO. If someone has to falsetto the whole song, it's in the
wrong key or register for them.

In the 1970's, supposedly, radio stations used to advertize "Bee-Gee-free
weekends", ha.

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cestith
I can't directly disagree with anything in the article. However it's a bit
shocking to me to hear about influential singers using falsetto for parts of
their songs and not even a mention John Lennon, Geddy Lee, or Howard Jones in
passing.

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tk75x
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HQh29nQcvs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HQh29nQcvs)
If you haven't seen this as a viral post years ago, a great example of
falsetto.

