The Countertenor Voice - Latest Comments

Re: How to Handle Spelling Händel

Volker Mueller — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 07:37:42 -0000

- of course! there is only one little flaw, and correcting it will even further support your results: the German "ä" does not sound like "e" in bed but very much like "a" in hands or - Handel! ... A naturalized citizen he could not get closer to the original sound than by writing "a" when living in England. To use the "e" when in Italy is just as easy to explain, evwen if not as close a match as English "a" and German "ä", there is nothing as close to the original sound, the Italian "a" will never allow for anything but the "a" of "amore". - (Therefore it seems wrong to speak his name in a fashion that gets close to just that a-sound he always wished to avoid wherever he was; - it is "hand", not "hard").

Re: Vocal Technique: How to Best Practice Practicing Singing

Lauren — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 20:42:58 -0000

Fantastic article. These tips really help me evaluate how I practice, and I should be practicing. Thanks for your thoughts!

Re: Vocal Technique: The Flex

Julien Pajot — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 10:47:36 -0000

Hi Ian, writing from Spain! I've just started to sing in a choir (with 28 years old it is never too late, isn't it?), as a bass (bass bass). But from the age of 17 I've started to sing, as a total amateur obviously, in the range of countertenor, never forced on the voice or tried to accomplish foolish high notes.
I feel almost as comfortable as in my bass register, but I need more "warm up" to obtain a clear, good quality sound. Is it normal, am I stretching to hard? For some reason the D5 is the max I can obtain without forcing... The E5 seems out of question, and under A3 it is just a mess between head and chest voice :(
Any recommendations or specific exercises would be welcomed :)

Thank you

Re: Countertenor Technique: An Introduction to Concepts

Nicolas Orjuela — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 21:10:23 -0000

Hi i'm 18 years old and I can reach a G5 in CHEST VOICE, i was training with some Mariah Carey's songs and i developed a technique to reach tht notes effortless, at the beggining it was difficult but with some coach help i started to reach that notes.
I know that i'm a counternor but i want top know why i can go higher with my head voice,with falsetto i can reach til A5 but higher i can't, I've been trying with opera technique but is useless for me.
I hope you answer my doubts

Re: To Do-ing Well in your Singing Career

Sevak Kirakosyan — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 07:06:02 -0000

In one month I will start working part-time in my daily work, and in like three months I will be working in an office no more. Getting ready to become a freelancer, to dedicate myself more to singing, music and art. I take these articles as life lessons and thank the author very much! Let's see how it goes and what happens next! <3 (Y)

Re: Vocal Technique: How to Best Practice Practicing Singing

Sevak Kirakosyan — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 17:10:01 -0000

This is really deep and useful! So appreciate this! One thing I've noticed with tips is partiality: one may be given a warmup exercise and that's it, no further details. A-to-Z 'guides' are so greater than separate pieces! Thanks!

Re: Countertenor Technique: An Introduction to Concepts

Anto — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 20:00:28 -0000

@Nick Mains.
while waiting for Ian's response (I'm also curious) I may tell you my impression, based on what I know and what you told here.
You
say you have two falsettos, this is not so unusual as falsetto is very
broad as definition, as it is tied to sensation and perception of
lighter sounds than usual "full" voice and not necessarily true reality.
Example: Full pure modal G3 of Adam Levine sounds much more falsettoish
than a good mixed C5 of Adam Lambert or Pavarotti, yet one is fully
modal the other one doesn't, the vibration has more vertical phase or
such in mixed.
If your higher falsetto can go up to E6 and the lower
one that overlaps chest voice only goes up to C5, probably the lower one
is "mixed" head-chest voice, I don't know if yours is a full fold
mechanism or partial, but given that a good control of partial folds
might take you above high C even if you were a baritone, you might be a
tenor going up to high C with his resonating and connected voice,
depending on how this higher falsetto sounds and feels, it might be head
voice or partial folds and you still have trouble connecting it to your
lower falsetto, how you call it.
If at a certain height of pitch you
have trouble producing consonants, you might be already on your whistle
register, which sounds like the extreme Pf mechanism where most of the
fold is blocked and only air can pass through a little hole between
them,
Less extreme graduation, probably mimick an extremely short set of folds for very high notes like the ones you are doing.
Ian, how do you feel about how tenors do their High notes approaching high C, is that partial fold?
If
not the old terminology might be still valid as the tenor voice passes,
once getting past its pivotal points, retaining undoubtful intermediate
characteristics between pure modal voice and pure head voice,
definitely not pure chest voice however full sounding but also not head
voice. Maybe this depends on projection. Also Ian sounds like your PF
voice starts to sound powerful, rich and more convincing* only past A4
or such, below it it sounds like she (the voice) just wants to meet your
natural chest voice but you prevent it for theatrical and canonical
exigencies :). That I know you don't need amplification to do your
performance isn't it?
I'm curious on this, if you wanted could you
give your alto - soprano range a more pop sound to sing women songs on
that range, sounds like Nick Pitera, Adam Lambert, Geoff Tate, do
something similar to your technique for their very high notes, still
retaining the edge of full voice, without being really "full".
The
latter two mix seamlessly with their chest voice, when on the middle of
their traditional "high" range, could you also do that if you wanted,
when not having to keep the light baroque tone?
Could you use a
middle light graduation, of the partial fold mechanism, plus the heavy
projection to imitate the tenor in his high notes? I don't mean in an
expert proof way, but I guess it would "just" warrant a middle
arrangement between the configuration of your alto and your baritone
range.

*by convincing i mean veristic, full powered close to your
real capacity, but as you said baroque repertoire needs you to feign
feminine quality even where your full voice would otherwise mix in, and
it's convincing in that respect.

Re: Countertenor Technique: An Introduction to Concepts

Nick Mains — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 21:14:39 -0000

I think that I have posted before, but I can't remember or find it, so I'd like to ask...

I'm a baritone singer, but I have a very powerful falsetto and mix. I can sing up to E6 (usually only D6 but sometimes I can hit the E) and it doesn't sound bad, or so I am told. I'm very curious because I have an issue that feels to me like I have two falsettos. I have what I refer to as my lower falsetto which overlaps with my chest voice range, and goes up to ~Tenor C. Then I have another falsetto, which feels a completely different part of my voice and goes to that E/D area. It doesn't go very low, though, so there's an area that I believe I don't know how to hit. (I assume I physically can, but I don't know how to sing within that range. If you could help me with that, that would be awesome, but my true question here is...)I can't seem to produce consonants. If I try to sing words in that higher falsetto, the sound falters and goes away and I would really like to be able to make use of those high notes.Thanks, Nick.

Re: Countertenor Technique: An Introduction to Concepts

Anto — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 12:10:47 -0000

Hello again.
I agree about falsetto it's too much of a broad term, I might suggest it to be only used when voice breaks abruptly in a higher weak and airy note, this is wrongly identified with the limit of the optimal voice, but we know it's just lack of training.
But I have some doubt about this " As I wrote above, men often have too much mass to vibrate fast enough
to produce extremely high frequency pitches, even if they were to use
their vocal folds in the most optimal manner possible."

or
"For example, both men and women can 'belt' up to Bb4s without shifting
to a partial fold approach. A woman will often sound better doing this
than a man because her less massive vocal folds are better able to take
the strain. That doesn't mean that her "chest voice" is higher, just
that it is better able to function in a super-optimal manner. "

And doesn't this mean that the voice is just phisically lower having more mass? Isnt' it an acoustic law that bigger masses require higher tension than smaller masses to vibrate at the same pitch? Hence why they strain more, the full folds of medium/high female voices at Bb4 aren't definitely enduring the same strain better, they are just less rigid, like a G guitar string (letting alone fretting) will be far less strained if you tighten it via the key up to a Bb3 than the, the A2 or D3 string will be tight.
A soprano full fold (no CT - TA balance shifting aka mixed full voice) might be as strained only at F-F#5. So i have to think their chest voice is actually higher.
This is why I think every voice has a different shifting point talking about passages, maybe I'm wrong but apparently phisics says so.
While I agree about the increased ease of higher voices especially females and *some* gay men (the latter two more for cultural reasons, as you said) ease to shift to partial fold mechanism. Also the bigger the voice the bigger the difference in mass between the vocal body and the cover (that apparently only vibrates in pure falsetto) and this is also a factor.
I read that earlier Pavarotti gradually switched to partial fold mechanism to have easier high notes, the same for Tito Schipa. Pavarotti later abandoned this in favor of the mixed full fold mechanism.
Is there an inbetween with partially shortened vibrating tract? Because there can be a smooth transition, see Geoff Tate (baritone), apparently.

Re: Countertenor Technique: An Introduction to Concepts

DBlue One — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 07:14:50 -0000

Hi and thank you for your answer...my confusion was because some consider the degree of antagonism where CT is dominant head voice, and TA dominance chest voice. Independent of the vibratory state itself, ff or pf. I know that in another place you wrote that some wrongly link pf as head, and ff as chest...But there are also those who link the muscular dominance alone with head and chest, independent of the vibratory state they are usually unaware of. (the school I come from) That is why I had a difficult time to explain to my (ex) voice tecaher that I feel the lower region of my countertenor voice (the partial fold) as chest voice as well (but a different one from the full fold one which I use during speaking), because inside the partial fold, the lower region has optimal antagonism where TA is dominant. Or at least I feel it as dominant. And in this school of thought, the TA dominance = chest, independent from vibratory state.

A baritone or tenor would I suppose need to stay in the full fold in ascending, but just change the optimal antagonism, the so-called covering...What keeps the sound of the chest voice all the way to the top.

And in that light some call the male pf falsetto...because of what, it might become understandable why some have said that falsetto can "damage" your full voice, if you're lets say a baritone. Because it would make you constantly switch between the ff and pf function, in the range you want to have ff, but with CT dominance (covered). For the same reason why making a countertenor sing as a baritone in the upper range might interfere with their progress singing as a countertenor.

It's I suppose just the question of how you choose to sing - as a countertenor or as a baritone for example.

But I agree that the old system is sort of confusing, because it is not precise enough to explain what happens. And because the same term, like head, can mean a few very different things.

Re: Vocal Technique: How to Best Practice Practicing Singing

Blade — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 06:51:33 -0000

I'm going to try practicing some of this tomorrow. I'm a countertenor and have a lovely dramatic-leaning soprano teacher, but I carry so much tension in my throat I tend to sound like a poorly-played clarinet when I sing. She actually told me once she's surprised my voice is still healthy since I even speak with tension in my throat. ): Here's hoping some of this helps...Thanks!

Re: A Case Study: 28 Days to a Better Singing Technique

JayMC — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 12:28:34 -0000

This is awesome! I was wondering as a countertenor what exercises helps you blend your voice and refine the upper register?

Re: Countertenor Technique: An Introduction to Concepts

Ian Howell — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 13:06:38 -0000

Hi DinDanMee,
Thanks for this comment. I don't think you quite have it. The ff and pf describe vibratory states. Many pedagogues would describe the difference in terms of vertical phase alone, and others incorporate vibrating length as well. Within any given vibratory state you can sing with any degree of optimal or suboptimal vocal fold engagement. The vibratory states themselves are consistent, and are not the same as saying "head voice" and "chest voice." The qualities of head and chest are an intersection of the vibratory state and the degree of optimal antagonism. Although... it is, of course more complex than this :-).

My experience is that countertenors tend to not make great baritones, perhaps because of something inherent to the instrument, but likely because of choices made over time.

~Ian

Re: Vocal Technique: How to Best Practice Practicing Singing

Ian Howell — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 12:20:36 -0000

Hi David! I'm seeing you in a week in ABQ?
Well, I think it is impossible for the tongue to exert direct pressure on the larynx (if by that we mean vocal folds). However, if a student is trying to open their pharynx and incorporates the "yawning" action of the tongue, it will bring excess tension into the area of the larynx and inhibit optimal phonation. My words are overly simple, but I hope they get to the point that needs addressing :-)
~Ian

Re: Vocal Technique: How to Best Practice Practicing Singing

Dgroganvoice — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 12:59:52 -0000

Ian, I am just now reading this. Excellent information! One little thing. I don't think it's possible for the tongue to exert pressure on the larynx, since muscles only contract toward the middle. But I am happy to hear your take on that, as I have been wrong before...

Re: Vocal Technique: How to Best Practice Practicing Singing

Ian Howell — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 08:16:53 -0000

Hi Hannah, specific warm ups were outside the scope of this article. I would suggest working with a teacher. To a great extent actual warm up/exercise patterns are less important than the way that you do them. You need a teacher to learn how to do them. Good luck!

Re: Vocal Technique: How to Best Practice Practicing Singing

Hannahmamo101 — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 06:57:53 -0000

well this website has kind of helped and kind of not well what are some warm ups i can do?? just askin'

Re: Countertenor Technique: An Introduction to Concepts

DinDanMee — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 20:38:19 -0000

If I may just try to check if I understand what you write correctly...

So, while we do associate the vocal balance with the balance of chest/head-falsetto (TA/CT muscles) the fact is they can be balanced in two ways, (inside) the full fold and the partial fold function. A countertenor uses the balance in the partial fold function. While a let's say baritone uses the same balance (or muscular development) but full fold...Am I correct?

So basically you can produce "two types" of head voice (if one wants to use the old terminology - CT dominance)...The full fold head voice and the partial fold head voice? (Same with chest...)

Another question...How rigid are the full and partial fold phonation? Are they deffinitely two different phonation modes, or are there certain mixes between them? Or to put it more colorfull...is it all black or white (either ff or pf), or are there shades of grey between them?

So all this has been scientifically backed up, observed and so on? I am fascinated! Because it almost seems some teachers almost *want* to stay uninformed.

Also, what is with women? There are numerous cool recordings by the amazing Eileen Farrell where she sings both opera and jazz. (For example Wagner vs. My Funny Valentine) She is obviously vocally balanced and excellent in both...But is she singing with full fold function in My funny Valentine and partial fold in Wagner?

Would it then be possible for a countertenor to train to sing both as a lets say baritone and alto? Or concentrating on either ff or pf excludes the other for whatever reason. (Muscle memory and pitch memory...if you get used to sing a pitch in one way, it might be confusing to switch to the other)

Thanks for clarifying and keep up the good work!

Re: Vocal Technique: How to Best Practice Practicing Singing

doreen — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 05:02:45 -0000

thanks to you. but is this achiveabe for someone like me if i choose to do these in a place like my bed room.

Re: Countertenor Technique: An Introduction to Concepts

Ian Howell — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 08:51:26 -0000

Hmmm... That is an interesting question that I have not thought about before. If there are any voice doctors lurking around here, I would defer to them, but I assume that given enough time (and assuming good training), one should be able to heal from smoking damage.

The real question would be whether you are training the range through c5/d5 in a healthful manner. If you perceive it as "more chesty, tenor, and almost forced..." I would assume that you are pushing the folds together too hard and using too much sub-glottal pressure.

Can you try to do low to high sweeps placing the back of your hand over your mouth? The goal is to allow only a small amount of air to escape around the sides of your mouth. This will create 'back pressure' that prevents you from pushing too hard :-).

Good luck,

~Ian

Re: Countertenor Technique: An Introduction to Concepts

Hoyt — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 18:14:34 -0000

Hello, Ian!
Great article! In your experience, is it possible for a CT to regain their upper head range post smoking. I know I am telling on myself, but my concern outweighs my embarrassment. I used to have a very pleasing extension up to F6 (when I was a late teen), and although I know I will never get that back, is it possible to rehabilitate back to a "healthy" CT range? I am still capable of C5/D5 notes, but they have a more chesty, tenor, and almost forced sound to them. Any advice/tips you could provide would be greatly appreciated! Thank you for your time.

Re: About

Sevak — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 14:11:20 -0000

I'm so glad I found this source. It's been my dream to sing as a countertenor and be on the stage. I so far couldn't find a teacher that'd be able to teach and guide me well. The last one totally discouraged me saying I'm a nice tenor and there's nothing special about countertenors (she was an old lady with some prejudice, I suspect).

Hopefully I'll find some guidance and directions here :)

Re: Vocal Technique: The Flex

Justin — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 20:19:03 -0000

Ian,

You are an Angel to all Ctenors!

Re: Vocal Technique: How to Best Practice Practicing Singing

Blazer-guarini — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 13:02:26 -0000

Yeah I'm doing this somehow as a part of my training but it's just really difficult to find a choir that would accept me with this kind of voice. They usually get so surprised and give me compliments but they always tell me they have no place for my voice and it hurts a lot. However, this new choir is eager to let me join but they really want me to be in the bass group. Though, they also mentioned that putting me in alto or soprano could be arranged, but bass is preferable.

Not to mention, my voice teacher, the only one who knows and has experienced training CT's, is flying to new york for a greener pasture and I have nobody to train me now. Voice teachers here are just afraid to accept me as their student because they are not sure how a CT should be trained and they might just end up messing up my technique.

This is just too harsh. I feel like my dreams are crumbling down to pieces.

Re: Vocal Technique: How to Best Practice Practicing Singing

ianhowell — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 12:23:20 -0000

Hi Blazer,
Well... that's a tough question to answer . It might hurt you, if your technique is unstable. It might be fine. I would ask, if what you really want to do is train to be a better countertenor, why you would spend a lot of time singing another voice part? (To be clear, you should do exercises as a bass/tenor/&c., but singing at a professional level in that voice can distract from the muscular coordination you want to be cultivating as a countertenor.

So, it depends on where you are in your development, and what you want to do with your voice?

Probably not a very satisfying answer, sorry :-(

~Ian