Falsetto vs. Head Voice Explained | What's the Difference? — Transcript

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1. 0:01[singing]
2. 0:12Is that falsetto or head voice? Most
3. 0:14singers use these terms interchangeably,
4. 0:16but they're actually not the same thing.
5. 0:18When I was learning to sing, anything
6. 0:19higher than my full voice would have
7. 0:21been called falsetto. But if we go back
8. 0:22to the origin of the word falsetto, it
9. 0:24literally means false. What's false
10. 0:26about it isn't the pitch, but the
11. 0:28phonatory pattern. The way the vocal
12. 0:30folds are vibrating in relationship to
13. 0:32the airflow. In falsetto, the vocal
14. 0:34folds stay relatively loose with little
15. 0:36resistance and don't come together
16. 0:38completely. Air leaks through the sound
17. 0:40which [music] creates that breathy
18. 0:41quality.
19. 0:44Because the vocal folds aren't fully
20. 0:46resisting [music] the air flow, falsetto
21. 0:48comes with some limitations. It's harder
22. 0:49to build dynamic contrast. It's harder
23. 0:51to build strength. And you can't
24. 0:53smoothly transition into other parts of
25. 0:55your voice.
26. 0:58Now let's compare that to head voice.
27. 1:05>> In head voice, the vocal folds come
28. 1:07together more completely, providing more
29. 1:09resistance to the airflow. The sound is
30. 1:11still high, but it's more connected,
31. 1:13more stable, and more efficient. One way
32. 1:15to find that coordination is to add a
33. 1:17gentle cry sound to the voice.
34. 1:21That little cry encourages the vocal
35. 1:23folds to come together in a more
36. 1:25balanced way.
37. 1:27>> [singing]
38. 1:30>> Now I can stay on that pitch with much
39. 1:32more stability, flexibility, and
40. 1:34control. Falsetto can be a beautiful
41. 1:36[music] stylistic choice. But if your
42. 1:37goal is to build strength, consistency,
43. 1:39and range, make sure you're also
44. 1:41learning how to sing in the head [music]
45. 1:42voice coordination.