Understanding Head Voice, Chest Voice, High Notes, and Low Notes Through the Science of Acoustics

1641 - Aug 2021

1. THERE ARE SO MANY TERMS THAT APPLY TO THE VOICE. CAN YOU GIVE US AN EXPLANATION OF WHAT IS MEANT BY “HEAD VOICE”?

When you are singing, the higher pitches give off certain vibrations that are felt in the head, the skull and in the bones of the face. Eventually this sensation came to be known as “Head Voice”. These are  misleading terms  because it implies that sound is originating from somewhere in the “head”or somewhere in the “chest". The sound always originates from the Larynx which is made up of about 11 or 12 muscles. “ Head Voice'' and ''Chest Voice" are actually terms describing a sound that is created by using other muscles in addition to the Larynx in order to create a certain color of a sound. Chest and Head voice really describe a color of sound created when you engage what we refer to as secondary muscles, in addition to the larynx, in order to get a certain effect in the colorization of the sound.

Singing with "Head Voice" engages either the soft or hard palette or a little of both. Combined with just the right amount of adjustment of the larynx and nasality, in addition to the roof of the mouth, you hear a sound often referred to as the Broadway Sound. It is a style that actually originated in France and is also referred to as the Mask. Originally that was a style for French singers singing French. It traveled over to this country with the Can Can and made its way into Vaudeville. There were no microphones then so you needed a high frequency sound that would carry through the theater. Nasal sound has very high vibrations and can be heard more. The style was adapted to the American Theater and has been used as the primary sound style since then. 

Although you are always using the Larynx when singing, many options are available to color and alter the sound in a multitude of ways. Just think of the many sounds of languages around the world. It is truly amazing what the Human Larynx is capable of doing when you think of it.


2. SO WHAT EXACTLY IS THE LARYNX?

The larynx is about the size of a walnut in its shell and is the covering to your windpipe. It closes when you swallow and eat. The fact that we use it for speech and singing is called an overplayed function. It’s biological function has to do with closing while you are eating, throwing up, compression of air for climbing and lifting things, and pushing as in childbirth, when you need to compress air in the body and increase the strength of the task that you are engaging in. 

The larynx is the source of the sound and is always engaged when you are singing. Because it is the primary group of muscles that are always used while singing, all the other muscles that are called on besides the Larynx are, in my training, referred to as secondary muscles. They can be used or not, in many different combinations depending on what you are trying to accomplish with the sound. 

These days, a singer may be instructed to sing using their “Head Voice” by engaging the top of the roof of the mouth. You can engage the front of the roof of the mouth called the Hard Palate, which, when combined with the nose, produces a more nasal frontal sound that is commonly used by Broadway singers. Or the back of the roof of the mouth called the Soft Palate which is used more by Pop singers. You can also combine sounds by closing off the nose a little and leaning in to the sound this way by tightening the back roof of the mouth. Many Rock Singers use a combination of that. Some Rock singers sing in such a pushed style that it is even far beyond the term Chest Voice. It really is a very pushed style of singing.

So, depending on the style of singing that is being sung, a singer will usually model what they are doing to accommodate what is generally accepted in that style. 

All of this stylization is often referred to as Head Voice, Chest Voice, or Placement. 



3. AND WHAT ABOUT CHEST VOICE? WHAT IS THAT?

The lower pitches of the vocal range, when the sound is made correctly and efficiently, give off vibrations that are felt in the bones of the chest, the lower part of the face and the sternum bone as well. That is the simple answer. When someone says that they are singing in their chest, they are referring to a slightly thick sound with a sense of pushing the note that you are singing. There is a sort of leaning into the voice to create a sound that does not have too much vibrato.Vibrato is the result of a sound that is more complex and has the original tone, along with multiple tones that happen when the voice sings in an unobstructed way. 

"Head Voice" usually has a certain amount of vibrato. It is also a pushed style of singing. Chest Voice often has a lesser amount of Vibrato by comparison. However, keep in mind that the amounts of these ways of singing are always determined by the actual piece of music and what it calls for.

Chest voice usually has a thicker sound because of the tightening and the pushing of air and not very much vibrato. When you are singing in "Chest Voice”, you are allowing a thickening of the vocal cords to occur while simultaneously pushing air through them. A slight bit of tightening occurs, altering the sound enough to make it sound thicker, more straight toned and causes it to override the multitude of natural overtones of an unobstructed sound.

These terms are also used in certain styles of singing and not in other ones. Opera singers do not use Chest Voice. Most Pop and Pop Rock singers avoid too much vibrato like it is an illness. Broadway singers now have to be able to sing either applying these elements or combinations of them depending on the style of the show the are singing. Whenever you are singing any style, however, the source of the sound is always the Larynx and like I said earlier, these other techniques are applied according to the music style that you are trying to create.



4.  DOES THE “CHEST VOICE" STYLE INVOLVE THE ACTUAL CHEST IN ANY WAY?

Yes it does, but not in the way that it might seem from the term "Chest Voice”. There are muscles in the upper body, both in front of the body and in the upper back that are very engaged when you are singing any style of singing. In the back, there is a diamond shaped muscle which runs from the lower back, and widens out in the middle and then comes back together at the top of the back in the shape of a diamond. The Trapezius muscle must be balanced with the muscles of the chest so neither the front of the body or the back dominate the opposite side. 

In the front of the body, the larynx is anchored to the sternum bone, which is located in the front of the chest protecting the heart area. There are three pairs of  muscular connections in the front as well that are most important to singing any notes.

They are the:

  • Sterno-Hyoid: The muscle connects from the sternum bone to the little free floating Hyoid bone

  • The Sterno-Cricoid: The muscle connects the sternum bone to the cricoid cartilage right underneath the Larynx

  • And the Omo-Hyoid: The muscle connects from the sternum bone up to the hyoid bone and then over to the shoulder

They are matching pairs and there are 6 of them altogether; three on the right and three on the left.

When all of these muscles are engaged, the Larynx becomes anchored in a way to a lower area where it does its best work. That is very important for singing high notes since the anchoring of the Larynx is necessary for singing these notes without straining. And then the other muscles that are below the chest area, including the lateral and intercostal muscles of the rib cage, the abdominals, and the famous Diaphragm become engaged, will all contribute to the anchoring of the Larynx from below. This is a very important part of the alignment which allows you to sing all notes and especially high notes.



5. WHERE DID ALL THESE DIFFERENT STYLES COME FROM?

In the olden days of voice training around the middle of the 1800”s especially during the middle of the century. These perceptions of vocal sound were founded in whatever was known about the science at that time. Then there was a man who was the first scientific voice teacher and he was named Manuel Garcia. His research changed everything. He invented the mirror that doctors still use to this day to actually see the larynx and his studies led to an entire evolution in the training of singers.

Although the terms are still used to this day, especially in Broadway and Pop singing, there now is a much clearer understanding of what is really happening. In my training we focused on developing the vocal technique of the perfect vowel sounds needed for Opera handed down from the teachings and lineage of Manuel Garcia. Technique came first and then came Style.

Chest Voice and Head Voice looked at through this lens, become elements of stylization that are used to get a certain effect. This is applied after and over an already trained voice…sort of putting sauce on the spaghetti. In many studios, Chest and Head Voice are used as the technique and results of style are the basis of the focus of most of the work. That is a very different order from the way I had been trained. There is always room for more technique and also room for stylization. That is why you see different singing teachers. Most teach style, songs and these applications that make it easier to do certain styles. Voice teachers that mostly focus on technique, are developing the capability of the instrument first and then teach a student how to apply different techniques to create a given style later on when the technique is more firmly established. Quite often, a singer will have a team of one teacher to help them develop their technique and many other coaches to help them perform the actual material.



6.  WHEN YOU ARE TRAINING A SINGER TO SING HIGH NOTES, WHERE DO YOU BEGIN?

So everything in learning to sing is a process that constantly builds upon itself and expands. I train people starting in the middle of the voice and then expand outward on either end. The reason for this is that the middle and lower middle of the person’s vocal range acts as the fundamental area from which, according to acoustics, all the other notes appear. It may be that a singer starts with a considerable amount of vocal range already available to them. 

Many people start off their first lesson by telling me that they want to work on their vocal range. We begin with exercises that focus on the range that is available to them right away and then, we work the middle and proceed up and down from there through other exercises to assure that the notes are in tune and in alignment with each other. At that time, I am also listening to the entire voice for whatever else I can hear that needs training.We then proceed to establishing, strengthening  and developing the fundamental pitches in the middle of the voice. So, the term fundamental pitch refers to whatever note you actually sing. 

We vocalize throughout the workable range that the singer currently has at that moment without straining on either end of the vocal range.. I often start with exercises on one pitch, which we have touched upon in previous podcasts, and then go through the vocal range to see what else is there. I know they want their “High Notes” but you cannot build the roof without the foundation and the walls… not if you want the voice to be able to improve and grow and to withstand the pressures of really extended amounts of singing. You want your voice to last, especially when it really matters such as in performance and during recording sessions. 

The next thing I do is to find out how their  body reacts to stretching their voice up and down the keyboard. All this is preparation for the extension of the range that gradually happens as more exercises are worked on and as the muscles are conditioned to be strong and flexible enough to approach the notes that might be beyond reach when you first begin.



7. WHY DO SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE TROUBLE WITH SINGING HIGH NOTES?

Well the interesting thing is that most people don’t really have any understanding about what a high note really is. First of all, the term is again misleading. Early in my training, I watched some videos about the Larynx and what happens when a singer is singing high notes. The Larynx, which is the source of the sound, does not reach up to sing a high note. In fact, it moves back down and into the singer’s body almost disappearing from view. So for the body, the note we are calling the “High” note is actually the low note inside. The Larynx moves down, back and in…not up at all. And, because the mathematicians calculated the number of cycles per second for every pitch, it is easy to see that the notes that are called high or low, are not called that because of a location But rather, because of how many times the vocal cords open and close in a second.

So, if you are singing a note that we call low…that note is actually a slower note. It is a slower vibration. The vocal cords open and close more slowly. The number of cycles per second is less, or lower.   The amount of times the vocal cords open and shut are actually slower, not lower. And also if you are singing a note that is always called a high note, we are actually referring to the higher amount of times the vocal cords are opening and closing, not some high place. The number of cycles per second is more, faster, higher. The note is not higher, the cycles per second are higher. The Larynx needs to go down, back and in to sing that note, not up!!

Singers who do not know this are reaching up to get a high note when the larynx really needs to move down, back and in, not up at all. They are in the hardware store looking for a sandwich. It doesn’t work without struggle when it can actually be easier… much easier. I believe that with this one piece of information, the mystery of “High Notes” is easily solved. It just takes a little practice and the body accepts this very quickly.



8. DO YOU HAVE EXERCISES FOR DEVELOPING THE FUNDAMENTAL PITCH?

Yes, actually most of the exercises for that are done on one pitch or in small combinations of one pitch and other intervals. There are many combinations and examples for that. All repetition or sustain exercises are helping to build the fundamental pitch.

Also staying in the middle of the voice and working through the area with any other combination of exercises will also build the strength there. Concentrating on the middle and the lower middle will begin a strong foundation.



9. WOULD YOU GIVE US SOME EXAMPLES OF EXERCISES THAT HELP BUILD FUNDAMENTAL PITCH?

Audio contains examples of:

  • Repetitions

  • Sustain



10. WOULD YOU GIVE US AN EXAMPLE OF AN EXERCISE WHERE THE LARYNX MOVES DOWN TO SING A HIGH NOTE?

Audio contains examples of:

  • A Fifth

  • An Octave



11. WOULD YOU GIVE ANY TIPS FOR PEOPLE TRYING TO SING THAT WOULD MAKE IT EASIER FOR THEM?

  • Practice at a smaller volume

  • Keep Your Head Level

  • Think Down when singing a skip

  • Begin with a softer volume and do not push

  • Have Patience