{"id":70605,"date":"2021-03-16T18:11:53","date_gmt":"2021-03-16T22:11:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=70605"},"modified":"2021-03-16T18:12:34","modified_gmt":"2021-03-16T22:12:34","slug":"feature-falsetto-love-sky-high-male-voice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2021\/03\/16\/feature-falsetto-love-sky-high-male-voice\/","title":{"rendered":"FEATURE | Falsetto: Why We Love The Sky-High Male\u00a0Voice"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_70606\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-70606\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-70606\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/03\/Falsetto-Bee-Gees.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-70606\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Bee Gees \u2014 Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)\/<a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/shebalso\/8468283233\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Flickr<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span class=\"wpsdc-drop-cap\">A<\/span>fter a dreary COVID-19 winter, there are some high points \u2014 and high notes \u2014 available to people cooped up at home.<\/p>\n<p>The documentary\u00a0<em>The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart<\/em>, which premiered on HBO in December, explores the musical significance of the group and is interwoven with performance footage. At the Super Bowl on Feb. 7, the\u00a0halftime performer will be Canada\u2019s The Weeknd.<\/p>\n<p>What kind of sound do these singers share? And what on Earth do they have in common with the\u00a0Monty Python comedians in sketches where they portray women?<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FX1klhwUzBQ?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>All these artists use the falsetto voice, a specialized sound that features\u00a0amazing high notes. Falsetto is associated particularly with the male voice singing in the range normally used by women and children.<\/p>\n<p>Historically, perhaps most famously, beautiful high notes are often associated with opera roles originally written for a particular group of male\u00a0singers known as \u201c<span style=\"color: #ff0000\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2017\/01\/16\/classical-101-castrati-castrato\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">castrati<\/a><\/span>,\u201d\u00a0who were castrated. Today, opera roles originally written for castrati are sung by\u00a0countertenors. These singers go beyond the higher \u201cnormal\u201d range associated with the tenor voice while singing in falsetto.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, beyond these classically based countertenor singers, the falsetto sound is heard in innumerable beloved pop singers. While standout artists have learned to develop their voices into something quite fascinating, anyone can find a falsetto sound.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/B5tncybE7Wg?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h3><strong>\u2018False\u2019 Voice<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Falsetto is an extension of our normal voices that we use every day \u2014 beyond the voices we use in all those Zoom meetings of late. The word falsetto refers to a \u201cfalse\u201d voice, so called because the voice uses only part of the vocal apparatus in our throats, rather than the full vibratory sound used in regular singing and speaking.<\/p>\n<p>The normal vocal sounds we make are created by the vibrations of our vocal folds (or vocal cords). These tiny folds are\u00a0controlled by an intricate system of muscles and cartilage in the throat.<\/p>\n<p>The vocal folds function\u00a0basically by the rate of air movement, or pressure, from the lungs. With more air pressure, the folds will vibrate more quickly and will produce a higher pitch. Less air, and the pitch will be lower. You can feel the vibrations for yourself if you say or sing \u201cooh,\u201d thinking of a lower pitch, while placing a hand on your throat.<\/p>\n<p>But if you use only the edges of the vocal folds, without allowing the whole mechanism to vibrate, then you can achieve that high, floaty sound that is your \u201cfalse\u201d voice \u2014 your falsetto.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Falsetto in classical music<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The falsetto sound can still be heard in various forms of classical music \u2014 a vestige of the ban on women performers\u00a0in earlier centuries.\u00a0The traditional English church choir includes men singing in their falsettos to provide the alto line in hymns and anthems. (The soprano line was\u00a0sung by boys, not women.)<\/p>\n<p>In some classical music, as in the perennial December favourite, Handel\u2019s<em> Messiah<\/em>, a countertenor will sing the alto solos \u2014 more usually sung by a woman.\u00a0Canada\u2019s Daniel Taylor\u00a0is one of the best countertenors in the world.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HoFzyBm6WGk?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>Today\u2019s opera roles sung by countertenors were originally written for the castrati\u00a0who were superstars\u00a0in the 17th and 18th centuries. Castration caused a physical difference in the way these voices functioned \u2014 and in the body shape and size of the castrated men \u2014 but the resultant sound was much the same as today\u2019s countertenor sound.<\/p>\n<p>You can hear\u00a0an attempted re-creation of the sound of a castrato, rendered by electronically fusing the voices of a female singer and a countertenor, in the 1994\u00a0movie <em>Farinelli<\/em>, a cinematic take on the great 18th-century castrato opera singer Farinelli (born Carlo Broschi).<\/p>\n<p>The only aural record of a castrato is of\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/oq\/2.2.1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">nine recorded selections of castrato Alessandro Moreschi<\/a><\/span>, believed to be the last singer of his kind.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/y3fzhMnGs5E?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h3><strong>Falsetto in popular music<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Some scholars have explored falsetto sounds in <span style=\"color: #ff0000\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/1214967?seq=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Black popular and soul music<\/a><\/span> including through genre-bending musical fusion.<\/p>\n<p>Falsetto is found widely in popular music styles today from\u00a0The Weeknd\u00a0and\u00a0Justin Timberlake. If you listened to the concert celebrating Joe Biden\u2019s presidential inauguration in the United States, you would have heard Timberlake singing <em>Better Days<\/em> with Ant Clemons. Timberlake\u2019s naturally high voice works seamlessly into an effective falsetto sound.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/u4HkM6WzmFY?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h3><strong>Floating beauty<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Is there a female falsetto voice? Yes! The process for making the sound is the same as in men. But because women\u2019s voices are already higher, it\u2019s harder to hear a different quality. You can hear it some singers, including Christina Aguilera.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RNprQYHenNI?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>However, the allure of the falsetto voice remains more compelling in men than in women. Perhaps it is the attraction of the natural lower male voice contrasted with the high notes; maybe we are waiting for a crack or admiring the physical effort. Or perhaps we simply enjoy the floating beauty of the sound of high notes.<\/p>\n<p>Whatever the reason, male high notes and the falsetto voice remain fascinating.<\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p>This article originally appeared in <span style=\"color: #ff0000\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/falsetto-the-enduring-love-affair-with-the-soaring-male-voice-153290\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Conversation.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><em>#LUDWIGVAN<\/em><\/h3>\n<p class=\"western\"><em>Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><em>Sign up for the Ludwig van Daily\u00a0\u2014 classical music and opera in five minutes or less <\/em><span style=\"color: #ff0000\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000\" href=\"https:\/\/bowtie.mailbutler.io\/tracking\/hit\/583e6ce0-dfd0-48be-8a33-61256b3c58e3\/a01723d1-1d1d-44ee-9d0c-779ed93a798c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i>HERE<\/i><\/a><\/span><em>.<\/em><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is so fascinating about the falsetto voice? A look at its use through history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":97,"featured_media":70606,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[38476,11,4967,70],"tags":[39603,39602],"yst_prominent_words":[6715,10674,28038,10171,9958],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/03\/Falsetto-Bee-Gees.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-imN","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70605"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/97"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70605"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70605\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70609,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70605\/revisions\/70609"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70605"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=70605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}