Falsetto

Falsetto is a vocal production mode often used for pitches above a singer’s modal range, typically with a lighter quality. Its sound and physiological definition vary across singing traditions and speakers.

Vocal folds: Paired tissue folds in the larynx that vibrate to produce voiced sound. Falsetto involves a different vibratory pattern of these tissues than typical modal production.
Modal voice: The usual speaking and singing voice, produced with sustained vocal-fold contact during vibration. It is the principal register contrasted with falsetto in discussions of vocal production.
Countertenor: A classical male singing voice whose range commonly overlaps the alto range, often using falsetto. Falsetto is a central technique in much countertenor singing.
Alfred Deller: An English countertenor who helped renew modern interest in countertenor singing. His performances made a distinctive falsetto-based classical style widely influential.
Fundamental frequency: The rate at which a periodic sound wave repeats, perceived for voiced sound as its pitch. Falsetto is often used to produce fundamental frequencies above a singer’s modal range.
Larynx: A structure in the throat that houses the vocal folds and helps produce sound. Falsetto depends on how the larynx positions and tensions the vocal folds.
Head voice: A singing register associated with higher pitches and sensations of resonance in the head. Singers and teachers use this label inconsistently, sometimes distinguishing it from falsetto and sometimes overlapping with it.
Yodeling: A singing technique that rapidly alternates between lower and higher vocal registers. Its register breaks can involve shifts between modal voice and falsetto.
Jimmy Scott: An American jazz singer known for a high, distinctive voice and expressive phrasing. His singing brought an unusual high-register sound into jazz and popular music.
Phonation: The production of voiced sound through vibration of the vocal folds. Falsetto is one pattern of phonation rather than simply a high pitch.

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