Passaggio

Passaggio is the transition area between registers in a singing voice, where vocal production shifts and the sound may become harder to manage.

Vocal register: A range of pitches produced with a perceptibly consistent pattern of vocal-fold vibration and vocal-tract coordination. Passaggio marks a transition between registers rather than a fixed boundary shared by every voice.
Vocal pedagogy: The teaching and study of singing technique and vocal development. Passaggio is a central coordination problem in many approaches to singing instruction.
Chest voice: A vocal register commonly associated with speech-like production and a strong sensation of vibration in the chest. It is one register from which a singer may transition through the passaggio.
Larynx: The organ in the neck that houses the vocal folds and contributes to breathing, voice production, and airway protection. The larynx houses the structures whose coordination changes during register transitions.
Laryngeal mechanism: A pattern of vocal-fold vibration and laryngeal adjustment used to produce a range of pitches. Changes in laryngeal mechanism can accompany the shift through a passaggio.
Vowel modification: A singer’s adjustment of vowel shape while sustaining or changing pitch. Small vowel changes can help maintain resonance as the voice crosses the passaggio.
Head voice: A singing register often associated with lighter vocal-fold contact and resonance sensations in the head. It is commonly contrasted with chest voice across a passaggio.
Phonation: The production of sound by vibrating vocal folds as air passes through the larynx. Passaggio occurs during phonation as singers coordinate changes across pitch.
Vocal fold: One of two layers of tissue in the larynx that vibrate as air passes through them to produce voiced sound. Changes in vocal-fold vibration help shape register transitions.
Vocal range: The span of pitches a voice can produce, from its lowest to its highest usable notes. The passaggio lies within a singer’s range and affects how its pitches are approached.

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