The high pitch voice of operas can break glasses, says the old saying. And the same applies for singing falsetto, although it's a way different from opera. Falsetto gained prominence during the 1950s. It evolved in the form of capella music, popularly known as 'doo wop', much sought after amongst the youngsters. People showed avid interest towards falsetto, forming groups known as 'doo wop groups'. Similar to that of Southern gospel quartets, their group was composed of lead tenor, first tenor, baritone and bass. The first tenor delivered the extreme high notes while the lead tenor had to perform in a straightforwards way, forming the melodic counterpart. The bass performed the lower notes. Miguel Aceves Mejía, the pioneer of Golden age Mexican cinema, is still revered as the 'king of falsetto' and his superb caliber is depicted through more than thousand songs. People who have attended famous operas would well know how difficult it is to bring out the sharp voice from deep down the core of lungs. It needs immense practice to reach the level of perfection. Before going into the techniques on how to sing falsetto, I would like to elaborate a little on falsetto singing. Falsetto is the Italian diminutive of the falso that means false. Technically, it refers to the vocal register that occupies a higher frequency range than modal voice register. The pitch overlaps at approximately every octave produced by ligamentous edge vibration of vocal chords as a whole. In simple language it's the false voice that a male brings out in the form of a female's. The sound is usually very high pitched and is entirely different from the baritone voice of a male. The quality of falsetto voice is similar to that of head voice and opera, but is a lot different from the two. Singing falsetto is no doubt difficult, because it has limited dynamics, strength and tones. While singing, you might also come across some subtle problems like breaking of voice, hollow sound of vocal chords or jumping of tones. Thus, switching voice to bring out the falsetto voice is not as easy as it seems to be. Therefore, let's find out how to sing falsetto.
How to Sing Falsetto
Learning falsetto is not and overnight affair. You can either learn the technical perfection from a professional singer or take up online music lessons to learn falsetto. Vocal exercise books available at the music stores also help a lot. You have to always keep in mind that you are flipping voice and you won't be performing with your manly voice. It requires a lot of breathing exercises to produce the high pitch voice. Read the following paras to get a clear concept.
Inhale Air
Vocal warm ups are necessary. Breathe as much as possible to inflate the air capacity of your lungs. Deep breathing or diaphragm breathing always helps much more than superficial breathing. Lie down on your back, keep your hands on your abdomen and breathe deeply. This improves your breath holding capacity while going on the higher tones of the yodel. Browse through some more tips on breathing exercises for singing.
Sing on High Pitch
You cannot do this in one shot. You have to gradually proceed to the higher tones while singing. Do not jump on the higher notes at once. Push the air upwards through your tummy to the upper respiratory passage and bring out the sound. Do not force your throat muscles. This technique aids vibration of vocal chords at the right place, transforming it to a falsetto. Your pitch will also increase. Here I would like you to go through our other article on how to sing high notes.
No Vibration on Chest
So how to sing well a falsetto? The air has to travel from your belly to head. The sound will actually vibrate on your head and if this doesn't happen, then you are still on your own register or model voice. Thus, make every attempt to come out of it. Keep your hands on your chest and make sure it doesn't vibrate. If your chest vibrates, then you are not singing a falsetto but singing in your own voice. You can also read through some tips on how to yodel.
Practice Versatile Styles
Every music style is different from each other. Once you have become adept with the technicalities, you can try out the varied genres to become a versatile falsetto singer. Experiment with your singing and observe the styles adopted by the famous falsetto singers. You will be amazed to see how versatile the singers are with their voice ranging from tender to sharp. Sing from the end of your vocal chord. Get some tips on how to sing from your diaphragm.
The aforementioned content has presented you the fundamentals on how to sing falsetto. If you are one of them aspiring to become a falsetto singer, do never miss out the performance of Frankie Valli in the song Walk Like a Man.
Do you want to sing for personal pleasure? Do you want to sing in a band? Or sing in church? In a choir? Sing along with a musical instrument? Would you like to be sexier? Perhaps you want to be a star!
