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Falsetto/not falsetto

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damageinc

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Hi folks, I am a 33 year old guy just doing this now as a hobby. I used to sing and play guitar years ago, but never concentrated on upper register. I kind of gave up on being a rock star 10 years ago, but I have thought about maybe starting a cover band for fun with some friends when my kids are a little older. Anyway...enough about me.

I had a question. I have reading all over the posts on the site and have started reading Jamie Vendera's book as well as youtube videos. What I have read is that when you sing a scale up to your break, then that is the moment when you hit falsetto(above break). I having been practicing and noticed that when I push less air out, that I can run much higher than my break. My question is, when I do this with less air, is that the same a starting at falsetto, even starting at low register? Are the low notes considered falsetto too, or am I just learning how to actually control my air and upper headvoice/range? Was I just belting out too much air for all of these years?

Thanks for the answers in advace and also thanks for reading such a long message.:)

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By the way Snax, you've got a great voice and it is inspiring to see that you're about 10 years older than I and still have range!

Thanks! That's so nice to hear. :)

I have worked very hard over the years to get my voice the way it is but I'm now on a quest to do it the right way without straining or damaging my throat. This forum has helped immensely already and I have learned from everyone who is kind enough to share their knowledge.

It's a never ending quest my friend and one I'm happy to undertake.

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Falsetto is a vocal mode, its not a register. Falsetto and head voice are not the same thing. Falsetto is characterized by a windy, feminine sound. This quality is primarily caused by an open glottis (vocal folds) and too much wind passing through the glottis.

Head voice is the register that people are referring to when the too often erroneously call it "falsetto". You can sing falsetto mode in your head voice and, with proper advanced training, can sing a full, "chest-like" tone in your head voice. Central to any voice training that is not wasting your time and a constant topic of discussion here on this forum, is learning techniques that can build full tone in the head voice... essentially, replace falsetto with other vocal mode variants ... namely, different degrees of twang. So in conclusion, falsetto is not your head voice, its only a vocal mode or "color" you can create in your head voice. When you realize that falsetto is not your head voice, you realize that you can sing different modes in your head voice and are not stuck with only falsetto... then you go to work, learning how to twang in the head voice (among other things) to get a sound you can use for your high notes.... why? Because the chest voice can only sing so high, eventually you have to bridge to the head voice to sing high notes and prevent yourself from triggering nasty constrictions, singing flat, vocal damage and no fun.

BTW... Im confused... why would someone that is ten years older then 33 not have range? Age has nothing to do with vocal range... in fact, the truth is... you voice is in its prime of strength and coordination in your 30s and 40s... I would not trade the voice I had in my 20s for the voice I now have in my late 30s for anything... You do not lose range with age, you in fact get stronger and more coordinated. The only thing you lose with age is youthful stupidity and good looks.

Hope this helps....

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Falsetto is a vocal mode, its not a register. Falsetto and head voice are not the same thing. Falsetto is characterized by a windy, feminine sound. This quality is primarily caused by an open glottis (vocal folds) and too much wind passing through the glottis.

Head voice is the register that people are referring to when the too often erroneously call it "falsetto". You can sing falsetto mode in your head voice and, with proper advanced training, can sing a full, "chest-like" tone in your head voice. Central to any voice training that is not wasting your time and a constant topic of discussion here on this forum, is learning techniques that can build full tone in the head voice... essentially, replace falsetto with other vocal mode variants ... namely, different degrees of twang. So in conclusion, falsetto is not your head voice, its only a vocal mode or "color" you can create in your head voice. When you realize that falsetto is not your head voice, you realize that you can sing different modes in your head voice and are not stuck with only falsetto... then you go to work, learning how to twang in the head voice (among other things) to get a sound you can use for your high notes.... why? Because the chest voice can only sing so high, eventually you have to bridge to the head voice to sing high notes and prevent yourself from triggering nasty constrictions, singing flat, vocal damage and no fun.

BTW... Im confused... why would someone that is ten years older then 33 not have range? Age has nothing to do with vocal range... in fact, the truth is... you voice is in its prime of strength and coordination in your 30s and 40s... I would not trade the voice I had in my 20s for the voice I now have in my late 30s for anything... You do not lose range with age, you in fact get stronger and more coordinated. The only thing you lose with age is youthful stupidity and good looks.

Hope this helps....

Sometimes you look better with age....lol.

Thanks, I think that gives me a much better understanding and also lets me know that I was not using Falsetto, but head voice. Also, about the 40's comment, I think that mindset has been programmed into me. I've heard people say, enjoy your voice while you're still young when I was in my twenties. Obviously those people didn't know what they were talking about, because I havn't lost it and it seems my range has gotten higher. The other reason that probably put that idea in my head was seeing 45-60 year old vocalists from the 60's-80's loosing their abilities, but they obviously were not taking care of their voices and not practicing, that is why SNAX is an ispiration. Look at Robert Plant, I remember seeing a concert live in 93 or 94 on TV and he couldn't hit anything high; in fact he had background singers doing some of the A5 and above notes for him and that left an Impression on me back then.

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Its telling to compare guys like Plant to other contemporaries like Rodgers or Dio who without taking any more lessons than Plant were singing more naturally correct from day 1 and the difference 30-40 years on.

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