Overview of How the Voice Works: Before describing a specific register, an overview of how the vocal cords work is helpful for those unfamiliar with the way they function. The vocal cords are long ligaments that flap together or vibrate to make sound. You can use more or less of the width of the ligaments, stretch them tighter for higher notes, and leave a lot of slack for lower ones. Just a portion of the vocal cords can be used in order to reduce their length.


The folds can also vibrate slower or faster. In addition, there are ‘false cords’ or the vestibular folds made up of fibrous tissue encased in a mucous membrane. They are used to create jading sounds in death metal and are also developed by Tibetan monks to create low droning sounds generally considered calming.

What is Head Voice? It is the higher, lighter, and sweeter register. The vocal cords lengthen and vibrate quickly in head voice. Singers use it to create loud, strong high notes that project well throughout a hall. For lower notes, the use of head voice makes the sound sweeter or less growly.

Is Head Voice Really a Vocal Register? In speech pathology, registers are determined by the pattern of vocal cord vibrations. There are only four registers that are noted: vocal fry, modal voice, falsetto, and the whistle register. In vocal pedagogy, the head and chest voice are two of the most common registers discussed with the goal to combine the two to create a mixed voice or a modal voice.

Registers in this case are defined by the way the vocal cords are used (the length and tautness of them) and the sound quality created, as well as the way the folds vibrate. When using this definition, head voice is a vocal register.

How Does Head Voice Differ From Chest Voice? Both chest and head voice use the entire length of the cords. The folds vibrate faster and lengthen longer in head voice. Some feel the sound is purer, while others feel it lacks the strength of the chest voice. Some choral works and styles promote the use of head voice, such as Eric Whitacre compositions. The sound tends to be easier to blend partially due to the fact that it is easier to control vibrato with a lighter sound.

Who Sings in Head Voice: The boy soprano, Peter Auty, uses head voice in his beautiful rendition of “Walking in the Air” for the animated short The Snowman. A style of Celtic singing that highlights moments of pure head voice is often used in the movie series The Lord of the Rings, an example being, “May it Be,” sung by popular artist Enya. As mentioned before, Eric Whitacre and other choirs tend to use more head voice.

Why is it Called Head Voice? Unlike mixed voice, vocal fry, falsetto, and whistle register, the name comes from where people feel sensations when they sing in head voice. Some report the sound seems to come out of their forehead, while others note the feeling of vibration in the mask of their face. Typically singers are comparing the sensations to those felt while singing in the chest voice, where vibrations are felt in the chest.

What is the Vocal Range of the Head Voice? Singers who sing exclusively in head voice have a limited usable range spanning an octave to an octave and a half at most. At best, a soprano can sing as high as a high E or E6, while a tenor might be able to sing a high C or C5 in head voice. When singers continue to sing in head voice down the scale, the voice gets weaker and quieter past D5 for sopranos and for tenors about an octave lower. At some point past those notes, the sounds stop being usable. Some might be able to successfully add another half octave to their voices, but the quality of sound is weaker.