More on the Pharyngeal Voice

I thought I'd throw in a couple of historical connections regarding the pharyngeal voice. The first person to coin the actual word in print was Edgar Herbert-Caesari, but he also acknowledged in May 1950 in the Musical Times that there was no such thing as a pharyngeal voice. (Semantics, semantics!) Herbert-Caesari asserted the idea came from the Italian [...]

The Interrelationship of Function Through Registration

If you are in, say, the lower register and push the voice up in pitch, at a certain point you will not be able to go any further in chest voice but must all of a sudden shift, not only to a different vocal cord thickness but, in keeping with what we've said, to a [...]

Chest, Falsetto, and Head Voice

"I have already said that there is a good deal of confusion existing as to the use of the terms "chest," "falsetto," and "head voice." And this is scarcely to be wondered at, seeing that nobody has yet decided how the three qualities of sound are produced, while everybody knows that the names are so far [...]

A Letter to the Editor on “Falsetto”

The following letter to the Editor was featured in Etude Magazine in July of 1897. I've underlined particular points of interest, and comments that I sometimes make in my own studio with male singers. Enjoy! Editor of the Vocal Department:— Dear Sir.—It is with much interest and pleasure that I have read the article in the May Etude regarding [...]