What Exactly Is A Head Voice

Want to sing high notes well?  Then you have probably heard from a vocal instructor or fellow singer tell you that you need to use your "head voice."  But what exactly is a head voice?

As you probably know, your larynx produces all your singing tones.  However, the larynx is actually composed of several muscles, two of which regulate pitch - the thryroartenoid (TA) and cricothyroid (CT).  The cricothyroid (which I will refer to as the CT muscle for brevity) is predominately responsible for higher pitches.

So what is a head voice?  Our larynx produces pitches in registers.  A register is simply a group of pitches that are produced in a similar way anatomically.  So your chest voice pitches (low sounds) are produced one way, and your head voice pitches (high tones) are produced in another way.

As you ascend in pitch, your TA and CT muscles slowly trade responsibility for producing pitches.  Your lowest pitches are almost exclusively TA-dominant.  As you ascend, both muscles become engaged.  Once your CT becomes dominant, we refer to those pitches as your head voice.

But how does the CT became the dominant muscle and start your "head voice?"  At the bottom of your larynx sits your cricoid cartilage, which makes up part of your CT muscle.  When you start to sing higher pitches, the cricoid tilts to stretch your vocal cords, making them longer, thinner and stiffer.  These more taut vocal folds are able to produce higher pitches when combined with more air pressure.  After some time, the TA muscle becomes passive as you hit the extreme high notes of your range.  Viola!  You have your head voice thanks to the cricoid!

Now go impress your friends with your anatomy lesson!

DWS