What is a Vocal 'Register?'

If you've taken voice lessons before, or perhaps read a few books, you probably have heard of the terms 'chest voice' or 'head voice', and for men, 'falsetto'.  However, you may not know exactly what these 'registers' are, why they exist, and what it means for you...

First, some vocal anatomy.  In your larynx (where your vocal folds are located), there are actually TWO muscles responsible for making a pitch: the thyroartenoid and cricothyroid.  These two muscles' job is to lengthen or shorten our vocal folds in order to produce a desired pitch.  Just like a rubber band, the longer we stretch out our vocal folds, the higher the pitch, and visa versa.

What does all of this means with regards to vocal registers?  Well, as a voice teacher, one of the primary topics I address for all singers is to help them discover when to use which register for singing.  For instance, if you attempt to sing a REALLY high note primarily by the thyroartenoid (the low pitch muscle), there is a good chance you will sound very tight or flat.  Likewise, if you try to produce a very LOW pitch primarily by the cricothyroid (high pitch muscle), the low pitch may have very little strength or volume.

How the body physically produces a pitch creates our vocal registers...hence the terms chest voice, low register, upper register, head voice etc....  Unfortunately, people have used LOTS of terms to describe the registers the body uses while singing.  For the next few weeks, I am going to go into detail, for both men and women, what vocal registers they have, when they should be used, and how you can use your vocal registers to create interesting vocal colors.

DWS