Chest Voice and Head Voice
CHEST VOICE AND HEAD VOICE
Two of the most commonly used term in singing circles are “Chest Voice” and “Head Voice”. If you aren’t exactly sure what that means, here’s an explanation.
First we should address some basics. If you’ve ever seen a picture of the vocal folds in action you’ll see that they are attached at one end in a “V” shape and vibrate together along their length, while resisting air from the lungs, to create pitch. (See link below to view video of vocal cords in action). The higher the pitch, the more frequently the vocal folds are coming together.
Female singing voices range from around 175 Hz up to 2200 Hz and Male singing voices range from around 100 Hz to 800 Hz (depending on voice type).
When a singer is vocalizing in their chest voice the vocal cords are using their thickest width to create the pitches in that register. Then, at a certain point, the vocal cords have to make a physical shift to reducing the vibrating mass and thickness to create higher pitches. What that means is that the vibrating portion of the vocal folds that is involved in creating the pitch must thin out as the pitches get higher.
Think about how you change pitch with a rubber band. The lower the desired note, the thicker the vibrating mass of the band will be; the higher the desire pitch, the more you will stretch the band. Similarly, the voice needs to make a shift to a thinner coordination in the vocal folds as the pitch ascends. When it comes to bridging from chest to head voice think of the same rubber band experiment: except that you can only stretch the rubber band so far before you hit a limit or break the band (top of your chest voice). Now stretch the rubber band, but this time, place one finger in the middle of the stretched portion and play the pitch. Now you’ve “bridged” the band and suddenly have many more higher pitches available without over-straining the vibrating mass. Do this earlier and you eliminate the chances of breaking the rubber band – or straining your voice.
All voices need to make these transitions multiple times (once you get past your chest voice range, these “bridges/passagi/transitions” happen approx every 4th or augmented 4th until the end of your vocal range).
CHEST VOICE
Simplified Explanation: In the “chest voice” – the voice most people use to speak with – people generally feel the resonance of pitches in that area vibrating in their chest. Put your hand on your chest and say the vowel “a” as in “cat” nice and strong – feel how you percieve a resonating sensation between your throat and chest? That’s your Chest Voice.
Technical Explanation: When a singer is vocalizing in their chest voice range the vocal cords are using their thickest width to create the pitches in that register, engaging more of the “Thyroarytenoid” or “TA” muscle group.
HEAD VOICE
Simplified Explanation: The head voice is a more “released” sound. Try saying an enthusiastic cheer: “Woo-hoo!!”. Did you feel how that was different from the chest voice sound and felt like the resonance sensation shifted to the top of your head? This is your Head Voice.
Technical Explanation: When a singer is vocalizing in their head voice range the vocal folds are primarily using the “Crycothyroid” or “CT” muscle group. Any vocalized sound above your Chest Voice (barring Falsetto and Whistle Tone) is your Head Voice.
The first transition/bridge/passagio, between chest and head voice, generally happens around an E4-F#4 above middle C4 for men and around an Ab4-Bb4 above middle C4 for women. Every singer I’ve ever encountered in my studio struggles at the beginning with either their first or their second bridge (Ab4-Bb4 for men, D5-E5 for women), though the first bridge transition is the most common struggle.
When a singer connects seamlessly between chest voice and head voice, maintaining a consistent tonal quality throughout this transition, this is referred to as “Mix Voice” – which is just that: a comfortable mix of the elements of chest voice and head voice. To learn more about Mix, visit for my blog entitled, “BELT vs MIX”.
Here is a link to see the vocal folds in action if you’re curious: Keep in mind that the physician is using a strobe light so that we can see the action of the vocal folds “slowed down” in a sense – otherwise they are moving too fast for our eye to see.
The only problem I have with the video you have posted is that it looks like the patient is raising their larynx to create the sounds (which may be untrue, I’m no doctor). If this is incorrect I apologize.
how does the head voice and the so call middle voice is been discovered? how can one effectively make use of head voice in a choir practise? pls l will like to no more of this concept.
thaks hope to hearing from you
It depends on whether you are a male or a female singer and if you are able to release into head voice and mix. I would suggest finding a teacher who can help you find and build those parts of your voice. As for choral singing, many female singers sing entirely in their head voice, while a male singer might use head voice for first tenor range when the song requires a softer tone.
how do i know what musical key iam singing?
i lyk da explaination on chest and head voice
Hi, Noreen.
I’m a linguist, not a singer. So can I ask for a translation? Is chest/head voice the same as modal/falsetto phonation? If not, what is the difference between modal and chest voice and between falsetto and head voice?
I was a little confused on the bridge/rubber band analogy. It sounds like the rubber band is being halved in length, which would generate higher pitches … is it that only one portion of the vocal folds is vibrating during head voice, rather than that the vibrating portion of the vf has thinned out? (As in falsetto phonation.) I’m familiar with something called creaky voice, which does involve reducing the vibrating portion of the vocal folds, but that produces lower frequency phonation.
Thanks. I occasionally talk to friends about The Voice etc and I can’t make heads or tails of what they’re saying. The vocabulary is different.
Cool explanation but i wud lyk 2 kw more about mix
Hi Kellie, sometimes head and chest are regarded as resonance, sometimes as primary register of the voice, alluding to amount of vibrating mass and the fashion at which they vibrates.
These approssimate conditions taken as ideally pure are the heavy mechanism or register (m1) and the lighter one (m2), they first involves the vibration of the full fold, the other one have much less of it vibrating, in falsetto we have an extreme example of m2, with only the borders of the fold vibrating with low amplitud and propagation, usually a result of scarce adduction and insufficient appoggio or anthagonist muscle coordination, i.e. little to no activiti of the vocalis muscle or maybe sometimes too stiff to vibrate along with the folds.
They are called primary registers because unlike the intermediate mixed registers they are more immediate and instinctual and don’t need balance being extremes.
There is an occasional relation with register shift and resonance shift, but if you are a basso profundo and need to start mixing as low as Bb3, you are still using the chest (as low, not actually the ribcage, which is a consonance) resonance, just a slightly more head than a higher fach which is still in in full heavy register (but in relation to lighter folds hence the balance), while a mezzo which needs to shift at G#4 will sure have more “head” when shifting.
I was taking voice lessons for a few months, and my teacher told me I was singing everything in my head voice, including low notes. I’ve tried to fix this, but my voice breaks when I try to sing in my chest voice. I have no idea why, or if I’m really singing in my chest voice at all. Does any of this make sense to you? Do you have any idea how I can fix this problem?
Hi Alyssa,
This is a common problem, especially for female singers who have done a lot of choral singing. It is something that is fairly quick to fix initially, then takes some repetition to build it into your voice. I would recommend setting up a lesson with me, either in person or over Skype, so we can get you singing comfortably in your chest voice.
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