THE COUNTERTENOR VOICE with Dr. Ian Howell - plus an EXERCISE
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- Опубликовано: 11 сен 2024
- In this video, I interview Dr. Ian Howell - countertenor, Voice Faculty and Vocal Pedagogy Director of the New England Conservatory - about the countertenor voice: The common characteristics and vocal training challenges of this voice type. Dr. Howell also shares with an exercise for developing the countertenor range.
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karyn@singwise.com
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YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH IT MEANS TO GET A SPECIAL SHOUT OUT FROM YOU. i have loved your website articles, emails exchange, and Facebook post on the voice. I'm currently about to head to Juilliard for Opera studies and i want to THANK YOU so much for the tips and insight you have shared with me over the years!
You are most welcome! And congratulations on being accepted to Juilliard. That's so exciting! I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to start this series. It will also, realistically, take me months to finish it, but I'll do my very best.
singwisevocals Thank you! The journey was hard until this point, enjoyable, and just beginning. I'm excited for what is next. I figured you were busy and might get around to this topic eventually. I'm excited for the tenor topic :)
You know what 'they' say: Anything that's worthwhile in life requires work. (I might focus on the soprano voice next, then the tenor voice, but that's not set in stone.)
My Falsetto register runs from about B4 to about A5- (give or take!) Up to about F5 / G5- (again, give or take), for the sake of comfort. I've got a very soft, light, thin quality to my Falsetto register. Would I be the equivalent of a female Alto or a Mezzo-soprano, please?
I think it altogether depends on factors other than vocal range. I always say that vocal range alone can be very deceptive. For example, although I can sing well into the soprano range - to Bb6 (in whistle voice above D6) - with comfort and ease, that doesn't necessarily make me a soprano. I also have to look at the timbre of my voice, my vocal weight, and my tessitura. For me, with years of training, the lyric mezzo-soprano tessitura is most suitable to and sustainable (in the long-term) for my voice. In your case, you'd need to look at your lower range, as well, and find your lowest well-produced pitches and assess how comfortable you are singing within the chest register. Then, look at your higher range and ask yourself if you're most comfortable singing there, whether or not you're singing with good coordination (i.e., sufficient vocal effort or compression at the glottal level, a balance between the breath pressures and glottal resistance), and whether or not you're comfortable singing up there merely because you're not using enough vocal effort. (Falsetto - that is, phonation with a slight gap in the glottis or a very short closed quotient - tends to be lighter and more effortless than 'full' voice singing, so many find they can feel a 'release' when singing in falsetto in the upper range.) I guess the important questions for me are whether or not your'e singing in falsetto or head voice, and if you're singing in full head voice, whether or not that's where your voice naturally wants to do the bulk of it's singing.
"All men should be able to sing in what one would consider a countertenor pitch range" 100%!!!!
I train ALL my male students to sing with a robust, free falsetto and to incorporate it fully into their chest voices.
Hello sir.
Humble greetings to you, I'm a counter tenor singer, but very amature, so I desire to have a voice coach
This is awesome. Literally the only place on the internet to give detailed range requirements for this voice type. Thank you!
You're very welcome! Ian is so incredibly knowledgeable.
4:10 Exactly why I often use "alto", "male mezzo" or "sopranist" as a qualification for what sort of C-T one is. Especially as the term "countertenor" can also cover "natural" high-tenor voice types like the tenore altino (cf. Vincenzo Capezzuto) or haute-contre (Jean-Paul Fouchécourt, Rodrigo del Pozo, Paul Agnew) and the ones who blend with a higher "gearchange point" - i.e. tenors with some falsetto at the top, like Russell Oberlin or Wolfram Lattke.
From your examples - Ian Howell himself is an alto, Reggie Mobley is an alto, David Daniels is a mezzo, Philippe Jaroussky is a mezzo.
For the record, using this classification I'd describe myself as an alto with a decent top (easy loud falsetto bottom A flat, though with age I can't float anything higher than a top E flat (Eb5) quietly, though loud Fs are still on). Ian would call me a "choral countertenor" perhaps with a couple of extra top notes.
About the larynx size thing - while I'm nowhere near as trained as Dr. Ian Howell, I sing countertenor as well, and I'm more what you'd call a mezzosoprano countertenor than an alto countertenor, but the way I think of it is that I sing countertenor, but I am a lyric baritone. Countertenor is not so much a voice type as it is an approach to singing, which I believe pretty much any man is capable of learning (provided they have healthy vocal folds and lungs, etc). It seems to me that the amount of vibrating mass can vary even within the countertenor mechanism, and that I can hence sing with a thinner vibration to become more of a soprano, or a thicker one to be more of an alto. The tricky part of singing alto as a countertenor is that I would be having to deal with a lot of registration phenomena in the lower range a lot of the time, whereas when singing mezzosoprano or soprano I can get away from a lot of that for the most part. I don't have to figure out how to either project more powerfully in my head voice below A3, or how to switch seamlessly between chest voice and head voice.
I'm a Male Soprano ... I have a really special voice because I had a hormonal essue and my larynx did not develop properly so my voice is way havier than a regular countertenor our sopranist using "falsetto"... I did Miles at first (Britten), but i can sing romantic repertoire with no problem (There is a track in my channel of my rehearsal in my new role is a romantic role by carlos gomes). And abut the falsetto, i agree with him and i rarelly use falsetto singing in a big theater (But i do use it a lot singing pop music).
Thanks so much for sharing your own perspective on this topic! Yes, I wanted to have Ian bust the myth that countertenors are primarily falsettists. As I stated in my question, I think that many are either ignorant of the exact physiological mechanism used by countertenors in the higher range or they simply use different nomenclature. (Many call all sounds made in the upper range 'falsetto.') I'll check out your channel in a bit.
I envy you! I'd love to be able to make it up into the Soprano range, but I've never got there yet! o.o
And for the record, I agree that Countertenors and Falsettists are two entirely different things. I've heard that singing in the Countertenor range feels pretty much as natural to a Countertenor as it'd feel for a Tenor to sing in the Tenor range, or a Bari to sing in the Baritone range, and so on and so forth, whereas, us Falsettists make a conscious effort to sing the way that we sing. I think that's the difference, as far as I can tell.
Thank you for making this video. I am a counter tenor and my voice in that exact range. It's very awkward when I want to talk as well. My range sits constantly to the right now that I am tuned to that sensation which is your natural resonance. I had to get training to get out of a high head voice. Then I found mix. For those who have an awkard voice and you can't songs to sing you just might be a higher voice type than normal. It's rare but it you have to just embrace what ever voice type you are. It's what you will singing sound best doing. I can even go into my whistle register. I'm just so use to a certain back pressure. Yes I can go down to a G3 in head voice. This guys is dead on.
Very interesting and insightful. I am a countertenor (non classical) and was aware of a very strong head voice from my mid 20’s and didn’t know what to do with it! I knew about all the other voice types but a Countertenor was new to me until my vocal coach pointed it out. I thought I was just weird in college having this high feminine voice. I got bullied for this so I didn’t sing. I wouldn’t trade it for anything!
Great content, my coach recommended your channel to me 😀
Thank you for this dialogue! I’ve recently been listening to Russel Oberlin and have marveled at how he keeps his voice even and projected among his registers.
That was a fantastic video! I'd love to sing more in this range, and will definitely be looking for a teacher. Ian is a really great ambassador for the countertenor voice.
Fascinating interview! Though some of the technical language in the discussion is beyond my current knowledge, this discussion gave me hope. I am a trans woman who has worked with a vocal coach on my everyday speaking voice -- not just raising pitch, of course -- and now would like to train my singing voice too in the 'female' range. I had been afraid that I would encounter resistance among coaches who might say 'well that's not what you instrument is designed to do.'
Thanks for sharing your story! The good news is that there is a whole new 'specialization' in teaching transgender speakers and singers. There is much research and discussion, including workshops for teachers wanting to work with such singers. If you are looking for a teacher who has personal experience and who also works with transgender singers, please let me know and I'll give you her contact information.
singwisevocals yes please! I would love that!
Wonderful interview with Ian Howell. One of the things I liked most about it was the flexibility of the opinions and points of view of both the interviewer and her guest. I have always believed that understanding and teaching the human voice is not a science. It is an art.
Thank you for this. Ian, the exercise you teach is one I learned from my teacher Maria Greco in the SF Bay Area in the 1970s. She was a student of Enrico Rosati, who had trained Gigli. She had never heard a countertenor before me, so she taught me like she would a soprano, with brilliance brought down from the top and blended smoothly with chest voice at the bottom. (I'd vocalize up to B5 and slightly below C3.) At the time, I sang alto professionally in the Grace Cathedral Choir, where some fellow singers complained that "sounded too much like a woman" but it well suited the music written for (mezzo) castrati, on which I focused. It's good to see the status of countertenors much elevated since, although I agree that they are not always the best choice for a given "alto" part or role, even in early music -- especially in a large hall.
i'm going to listen to this again, and again. The trick is putting it n to practice.
Well , here I find an empty category, I will point out what I think is missing: Sopranist(larynx did not develop properly or hormonal issues, etc.. C6 or above) and a Countertenor soprano ( C6 or above) .
The thing is that I can difference notably each other, the timbre and the vocal weight is so different. The countertenor tends to have much more weight and volume than the sopranist. The countertenors soprano in their chest voice have the tendency to extend their register at the bottom of the fach men system (bass - baritone) , so they have ( what we call ) a large larynx
Sopranist : their timbre qualities are really light their tessitura is huge, their voices doesn't change notoriously from their child voice so they keep that range. Lack of volume. Small larynxs. There's no passagio or different voices as in the countertenor soprano( we can realize when they sing in chest and head voice).
Hi Nicolás, I actually did note the sopranist as a category separate from the three types of "countertenors" that I mentioned. I'll gently suggest that you note that all voices have primary laryngeal shifts. That's just how the voice is constructed. Children do. Female singers do. A sopranist does as well. My experience with these singers is not that they lack the lower range. Rather, they do not develop their lower range. When these singes come to my studio, we work on balancing the entire voice, not just the higher range.
I would take nothing away from any one person's point of view about the countertenor voice. One of the fascinating things about it is that so many different types of bodies sing this rep. Our classifications of them are blunt because they have to be. However, the voice does behave in a pretty predictable manner regardless of whether it is a child, an adult, a female, a male, a male with a hormone issue. The singing voice we confront is always the combination of these basic rules plus training. I think we have to open ourselves to seeing the distinction between what we encounter and what the voice is capable of.
My personal perspective (based on a good deal of experience, but open for revision with new info) is that the distinction between "true countertenors" and "falsettists" is an illogical construct. Not germane to your comment but it illustrates the divide between how people train the voice (over long periods of time that would make it tough to change tack), and what the voice is.
Thanks so much for weighing in on this, Ian. I appreciate your vast knowledge about and experience in training the singing voice.
I think Countertenor-soprano would have a lighter timbre due to their voice mostly being in falsetto. The part where the timbre of countertenor is warmer is mostly in the range C4-A4 because that would be in chest voice of the man
Michael Nguyen D. That’s ain’t true dear
This is such a wonderful video. I keep coming back to it because there's so much information on the countertenor voice presented here to a level that I have never seen in another video on RUclips. I studied in school as a tenor but never felt quite right with it and have always been drawn to the countertenor rep. I have definitely found some things here that have helped me work on my own CT voice since this video was posted. Especially in terms of incorporating my chest voice into my lower range more seamlessly. Thank you both!
I'm a Male high Soprano with a high tessitura A#4 to F#6 and a vocal range of G#3 to C#7, but if i include vocal fry and whistle register my range is F3 to E7. I was told I'm a Soprano Acuto Sfogato, which is a cool name i might add for a Male Soprano! I must say this topic on countertenor is very complex because i believe a Male Soprano, Male Mezzo-Soprano, Male Alto and the Male Contralto should not be all in one category. Lets say, you hear 2 Male singing high... some people automatically think one Alto and the other Soprano...which that's not the case sometimes. One can be a Male Soprano and the other a Male Mezzo-Soprano. Just like me (Soprano) and my cousin (Mezzo-Soprano). So why do all high male voices have to be classified as countertenor? In reality they all work in the same manner as a Male Soprano to a female Soprano, Male Mezzo-Soprano to female Mezzo-Soprano, Male Alto to a female Alto and Male Contralto to a female Contralto would!
Hello @uchennaechebelem7227,some people also told me that i'm a sopranist,my speaking voice is also high but do not sound like a woman but rather like ateenager and i'm 34 years old,there's several videos of me in my youtube page when i show my high notes if you care to watch.
‘Male soprano vs countertenor’ thing is one of the reasons why i havent still strengthened my voice. My entire range for now is E3-G6. im also capable of singing as high as A6 with flageolets, and G#7 in whistle. I got a high-pitched (disney princess-like) voice when i sing musical theatre or opera.
I also can reach as low as C1 with a more masculine voice. However, i’ve fucked my voice up cus I can’t find correct training or an experienced vocal coach. I still don’t know if im a male soprano or just a vocal chameleon.
My falsetto has a deep warm sound. It sounds deep contralto sound it is so rich that some people can't distinguish it from my higher lighter chest voice, or mixed voice.
You have the best guests and you ask them the best questions!
I'm so glad you're liking these interviews!
The most inspiring and informative video about countertenors I've found on youtube. No BS and right to the point :)
This was amazing! Great content from amazing experts on the subject! Cheers from Brazil!
Thank you for your lovely comment!
My 3 top favourite countertenors are:
Alfred Deller
Andreas Scholl
Jakub Józef Orliński
I am a female singer but this was helpful even for me because there was enough generally applicable content in the conversation. Great video! Thanks Karen
I'm glad you've found it to be useful content across all voices types. I agree that there is wisdom to be gained in Ian's teaching for all singers.
This was really a very interesting & informative topic...personally I have always had issues identifying my voice fach but I have discovered that in regards to contemporary music voice types can be a bit of a blur ...initially someone identified me as a "low voice" singer so I spent a lot of earlier training practice trying to sing fairly low & predominately staying in my chest register...however I currently feel like I am more of a mid-range singer & depending on the song & my interpretation I will use falsetto very liberally ...although there are times whereas I have trouble distinguishing between my falsetto & just my higher register...so I definitely related to a lot commentary in this video.
Yes, defining our voice types in contemporary commercial styles of singing is a bit challenging. However, I earnestly believe that our bodies will tell us when we're singing the right repertoire and in the right keys.
I'm adapting my solo guitar arrangements of my wedding request feature to include vocals. I have explored and trained for contra tenor all through music school and into my hobby/ failed career in music. Being competent in instrument and competent in countertenor simultaneously is a challenge. The moments of blissful expression counter the horrifying and embarrassing noises and pain of failure.
Very interesting. Great to hear someone who can demonstrate what he is talking about. I dicovered countertenors in the 1990s and have seen big changes in fashion . I no longer read what people say about particular countertenors because I have noticed fans tend to like a particular one eg Andeas Scholl and then accuse other counter tenors of poor technique . I liked the distinction between the choral tradition, the Händel , Bach , types and the sopranists. Another voice type I adore is Contralto.
I have discussed my vocal type with Dr. Howell in the past. He is a nice guy and very helpful. He told me that I approached my singing like an female alto/soprano would, which made sense to me. Also I love that training one's voice in an unamplified setting comment. I am usually heard over an amplified setting when I try. I have been over 110 db before in my countertenor voice. But only at karaoke.
I agree with you on the falsetto definition. It is an airy production not necessarily a vocal range. I have heard falsetto in both low tone and high tone before. At 22:38 when he demonstrates falsetto and the stronger tone (head voice). I'd say that he did a great example. I use a spectral analysis tool on my PC for voices. The presence of overtones was minimal in the falsetto tone and very maximal in the head tone.
My head voice would never get to G3! Maybe E4.
I'd say look for the presence of the Adam's apple, relative size of the larynx, and the relative placement of the larynx (high or lower). This gives a good indicator of how high or low a voice will perform.
When I was in my 20's I had a 4 octave range with no breaks. I had a high speaking voice, most likely a male alto. Only when my voice got deeper naturally in my 30's did I lose range. I don't know how to produce falsetto effectively.
I really enjoyed this video. Thanks for posting. I hope you don't mind my sharing....
Chris, it's so good to hear from you! It's been a while, but I haven't forgotten you. I hope you're well. Thanks for sharing your own personal insights and experience. I'm glad you enjoyed the video. It was such a pleasure talking to Ian.
I came back for another listen. I wanted to say that a lot of my vocal teachers had an issue with training my voice. I was like the bagel in a bucket of grits! So now I am confused again. First formant second harmonic? How do formants relate to harmonics?
I like to learn to do whistle tone. That is one area that I have not been able to get to easily. Only one time I got to G6 but that was still head voice, but with a head cold! I heard that one needs to use an open throat method but I can only get really high but with inhalare la voce. But that technique messes me up vocally.
Chris Sparks Hi Chris, how are things going (it’s ken from the old email list the countertenors)? Sounds like your still singing.
Hi Ken! Yes I still sing but only at karaoke. Nothing classical as most don't like to hear classical music.
Chris Sparks After 7 years of trying to sing tenor in my church choir, I switched to singing with the altos because it’s what I did all the time I wasn’t singing with the choir, so the technique just felt more natural to me. I’m still getting used to being the only guy in the alto section, but very glad I took a stand with the director - my throat/voice is glad too J. I assume you’re still singing high? If you don’t mind my asking, how do those at Karaoke react to your high voice. Are you entirely comfortable with the reaction?
Cheers for this video, Karyn. I now know, once and for all, that I ain't a true Countertenor- (I'm definitely a high Bari who sings in Falsetto.)
You're welcome! I'm so glad it was helpful.
@@singwisevocals It definitely was. It's given me an insight into the differences between legit Countertenors and Falsettists, such as meself. Theirs is a legit voice, whereas, mine, on the other hand's just put-on for fancy effect.
@@singwisevocals Not that that's in any way, shape or form, a bad thing. It just is what it is.
You meant head voice, not falsetto.
Very informative, thanks.
I think I'm a countertenor too! I'm more comfortable singing female songs, and I'm only using my natural voice, not falsetto.
47:00 52:00 17:50 (this point!) 21:00
Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge.
You're welcome, Bob.
what a great video! everything I wanted to know
40:10. 44:34 exercise for register break
I am a female alto who is often told I sound somewhat like a countertenor, particularly in renaissance music. Not sure what that says about me!
I heard that the English composer Henry Purcell was a countertenor himself. Is this true? I also think that the whole countertenor voice type is not limited to classical or Baroque music - that it exists in the realm of popular music as well, with male singers who routinely sing in a high falsetto voice There was a soul song a while back called "Rock 'n' Roll Baby" in which the singer was definitely a countertenor. There have been other male popular singers with a very extended upper range who I would classify as countertenors. There have also been countertenors in other musical cultures. I play the Romanian Pan Flute, for example, and the grandaddy of the Pan Flute, Fanica Luca, was also a singer and a multi-instrumentalist, and he sang in a countertenor voice. There also seems to be a tradition of countertenor singing among Romanian gypsy minstrels, or Lautari. My best friend in Romania had recordings of Romanian gypsy countertenors.
PLEASE, can you do one on the contralto voice? Thanks!
It's in the works! Contralto is a rarer voice type, so it's not as easy to find a good candidate for this kind of interview, but I know someone at the University of Toronto who works with a contralto who also teaches. I'll get in touch with her again.
Brilliant! I can't wait!
This is fantastic! I love that voice type and I look forward to seeing your video.It can be so difficult to distinguish contraltos from mezzos. Very clear-cut for some singers, not so evident for others. I know the tessitura range is not all and some emphasis seems to be put more on the colour to distinguish the two types, but it would be nice to know exactly the characteristics of the contralto voice colour compared to those of the mezzo voice. So I hope your video will shed a light!
I'll be sure to include this question (what distinguishes a contralto from a mezzo-soprano) in the interview.
Thanks! I will help me know where I stand myself! Most people label me as a contralto, but I want to be sure.
I sing in a choir and there was a time when I sounded like out of tune. Then, after a few checks, it turned out I was singing an octave higher than the rest of the female altos. Funny, because I had to sing an octave lower to sound well with the altos.
someone needs to make a compilation of his singing examples.
41:54 (and beyond) looks like a great exercise :D
Thanks!
Thank you so much
You're very welcome. Thanks for watching and commenting.
One correction, I witnessed at the Cleveland Public Hall the opera Die Zauberflöte (Mozart) as a matinee in May of 1968 or 1969 or 1970 as an usher at the public hall. The Met did at least one Mozart per season in those years. The Queen of the night could surly have been sung by a countertenor. Very interesting presentation.
is this why it feels like there are three different vocal splits in my voice. my natural tenor, then I have to switch the voice for a higher pitch then switch for lower pitches? I just do not have it homogenized.
As a male tenor singer can i extend my deepening range after puberty,since my voice tends to get deeper
How would someone go about training their counter tenor voice? I'm able to get full closer and and good tone but I don't have the money to hire a vocal coach. I feel naturally drawn to singing counter tenor and I catch myself singing in the style all the time.
Hello. I am 17, and started recording music when I was 7. My piano instructor/ vocal coach told me that if I wanted to keep my higher register, I had to keep using it. Until my sophomore year of highschool I was an alto. At the time my range was ~A2-G4-E6. I hit a G6 once, but it wasn't something I consistently went for.
I was switched to second Tenor because they needed a louder voice there, and I began using my chest voice more. 2 years later my range is A2-F5-C6. My voice loses its timbre below G3, and starts to sound like it's "coming out of the back of my throat". I feel like the quality of my falsetto hasn't changed very much. An E5 in my falsetto sounds like an E5 did 2 or 3 years ago. My chest voice, on the other hand, has changed a lot due to practice.
Would I be classified as a Countertenor? If it ever comes up with my choir friends, I tell them I'm a Lyric Tenor, since I have no clue what Countertenor means.
If anyone could answer this I would really appreciate it.
For me it all comes down to resonance focus. When I sing without falsetto - such as singing rock styles, I'm a baritone /lower tenor and in no way would I consider myself someone who has a high singing voice. But if im singing early music and using my falsetto, I can sing rather high and with power - but in no way would that work singing rock unless I am using it as a somewhat eccentric stylistic choice.
Hi, Any one who had a tenor voice type, can training on countertenor warm up?
I'm a baritone. What if I could sing some of the coloratura songs? But not perfectly doing it I do need more practice to sing it properly, but I am comfortable in doing it.
I' m a baritone but I can sing in a countertenor voice...
same
That was so interesting! Thanks :-)
What causes the difference between the English countertenors and their lighter sound compared to the fuller, more realistic sound of opera countertenors like Dr. Howell? Is it just the vibrato or is it also how he produces his notes? If it’s the latter, is there anyone that has that sings with the fuller sound but is light on the vibrato to make it more suited for English choral music?
This is a question that I think requires a long, slightly convoluted answer...!! I think the English choral tradition didn't necessarily provide their male altos in church/cathedral/college choirs with very good technique, so they tended to sound rather 'soft-centred'. Plus the resonance in chapels and churches allowed them to 'get away with' not really working at projecting the sound efficiently. Having said that, there are certainly countertenors in the UK that sing in a full-throated, more mezzo-ish way. Listen to Michael Chance in full flow, for example. More recent would be Timothy Travers-Brown, or Hugh Cutting for an even more recent example.
I find these sorts of discussions meaningless without recorded examples and comparisons illustrating what they mean by the terms they use.
Who was the clip of at 1:54 ? Stunning
David Daniels. (The names of the singers and songs should be beneath all the clips.)
@@singwisevocals thanks!
Can you review dimash kudaibergen and let us know what’s happing?
Dimash is not a countertenor 😊 but he has a huge range
his voice is actually well explainable. Im thinking I should explain it on RUclips, but another part of me doesnt think I should. Im an opera singer as well.
Have you already done this type of video on the contralto voice? If so can you share the link, please?
I was a countertenor but lost majority of it when I began to sing in my chest voice is there a way to get it back
Eric Forrester work on your Cricothyroid dominant registers, work on your flexibility or simply work on your head voice, falsetto, and flageolet.
Lip trills 15 mins daily
This was awesome
I sing like that! Even higher but sometimes my voice change and can't reach those higher notes
What would be said of a male training as a baritone looking to develop their Head Voice via countertenor technique?
Pop singer
Im singing pop songs by utilizing my falsetto register. Can a countertenor singing in a non classical music like Pop songs?
Yeah, Alex Newell is an example of a real countertenor soprano singing pop music
I'm curious as what the difference between a countertenor and a castrato would be. hard to say since there in no modern recording of a castrato to really hear the difference in sound quality
Real countertenors like tenor altino Dont need falsetto they have a large tessitura in the mezzo soprano or soprano.
Here's the soul singer countertenor I was talking about: The Stylistics' Rockin' Roll Baby: ruclips.net/video/EDfVgFCkYxI/видео.html What about Michael Jackson? Was he a countertenor?
He was a lyrical tenor
My Aunt had sang with him in choir once
Please accept my apologies for the extreme lateness of this comment, coming some four years after the posting of the video, but I have just discovered this fascinating discussion. I have one question; given that Dr Howell indicates (at 28:15) that, at least at the time of this recording, his formants lie at the same points as those of a baritone, could a natural baritone equally train to sing as a countertenor? This might be a silly question but, if the dimensions of the vocal anatomy are similar to that of a baritone, is it technique alone that allows a rich countertenor voice to be developed?
actually yes! most countertenors are baritones/tenors in their modal voice, but decided to train their falsetto as their main singing voice.
@@tuan4482 Many thanks for this comment. I wonder whether all baritones could, therefore, train to develop a reasonable countertenor range, notwithstanding the undoubted talents of the most adept and successful exponents?
If you can yodel you know exactly what falsetto is and can produce it at will. ;)
i myself am a countertenor, my range is about F3(on good days)-G6, my voice is probably most comfortable A3-C6, but my choir teacher is trying to force me to sing baritone and tenor, do you have any advice for me in the future?
find a different choir?
sing alto. i have a friend who does that in mixed choir. In all boy's choir he sang tenor 1.
Ask your teacher if he or she will let ya at least try out with the female Soprano or Alto group- (wherever ya feel most comfortable!) I'm a Falsettist and my choir teacher's always allowed me to sing with our Soprano group.
Ali Traore Have you heard Dimash kudaibergen
Can you give me a brief description of what Dimash is doing?
is dimash a counter tenor?
I think so. He certainly has a well-developed countertenor range, technique, and sound.
22:00
37:54
That's their usual singing voice. What about men who can sing from low to high octaves, like rock singers who can sing falsetto?
i can sing up to a c6, does that make me a male soprano?
I also find chest singing makes my throat burn and hurt
41:52 , 42:39
44:40
re: non-classical countertenors: look up some Vocal Spectrum barbershop
Even given the big countertenors…honestly I’d rather just hear a mezzo do it, who can either rattle your bones or genuinely coo with those middle notes.
Recorded examples would've been all sorts of swell. I have done very high tone throat singing and need more real insight.
countertenor is way more comfortable than head voice and falsetto. just need to relax.
I’m a male g2 lowest, a4highest and can hit c7 falsetto. Am I considered counter tenor?
No countertenors such as tenor altino have a androgynous timbre and an sing without using falsetto they have hit puberty .they have androgynous (masculine and feminine)timbre that matches
a party trick, hah that's so true that it's sad
Are countertenors most generally homosexually oriented? This question is not meant in a derogatory manner, it just seems to me that it is an effeminate manner of singing.
No. There are a good many heterosexual countertenors singing professionally or at an amateur level. A lot of men use falsetto/high to very high registers across pop, folk, classical music genres.
I don't quite understand why any man would like to sing as a countertenor.
Listen to Alex Newell and understand how powerful a countertenor is
i think Handel and Purcell both enjoyed singing in the alto range, they wrote a lot of pieces for it
It feels very nice in terms of physical vibration. The repertoire is beautiful. You can 'exploit' resonances in buildings in a way you can't in your modal register. There's a psychological pleasure - you access bits of yourself and of other people when you sing as a countertenor. You're a part of a very very very long history of high male voice singing across different genres...