Without Head Voice, You’re Missing Half Your Instrument

Head voice isn’t optional.

When singers avoid head voice, it often looks like a choice—but really, it’s a missing foundation. You can’t fully understand your voice without it. In today’s episode, written by Timothy Wilds, we’re going to explore what head voice actually is, how the idea developed, and why voice teachers for centuries have considered it essential.

We’ll start by looking at how singers and scientists have described registers throughout history—from organ pipes to Garcia’s “mechanisms” to Hirano’s body-cover theory. Along the way, we’ll connect the terms head voice and chest voice to the real mechanics in your larynx: what your vocal folds are actually doing.

And then, before we close, I’ll give you a simple exercise that makes the whole concept tangible. That’s the moment where you’ll hear and feel what all this history and science is pointing to.

So stick around—because by the end of today’s episode, you’ll know why head voice isn’t just “optional”… it’s half your instrument.

 

Here’s a question for you. Is there a part of your body you can just do without? Medical science tells us we really can get by without an appendix, tonsils, and wisdom teeth, just to name a few.

 

Here’s another question. Is there a part of your voice you can just forgo? I will confess I’ve never directly asked this of a voice student, but given the evidence provided by their vocal habits and choices, I get the impression they think they don’t really need their head voice. Is it really optional?

 

Here at VoSci, we think your head voice is essential for your success. On today’s episode, let’s talk about it.

 

Throughout human history, people have sought ways to explain what’s going on when a person makes sound. Given the fact that seeing and touching the true vocal folds is impossible by the average person on an everyday basis, we depend on concepts and descriptors to help make sense of it.

 

The notion of head voice is one of these attempts. Although it is a commonly-used term, it can be confusing. It sounds like the voice can relocate from the neck to the head. Clearly, there’s no anatomical shifting going on and what is being conveyed is sensory experience: the perception of the sound’s presence in a region of the body, the result of sound wave frequencies created at the source conducting with biological tissue. In essence, the term head voice, as well as chest voice, are better understood as describing resonance phenomena.

 

Head voice is a term also connected to the broader concept that there are registers in the human voice. It is interesting to note that the use of the word register is borrowed from the world of organ playing, and refers to a grouping of pipes with a similar quality of sound. This is precisely why voice teachers as far back as the 16th century adopted this concept.

 

Moving forward in history, the eminent 19th-century vocal researcher Manuel Garcia II defined a vocal register as: “a series of homogeneous sounds produced by one mechanism, differing essentially from another series of equally homogeneous sounds produced by another mechanism.” Garcia’s definition remains a dominant influence on how people talk about the singing voice. His reference to “a series of homogenous sounds” is a clear nod to a group of organ pipes with a similar quality of sound. But what does he mean by “produced by one mechanism?”

 

By mechanism, he is referring to a particular vibratory pattern of the true vocal folds located in the larynx. You may be wondering what a vibratory pattern is and how many exist.

 

All vibratory patterns start with laryngeal function, specifically as inspired by the two laryngeal muscles, both of which are paired. At the base of the true vocal folds is the thyroarytenoid muscle. It runs from the inner surface of the thyroid cartilage back to the arytenoid cartilages. Visualize its orientation in the larynx by imagining an upside-down letter V. The cricothyroid muscle originates on the outside front of the cricoid cartilage and inserts into the underside of the front of the thyroid cartilage. When it contracts, the thyroid cartilage tilts and the true vocal folds are stretched.

 

The mechanical event Garcia was referring to focuses on the length, tension, and mass of the true vocal folds. The thyroarytenoid muscle is responsible for shortening, relaxing, and thickening the true vocal folds. Conversely, the cricothyroid muscle elongates, becomes taut, and thins. These are the two “mechanism” states that Garcia would think of when using the terms chest voice register and head voice register.

 

When we look back at Garcia’s definition, it speaks of “a series of homogeneous sounds.” The word “series” suggests a grouping of consecutive pitches within a limited range. We know this because chest voice register naturally occurs at low pitch levels. Head voice does so at high pitch. Why? Because the voice is designed to enlist specific structures to produce a given pitch or volume. In some singing systems, this is called an attractor state, which is a condition of stability that produces a specific vibratory pattern.

 

Simply put, if you want to sing lower pitches, the true vocal folds report for duty as short, relaxed, and thick. If you change their condition to elongated, taut, and thin, you easily produce higher pitches.

 

So far, we’ve mentioned two registers, chest and head. You may be wondering how many there are. Depending upon your source, the number of possible registers varies. I must warn you that even the word “register,” has variable meanings. Welcome to the sea of words used when talking about the voice! For our purposes today, we will stick with four primary vocal registers: vocal fry, chest or modal, head or falsetto, and whistle or flute. These are also commonly referred to as Mode 0 through Mode 3, respectively.

 

Of the four registers, chest and head are the two most often employed. Vocal fry and whistle/flute should be considered ancillary registers, used for dramatic intention. Whistle register, the highest phonational register, lies above head register, and starts around D6. Voice scientists are still in search of a complete understanding of the physiology of the production. To date, it is believed that only the thin, anterior (front) edges of the true vocal folds are vibrating. Although most often used by female performers–Mariah Carey is a prime example–male singers, such as Jon Bon Jovi, reportedly once sang an F7 in concert.

 

On the opposite end of the spectrum is vocal fry, also referred to as glottal fry, creaky voice, or slack folds. This register lies below chest or modal and is marked by very loose true vocal fold closure and low subglottal pressure resulting in irregular vibrations that produce the characteristic “popping” or “bubbling” sound. Vocal fry is akin to forms of vocal distortion that add a gritty or raspy texture to the sound. The effect is popular with R&B, jazz, pop, and country singers.

 

Another way to understand the overall spectrum of registers is to imagine a continuum delineated by markers. Think of the four registers as the markers and your overall vocal range as the continuum. How your voice is behaving at each marker establishes your primary understanding of each register or mode. An understanding of and ability to demonstrate each register is fundamental operating information for any singer.

 

Since Garcia, other voice researchers have offered additional ways of understanding what’s in play. In the 20th century, Minoru Hirano introduced his body-cover theory which describes the true vocal fold as containing two primary levels. The lower level, containing the thyroarytenoid muscle, is the body. The upper, “skin-like,” level is the cover. To imagine this, let’s use a technique chefs use to test the doneness of meat. Hold one of your hands very loosely in front of you, palm facing down. Using the pointer finger on your other hand, press the area of your hand just behind your purlicue (the curve between the thumb and pointer finger). Feel how soft the area is. Now, make a very tight fist and repeat the process. The area has become firm. The contrast between the loose hand and the tight fist is comparable to two steaks, the first rare and the second well done.

 

What you just experienced is a simplistic illustration but it carries real information. Now, do the test again, but instead of only two conditions, very loose and very tight, slowly move from one to the other, all the time testing the area on your hand. The gradual change of body-cover is revealing that there are many vibratory patterns, beyond the four markers on the continuum. 

 

This suggests that the amount of length, tension, and mass of the true vocal folds is largely as variable as the singer’s imagination. A singer is not limited to the four registers previously mentioned, but can create hybrid forms by selectively combining traits of different registers, a process known as registration. This is truly what makes singing so much fun!

 

Allow me to illustrate with an exercise that focuses on fold mass. Chest voice register, in its pure form, requires the true vocal folds meet the following general requirements: length: short; tension: relaxed; and mass: thick. Also remember this: chest voice register is also known as modal voice because it is the most common register for speaking and singing. 

 

For the purposes of my illustration, we need to set standards by which to measure the amount of fold mass in play. Sing a pitch, in the middle of your chest/modal voice range, at a medium dynamic level. For a male singer, I suggest singing anywhere between D3-F3; for females, one octave higher, D4-F4. In this register, at these pitch levels, the experience of phonation should be easy. On a scale of 1 to 10, let’s set this experience as a 5 out of 10, in terms of fold mass.

 

Now, let’s adjust the number for the mass, moving it from 5 to 10. This will increase the thickness in the folds which will significantly increase the amplitude, or loudness perceived.

Singing the same pitch as you did before, observe your experience of  a fold mass of 10 out of 10. This sets your experience of singing with maximal thick folds and singing loudly. In contrast, repeat the exercise but now the fold mass number is 1 out of 10. Your sound should be soft, so much so, that’s it’s almost inaudible. This experience will set the standard for singing with thin folds.

 

With these standards set, sing the same pitch again, starting with a fold mass of 1 and slowly increasing it to a 10. Did you hear the sound go from soft to loud? You just performed a crescendo. Now, reverse it and experience the sound going from loud to soft, also known as a decrescendo. This exercise exposes the importance of fold mass control: it’s how a singer adjusts volume.

 

If you are a singer with some knowledge of your head voice, you probably had no problem doing these exercises. But what if head voice is a mystery to you? What singing choices could be made more difficult or even impossible? 

 

Allow me to name a few:

 

• Singing higher pitches. For your voice to ascend in pitch, your true vocal folds must be allowed to elongate.
• Blending your lower voice and your higher voice. This is the traditional classical voice technique of obscuring the transition from chest voice register to head voice register. 
• Mixing. The concept of mixing relates to registration in singing: the act of mixing traits from differing registers.
• Flipping registers or modes in pop singing. It is common for pop singers to flip rapidly from a belt quality to head voice or vice versa.
• Finding falsetto, breathy, whistle: Knowing your head voice is a gateway to these adjacent qualities of sound.
• Showing emotions. Thin folds produce a quality of sound we associate with a wide range of emotions: tenderness and intimacy; mystery and surprise; sadness and fear.

 

All of these singing choices are made easier, and possible, when you have a solid standard upon which to base it. And what is the base? It’s a foundational knowledge of head voice register, a general condition where the true vocal folds are elongated, taut, and thin.

 

At VoSci, we believe knowledge isn’t just information—it’s what frees a singer to use their whole instrument. Everything we share is grounded in voice science and tested in years of teaching.

If head voice is the piece you’ve been missing—or the part you’ve never really trusted—we built something to change that. Our course Strengthening Your Head Voice is available now inside VoSci Academy. You’ll get the tools, the drills, and the context to actually make head voice reliable.

Go to voicescience.org to join us. And as always—keep singing, and keep singing smart.