title: Toward a definition of male 'head' register, passaggio, and 'cover' in western operatic singing.
abstract: For male singers in the western operatic tradition the upper part of the frequency range contains a series of pitches called passaggio, the transition between 'chest' and 'head' registers. Although there is no generally accepted objective definition of the distinction between 'head' and 'chest', the distinction is widely recognized among singers and voice teachers, as is the term 'cover', a technique often considered to be helpful in a proper execution of passaggio. On the basis of spectrographic, electroglottographic, and sub- and supraglottal pressure measurements on professional singers' 'correct' and 'incorrect' singing of passaggio, this study offers a definition of the 'chest'/'head' distinction.
authors.affiliation: Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic, University Hospital, Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: H K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Schutte
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D010699:Phonation / Q000502:physiology*; D010700:Phonetics; D010898:Pitch Perception; D013018:Sound Spectrography; D013061:Speech Acoustics; D013068:Speech Production Measurement; D014827:Vocal Cords / Q000502:physiology*; D014831:Voice / Q000502:physiology*