"Am I right in thinking that falsetto is a quality that can be achieved at any pitch in the range?  I have always defined it as that weak, hooty sound also but there seem to be different permutations of it in terms of vocal fold thickness?  Yes, no?"

Jeremy replies: Our experience is that it isn't possible to achieve a falsetto quality on any pitch in the range - it tends to favour the upper notes and becomes too weak to be of much use lower down. And it doesn't have to be a weak, hooty sound, although one of the tell-tale signs is a lack of harmonics in the middle of the sound. Some female opera singers use a falsetto-based setup and create enough power to cut through an orchestra. One of the key elements of falsetto is a more lax vocalis muscle - the muscle that forms part of the vocal fold. This causes the vocal folds to move with a different type of vibration. In my endoscopy video ebook Modal To Falsetto 2 - Breathy Speech, you can see the difference in vocal fold behaviour between a breathy, non-falsetto sound, and a non-breathy falsetto sound. The falsetto is looser and less resistant to the breath, and the surrounding vocal tract is more relaxed. You can "thicken up" the vocal folds slightly, but most volume boosting is done higher up in the vocal tract with resonance changes. Falsetto is the setup that most untrained singers default to when the going gets too tough!
 

Mehrnaz from Iran sent in a similar question
I have been taught classical singing since 8 years ago. My voice is heavy, I sing in choir and vocal quartet as an alto. I have two vocal problems:
1) I can't sing piano and pianissimo in notes above E an octave above middle C. In fact I can't keep my throat open to sing piano and pianissimo and I need to sing forte to produce sound in high tessitura! (I can sing bocca chuisa up to high C without pain!)
2) Sometimes I can't control my vibrato during singing, specially while singing piano.
Is it true that singing pianissimo is like singing falsetto and there is no resonance?
How can I learn a correct pianissimo without breathiness?

Jeremy replies: This is a complicated set of questions, because the answer depends on exactly what you are doing when you sing. If you have difficulty singing quietly above that E, and your throat closes up, it is likely that your vocal tract is too long for the notes and tones you are trying to achieve. Around that note there is a "gear change" for female singers, and the best and quickest way to smooth over it is to raise the larynx slightly. You are probably holding your larynx down to add darkness and depth to your sound (either with the muscles underneath the larynx, or more probably with the tongue muscles pushing down from above). You will end up "weightlifting" with your voice to get higher or softer, causing your vocal folds to work harder than they need to. This may also cause you to have a more unstable vibrato as the vocal mechanism is under intense stress being held down while singing high and soft.

From your description of the two problems, I would recommend exercises to raise the larynx slightly, and to tilt the thyroid cartilage without lowering the larynx. 'Tilting' and holding the breath back should give you a clearer, cleaner sound and reduce the breathiness. While it isn't in the scope of this eZINE to include specific exercises, Gillyanne's book Singing and the Actor and the Singing and the Actor Audio Guide contains the instructions and examples you will need.
 

This question on the Developing Voice arrived from Jess:
I've been asked by one of our 16yr old boys in a youth band at my church if there are any exercises he can do to increase his top range. As his voice seems vulnerable and subject to change, I am very concerned not to give him the wrong advice.