Vocal Registers and Breaks
Registration
Mode 1
Voce di petto/Chest Voice/TA-Dominant
Remember our discussion of intrinsic laryngeal musculature? This is the part of the voice that has a strong, brassy sound (generally) and is characterized as "Chest Voice" by the sympathetic vibrations we feel through the chest or lower throat part of our bodies as we sing. This typically heavier sound is created by a thickening of the vocal folds by a squeezing of the thyroarytenoid muscles.
Mode 2
Voce di Testa/Head Voice/CT-Dominant
This part of the voice is characterized by the sympathetic vibrations that we feel in our head when we sing. In this mode, the cricothyroid (CT) muscle stretches the vocal folds longer to reach higher pitches. This sound is typically lighter and thinner (at least as we are beginning our voice journeys).
Explore with these vocal exercise videos:
Part 1: How do you find your voice breaks?
Part 2: What is a vocal break??