What are Chest Voice and Head Voice

A very good question. We know that sound comes out of a part of our head, but when was the last time your chest spoke?

Why do we use these terms?

Interestingly these terms have been in use since the 1500-1600's! They gained more prominence in Italian singing treatises in the 17th - 18th Centuries.

You might be asking why are we still using these terms now?

It might help if we ask where sound is produced.

Sound is produced in the Larynx, so why head and chest voice? These terms were used to describe where the sound resonates or is felt. It does not mean this is where the sound comes from, nor does it mean that there are limitations in the way people think about head and chest voice.

The best thing to do is to remember that when thinking about sound that is created, what we really mean is thick and thin Vocal Fold contact.

Thick Vocal Fold contact often sounds like more "chest resonance" and usually happens on lower pitches. However, you can still have thick Vocal Fold Cover as you travel up a scale. Employing more tilt helps to move up the scale until you find the "break" in your voice. This is the point at which your Vocal Folds will want to flip into a different position (Thin Folds).

Thin Vocal Fold contact usually sound like a thinner voice and are more commonly associated with higher pitches, however it is possible to use Thin Vocal Folds at a lower pitch.

Hence these feelings are often misidentified as "Chest" and "Head" voice. It is worth bearing in mind how long these terms have been in use. Given what we are now able to understand due to research into the voice, perhaps we should start phasing out these outdated terms and try to introduce more physiologically accurate terms to help understand what we are able to do and the sound we can create with our voices.