Whistle register
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The whistle register (also called the flageolet register and in Speech Level Singing the super-head register) is the highest register of the human voice.
[edit] Physiology and definition
The physiology of the whistle register is the most poorly understood of the vocal registers. It is known that when producing pitches in this register vibration occurs only in some anterior portion of the vocal folds. This shorter vibrating length naturally allows for easier production of high pitches. The physiological process that causes this is not currently known.
The whistle register is most commonly used to produce pitches around and above soprano C. By the physiological definition just detailed, it is a configuration of the vocal folds and not a range of pitches. There is, however, no universally agreed scheme for classifying vocal registers, so it is common to see other definitions.
[edit] Uses of the whistle register
In European classical music, the whistle register is only rarely called for. When it is, it is exclusively used by coloratura sopranos to produce pitches above C6. Probably the best-known example of the whistle register in European classical music is in the "Queen of the Night" aria (properly titled "Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen") from the Mozart opera Die Zauberflöte; it calls for pitches up to F6.
In Western popular music, the whistle register is used with more variety and to produce much higher pitches than are called for in classical music. While it is most often used by females, such as Mariah Carey, there are a few male singers who use it. Among male singers, the one who holds the Guinness Book of Records record (C#8) for highest vocal note by a male, Adam Lopez, makes extensive use of the whistle register.
There are also non-musical uses of the whistle register. Famously, a very high pitch, properly produced, can shatter glass. This was demonstrated, for example, on the television show MythBusters (though those pitches were not in the whistle register). It is also common for children of both sexes and for young women to shriek loudly in a way that sounds much like the whistle register, though it is not known whether the physiological mechanism is in fact the same.
