This video is quite clarifying in terms of style, as a countertenor is usually found in classical singing. But it’s also true that there are men (like me included, I’m talking about experience now) who struggle a lot with the chest voice and their voices are by default more comfortable in the upper registers. And this issue is something that I’ve been trying to fix with my voice teacher, but naturally my voice is not at all happy in chest voice, although I train a lot, and I try to apply that coordination to singing, it’s still far from being my natural way of singing, and even being in chest voice sometimes I sound like I’m in my head or mix when I’m not. It really depends on the singer, and the voice of course.
cLinkxs ??? You cannot choose your voice type, but you can definitely work on it. I suggest you try the Estill Voice Training method. you will get there pretty quickly.
I laugh at when people think true Countertenors think have hormone imbalance or castration or use falsetto which is all a misnomer. True Countertenors which is extremely rare they have a androgynous timbre and the tessitura of a mezzo soprano they don't need falsetto this type of countertenor is called a Tenor altino
I LOVE this video! I am a Dramatic Bass-Baritone that can sing in the Countertenor coordination (in the range of a Contralto or Dramatic Mezzo-Soprano). The person you are talking about around 8:30 I would classify as a contemporary Leggeio Tenor. I honestly believe you did a GREAT job of explaining this classical (one of my absolute favorites) voice types! Another great comparison I would use is David Phelps (another I would consider a Leggerio Tenor) and Jakub Józef Orliński (a classical Countertenor I would say sings in a Mezzo range). Great job!
I love what you are saying so far, especially with bringing Dimash into the explanation because he is just a good example of what something is in the human voice (he can basically do anything, magical but explainable with Science!) I will say being a countertenor is not really a style but more of an approach or vocal technique. I say this because countertenors regularly drop into the M1 modal registration for the very lowest parts of their music, but what makes them a countertenor is the seamless connection between the M1 and M2 which they do by intentionally staying in head voice vs. going into a full voice like a normal (opera) singer would do. Basically it is a way to sing and what makes a countertenor a Countertenor is the fact they sing in this way more than anything and have smoothed the break between the sounds. So technically, Dimash is a Countertenor and a Tenor. Just like Im a Bass and an Altoist (i also am a operatic countertenor and bass opera singer. I do both). Plus work in vocal science and pedagogy. This is a common issue with listeners and learners, it is the nature of appearance vs function. Just because it appears to sound a certain way doesnt MEAN it really is. Dimash may appear to being singing really high in his head voice but honestly the notes arent high for him till he is around C6, and you can tell this by certain characteristics universal to people with vocal cords that explain what is happening. Vocal cords stretch and contract, they engage and disengage (THATS ALL THAT THEY DO) and everything else is just us manipulating Muscle configurations (Modes) to resist or allow different natural changes. The top of a human voice has a distinct characteristic that only appears in Dimash when he goes up to Eb6, and C6 area. most people call it a whistle but really the sound is after math of the vocal cords being stretched so far that they thin, barely come together and the air if balanced creates a "super head voice" sound. If not balanced it creates a airy whistley sound like Mariah Carey. This happens to me around C5 (im a bass) and it reflexs in my voice till I reach my maximum stretch. This is true for every singer, and the story is different for everyone.
One word: MAXWELL. I can imitate his style and his high notes. Very contralto like, full, clear, open. He can put vibrato into it. an operatic counter I'm totally crushing on is J. Orlinski, a natural bass and he also sounds remarkably like a Contralto. It's different from Jaroussky, probably a baritone who sounds like a Mezzo-soprano when he sings counter Tenor. a natural counter Tenor/male Contralto is Little Jimmy Scott. He sounds QUITE a bit like Sarah Vaughan. operatic equivalent: Russell Oberlin
@XDranzer000 contraltos and natural counter tenors actually have the same range and vocal quality. I am a Contralto myself and I am endlessly fascinated by these voices. If you listen to Mitch from Superfruit/Pentatonix he constantly speaks in his head voice and sounds a lot like a woman
It's really about timbre in the voice not pitch some men can speak in head voice and don't sound like a woman a true Countertenor is a tenor altino they have a androgynous timbre their voice sound gender ambiguous (androgynous) when singing or speaking it Varys from person to person they don't need falsetto.
I agree with everything the only thing I would add would be that they don’t use exclusively head voice but they do mix in the lower notes instead of just bringing the head voice as low as they possibly can
Hi I’m a male who sings as a natural dramatic mezzo soprano and by natural I mean I have always been able to sing this way my middle register has always sat in a feminine quality and my lower register takes a very dark color and I begin to loose power and projection also my high notes in my full voice take on a very strong projected quality I am able to sing songs by mezzos and sopranos in there original key so what I’m saying is there a men out there who sing beyond typical male keys and can lack male color and if countertenor doesn’t fit then there needs to be a separate fach that does and describes the immense difference between them like a coloratura mezzo and dramatic mezzo
I should mention that my entire voice type qualifies as dramatic mezzo soprano the only distinction is my gender and several music professionals have not been able to pick up on my gender when only hearing me and told nothing about me or my voice just to listen and identify
The only Countertenor I know is from Brazil (my country) it is Pabllo Vittar, a singer who is a gay man, but as he does drag we often call as her. The drag recently VERY VERY recently was feautured on the reissue of the Chromatica album by Lady Gaga on a remix of Fun Tonight with Brazilian rhythms. It is so good!
My chest voice is very unpleasant for me to sing in while a very light mix (rarely) or a full head voice are my natural choice. The highest I can go with my chest voice is a4 but it sounds really bad and hurts, However the highest I can sing in my head voice is G6 and while I have to build it up a bit its much more comfortable for me and sound pretty. I think I can classify my self as a counter tenor.
An historical correction: male falsettists existed before the Renaissance/Baroque age of the castrati. Spain in particular had a tradition of sopranists who were using falsetto (or whatever you want to call it).
I was downing myself that I can only reach E4 on chest that I'm only a baritone type guy but I can reach C6 with head voice.... I don't know if I'm also a Counter tenor guy? hehe
If you can only reach E4 in chest , then maybe your a bass , or bass-baritone And actually headvoice doesnt matter above 5th octave for males , so only count for the range that you CAN use or USUALLY USE when singing And also , singing depends on timbre ,tonal , so vocal range isnt quite cut out for it ..
I’m a mezzo soprano as a male is that possible my talking voice is higher than a tenor my talking voice it sounds like an Alto but I sing with mezzo soprano singers would I just be a very high tenor?
funny enough i arrived here just curious about this counter-tenor vs tenor thing bc of a musical talent tv show i'm currently watching, and my only reference for countertenor was......... jimin. so hey, now i've leart two things instead of just one lmao. edit: btw, funny enough, jimin does have ""two voices"" when speaking bc of dialectal variation. in most interviews he speaks standard korean and he uses that kinda light voice etc, but he's actually from busan so he's natural way of speaking it's the busan dialect, in which he adopts a deeper voice (not that much deep, but enough for you to hear a difference if you just google it), bc busan dialect is usually spoken with deeper voice in men and higher voice in women
No he is just a tenor a true Countertenors a tenor altino is a healthy male born with a androgynous timbre of man and woman and the tessitura of a mezzo soprano and don't need falsetto. His timbre embrace it . Eddie Kendrick doesn't sound like a woman at all but a high pitch tenor man hitting high notes
No. Prince kinda has 2 main ways of singing. He sang lower in his chest voice, then squeaked up to really high notes in his falsetto, his falsetto wasn't his kinda default singing position and it wasn't as rounded or as constant as a countertenor would be. He was like a low tenor or high baritone with a particularly hight extension. He didn't sing anything like a classic counter tenor would
Enjoyed this. Head voice is a concept in any voice type but we need to be clear that counter tenor isn't head voice...but falsetto. Chris Lowrey and Jimmy Somerville is the same techique. Also your using the word 'key' when I think you mean pitch? Thanks for this.
Sorry, but a countertenor does not sing in falsetto. There are physical reasons why they don’t. They definitely sing in head voice and a head-dominant mix.
i think im counter tenor i use both head voice and falsettoes also my chest and mix my lowest note in the timbre of mezzo but i sing childlike like soubrette in a higher range my highest headvoice is g#6 my voice will crack to whistle if i push my headvoice any further my highest whistle is a7 and my lowest is d3 i can sing a5 in mix voice
Sorry, but I hate the term "falsetto". Like all professional singers, countertenor voices are trained and developed. But there are so many different colors to countertenor voices, it's difficult to squeeze them into one category or singing technique.
yes I am a prepubescent boy, and I feel much more comfortable in my mid and upper range ... (my highest head voice voice is D#7 and B6 holding) I'm a soprano or a countertenor? I can go in whistle up to F8-A8 Greetings :)
I am a natural tenor altino the true Countertenor born with a androgynous timbre and don't need falsetto because my timbre embrace all my lower notes middle and high notes.
![[HANDEL] Se il mio amor fu il tuo delitto 내 사랑이 너의 죄라면 C. Ten. Samuel Mariño, Hugh Cutting](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EbjtSrRo2uk/mqdefault.jpg)
This video is quite clarifying in terms of style, as a countertenor is usually found in classical singing. But it’s also true that there are men (like me included, I’m talking about experience now) who struggle a lot with the chest voice and their voices are by default more comfortable in the upper registers. And this issue is something that I’ve been trying to fix with my voice teacher, but naturally my voice is not at all happy in chest voice, although I train a lot, and I try to apply that coordination to singing, it’s still far from being my natural way of singing, and even being in chest voice sometimes I sound like I’m in my head or mix when I’m not. It really depends on the singer, and the voice of course.
hey me too. my voice can reach to C6 but my chest voice is can only reach E4 (maybe higher a bit) but I sing super girl type in it comes to C5
cLinkxs ??? Well, I start feeling the passaggio at around A4, but I get the feeling. It seems that training fixes these kind of things.
@@Advanceyourenglish5 Yes I want to sing higher with my chest, so I can be a tenor.....
cLinkxs ??? You cannot choose your voice type, but you can definitely work on it. I suggest you try the Estill Voice Training method. you will get there pretty quickly.
Hey guys I'm doing research on this stuff and I would love to interview you :) would you be open to responding to some questions? thanks!
Alex Newell is the perfect definition of a counter-tenor.
Alex is a tenor altino. A subclass of the leggiero tenor, essentially the same thing you’re thinking. Just a matter of semantics and wording :)
That Dimash guy is just CRRAAZZZYYYYY 🥴🤯
XDranzer000
He doesn’t have support? How?!
That guy is just overflowing with talent and skill
He even seems like a legend already to me .. or can be
@XDranzer000 𝙄 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙖 𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙞𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙗𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙨.......
I laugh at when people think true Countertenors think have hormone imbalance or castration or use falsetto which is all a misnomer. True Countertenors which is extremely rare they have a androgynous timbre and the tessitura of a mezzo soprano they don't need falsetto this type of countertenor is called a Tenor altino
what if they are a soprano countertenor.
I LOVE this video! I am a Dramatic Bass-Baritone that can sing in the Countertenor coordination (in the range of a Contralto or Dramatic Mezzo-Soprano). The person you are talking about around 8:30 I would classify as a contemporary Leggeio Tenor. I honestly believe you did a GREAT job of explaining this classical (one of my absolute favorites) voice types! Another great comparison I would use is David Phelps (another I would consider a Leggerio Tenor) and Jakub Józef Orliński (a classical Countertenor I would say sings in a Mezzo range). Great job!
I love what you are saying so far, especially with bringing Dimash into the explanation because he is just a good example of what something is in the human voice (he can basically do anything, magical but explainable with Science!) I will say being a countertenor is not really a style but more of an approach or vocal technique. I say this because countertenors regularly drop into the M1 modal registration for the very lowest parts of their music, but what makes them a countertenor is the seamless connection between the M1 and M2 which they do by intentionally staying in head voice vs. going into a full voice like a normal (opera) singer would do. Basically it is a way to sing and what makes a countertenor a Countertenor is the fact they sing in this way more than anything and have smoothed the break between the sounds. So technically, Dimash is a Countertenor and a Tenor. Just like Im a Bass and an Altoist (i also am a operatic countertenor and bass opera singer. I do both). Plus work in vocal science and pedagogy.
This is a common issue with listeners and learners, it is the nature of appearance vs function. Just because it appears to sound a certain way doesnt MEAN it really is. Dimash may appear to being singing really high in his head voice but honestly the notes arent high for him till he is around C6, and you can tell this by certain characteristics universal to people with vocal cords that explain what is happening. Vocal cords stretch and contract, they engage and disengage (THATS ALL THAT THEY DO) and everything else is just us manipulating Muscle configurations (Modes) to resist or allow different natural changes.
The top of a human voice has a distinct characteristic that only appears in Dimash when he goes up to Eb6, and C6 area. most people call it a whistle but really the sound is after math of the vocal cords being stretched so far that they thin, barely come together and the air if balanced creates a "super head voice" sound. If not balanced it creates a airy whistley sound like Mariah Carey. This happens to me around C5 (im a bass) and it reflexs in my voice till I reach my maximum stretch. This is true for every singer, and the story is different for everyone.
One word: MAXWELL. I can imitate his style and his high notes. Very contralto like, full, clear, open. He can put vibrato into it.
an operatic counter I'm totally crushing on is J. Orlinski, a natural bass and he also sounds remarkably like a Contralto. It's different from Jaroussky, probably a baritone who sounds like a Mezzo-soprano when he sings counter Tenor.
a natural counter Tenor/male Contralto is Little Jimmy Scott. He sounds QUITE a bit like Sarah Vaughan. operatic equivalent: Russell Oberlin
@XDranzer000 contraltos and natural counter tenors actually have the same range and vocal quality. I am a Contralto myself and I am endlessly fascinated by these voices. If you listen to Mitch from Superfruit/Pentatonix he constantly speaks in his head voice and sounds a lot like a woman
It's really about timbre in the voice not pitch some men can speak in head voice and don't sound like a woman a true Countertenor is a tenor altino they have a androgynous timbre their voice sound gender ambiguous (androgynous) when singing or speaking it Varys from person to person they don't need falsetto.
I agree with everything the only thing I would add would be that they don’t use exclusively head voice but they do mix in the lower notes instead of just bringing the head voice as low as they possibly can
What do you think of Nick Pitera ? I think he’s a counter tenor . Check out his duo with Sam tsui and or his hallelujah cover .
I found out that I'm a counter tenor! I always knew my falsetto was just weird, but when i realized could sing women's opera i knew things were up
Hi I’m a male who sings as a natural dramatic mezzo soprano and by natural I mean I have always been able to sing this way my middle register has always sat in a feminine quality and my lower register takes a very dark color and I begin to loose power and projection also my high notes in my full voice take on a very strong projected quality I am able to sing songs by mezzos and sopranos in there original key so what I’m saying is there a men out there who sing beyond typical male keys and can lack male color and if countertenor doesn’t fit then there needs to be a separate fach that does and describes the immense difference between them like a coloratura mezzo and dramatic mezzo
I should mention that my entire voice type qualifies as dramatic mezzo soprano the only distinction is my gender and several music professionals have not been able to pick up on my gender when only hearing me and told nothing about me or my voice just to listen and identify
The only Countertenor I know is from Brazil (my country) it is Pabllo Vittar, a singer who is a gay man, but as he does drag we often call as her. The drag recently VERY VERY recently was feautured on the reissue of the Chromatica album by Lady Gaga on a remix of Fun Tonight with Brazilian rhythms. It is so good!
My chest voice is very unpleasant for me to sing in while a very light mix (rarely) or a full head voice are my natural choice.
The highest I can go with my chest voice is a4 but it sounds really bad and hurts, However the highest I can sing in my head voice is G6 and while I have to build it up a bit its much more comfortable for me and sound pretty.
I think I can classify my self as a counter tenor.
An historical correction: male falsettists existed before the Renaissance/Baroque age of the castrati. Spain in particular had a tradition of sopranists who were using falsetto (or whatever you want to call it).
Stunning explanation, great video 🤟👍
I was downing myself that I can only reach E4 on chest that I'm only a baritone type guy but I can reach C6 with head voice....
I don't know if I'm also a Counter tenor guy? hehe
Bro, thats cool. Weird thats why classifying is dumb!
If you can only reach E4 in chest , then maybe your a bass , or bass-baritone
And actually headvoice doesnt matter above 5th octave for males , so only count for the range that you CAN use or USUALLY USE when singing
And also , singing depends on timbre ,tonal , so vocal range isnt quite cut out for it ..
I've improved in the last 2 months I can reach now G4 hehe
My timbre is not dark, it's a little bright
gaither vocal band - bass baritone lead 2nd tenor 1st tenor - could u pls explain the 2nd vs 1st tenor
I’m a mezzo soprano as a male is that possible my talking voice is higher than a tenor my talking voice it sounds like an Alto but I sing with mezzo soprano singers would I just be a very high tenor?
They might also mix their voice into a very light, feminine m1.
funny enough i arrived here just curious about this counter-tenor vs tenor thing bc of a musical talent tv show i'm currently watching, and my only reference for countertenor was......... jimin. so hey, now i've leart two things instead of just one lmao.
edit: btw, funny enough, jimin does have ""two voices"" when speaking bc of dialectal variation. in most interviews he speaks standard korean and he uses that kinda light voice etc, but he's actually from busan so he's natural way of speaking it's the busan dialect, in which he adopts a deeper voice (not that much deep, but enough for you to hear a difference if you just google it), bc busan dialect is usually spoken with deeper voice in men and higher voice in women
Awesome, thank you for this video
Was not confusing at all. Thank you.
I have a question I have this sharp head voice can I sing like an opera songs but my voice is light a little
A lot,but not all Counter Tenors are just Basses or Bass Baritones singing in falsetto.
But what about Mitch Grassi? he talks with a quite light voice!
Is Smokey Robinson a counter tenor???
No he would be considered a Leggiero Tenor
Dimash reminds me of Geoff Tate in the 80s
Eddie Kendricks of the Temptations. Does he fit this category?
No he is just a tenor a true Countertenors a tenor altino is a healthy male born with a androgynous timbre of man and woman and the tessitura of a mezzo soprano and don't need falsetto. His timbre embrace it . Eddie Kendrick doesn't sound like a woman at all but a high pitch tenor man hitting high notes
2:44 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩'𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙨 well👍😃😃😄
𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩👍📍
What about Mitch Grassi from PTX?
Mitch is a Tenor. Check out Frankie Valli from a group called the four seasons. He is also a tenor.
Tenorino/altino. He uses a very feminine coordination, but can sound masculine when he wants.
Lol. Nice video. Adding the last bleach blond guy to this video feels like a joke. Lol
❤️❤️
So is Chris Kirkpatrick from NSYNC a countertenor.
Prince would be considered countertenor then
No. Prince kinda has 2 main ways of singing. He sang lower in his chest voice, then squeaked up to really high notes in his falsetto, his falsetto wasn't his kinda default singing position and it wasn't as rounded or as constant as a countertenor would be. He was like a low tenor or high baritone with a particularly hight extension. He didn't sing anything like a classic counter tenor would
Samuel Bradley oh ok
Nope! Prince was definitely a higher-end Bari.
Samuel Bradley plus a countertenor sounds like a women
Enjoyed this. Head voice is a concept in any voice type but we need to be clear that counter tenor isn't head voice...but falsetto. Chris Lowrey and Jimmy Somerville is the same techique. Also your using the word 'key' when I think you mean pitch? Thanks for this.
Sorry, but a countertenor does not sing in falsetto. There are physical reasons why they don’t. They definitely sing in head voice and a head-dominant mix.
@@Advanceyourenglish5 Felix, please check a text book? All counter tenors are falsettists!
head dominant mix not falsettoes
del exactly
i think im counter tenor i use both head voice and falsettoes also my chest and mix my lowest note in the timbre of mezzo but i sing childlike like soubrette in a higher range my highest headvoice is g#6 my voice will crack to whistle if i push my headvoice any further my highest whistle is a7 and my lowest is d3 i can sing a5 in mix voice
I don't sound like Man... :'( I always have high speaking voice for a man. I wish I'm a bass. Tenors' songs are no for me.
Sorry, but I hate the term "falsetto". Like all professional singers, countertenor voices are trained and developed. But there are so many different colors to countertenor voices, it's difficult to squeeze them into one category or singing technique.
yes I am a prepubescent boy, and I feel much more comfortable in my mid and upper range ... (my highest head voice voice is D#7 and B6 holding)
I'm a soprano or a countertenor?
I can go in whistle up to F8-A8
Greetings :)
all prepubescent voices are lumped up into the voice type "treble"
As 17 years old I hit a female soprano song
0:43 𝙑𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙣......
𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩.......
𝙈𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙮𝙥𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙖 𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙧, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜.....
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙪𝙨𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚.......
𝙀𝙭𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚:"𝙑𝙄𝙏𝘼𝙎"
𝙎𝙤, 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙮𝙥𝙚 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙙 "𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙧"
You got their natural voices wrong lol. The first guy actually had a much higher speaking voice than the BTS guy.
Great video but get some glasses that fit lol
He said watch this and i got a bts add
Chris Kirkpatrick
I'm a countertenor and I can easily get up to atleast F5 with using falsetto
Also I am contemporary
I am a natural tenor altino the true Countertenor born with a androgynous timbre and don't need falsetto because my timbre embrace all my lower notes middle and high notes.
#VITAS
And I can sing a song of simash
Dimash