Whistle register

From Free net encyclopedia

The whistle register (also commonly called the flageolet register) is the highest register of the human voice. It is typically used to produce pitches above E6. The ability to produce pitches in this register is believed to be rare.

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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.

Though the whistle register is most commonly used to produce pitches above E6, it can be used to produce lower pitches. 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 upon scheme for classifying vocal registers, so it is common to see other definitions. See the article on vocal registration for a discussion.

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Uses of the whistle register

In the 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 the "Queen of the Night" aria from the opera Die Zauberflöte; it calls for several pitches above C6, 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 - its best known exponent almost certainly being Mariah Carey - there are few male singers who use it. Among male singers, the one who holds the Guinness Book of Records record 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 properly pitched whistle register tone can shatter glass when amplified. Unamplified notes may also shatter glass, as shown most recently on MythBusters, though these are 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 unknown whether the physiological mechanism is in fact the same.

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