Opera and classical singers try to minimize changes in timbre in different ranges. Trained singers should know how to minimize timbre changes even if they choose not to for stylistic reasons. McCoy labels these two registers as Mode 1 and Mode 2. Mode one is the lower register that consists of chest voice and belty sounds. The main difference between Mode 1 and 2 is that in Mode 1, the vocal folds are short and fat creating a square shaped glottis from a frontal cross section of the larynx. Mode 1 vocal folds are thicker and have a larger area of vibration. In Mode 2, the vocal folds are stretched thin and long. Female classical singers will only take Mode 1 up to somewhere between a C4 and an F4. Female musical theater singers can take their belt up to C5 or higher.
Something that I found very interesting was that Mode 1 for women is almost always louder than Mode 2 and has a clear brassier timber than Mode 2. I always wondered about this because I started out with a very full clear lower range and a weak and breathy higher range. I always wondered about male voices because I felt like all the guys I knew that weren't singers still had a really clear, full sound and didn't struggle with breathiness and focus like I did. McCoy says that for the majority of their range, males sing in Mode 1. Mode 2 is mainly the falsetto range.
This will be super helpful to me as a teacher because now I know what tendencies each gender's voice has. Before, guys voices were so foreign to me. I had no idea their range, how they produced their sound, or transitioned between Mode 1 and Mode 2. Now I kind of see the pieces falling into place, though I still need to do a lot more research before I would feel qualified to teach a guy. And I definitely appreciate knowing that it's natural for girls to have a stronger mode 1.
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