Michael Jackson Michael Jackson's Voice - Falsetto Master and Counter Tenor Extraordinaire
In my opinion, Michael Jackson possessed one of the greatest voices of our time. Here I describe just one technical aspect of why his voice was so very exceptional--its expansive range and beauty in its upper register.
Almost everyone has vibrato, the natural wave sound in the voice. Both males and females have vibrato, although I once had a very unusual voice coach that had none and was a lousy singer as a consequence. Depending on the style of music, you can supress the vibrato and produce what is called a straight tone--no wave. But this more or less a continuum of sound. Popular music usually goes for the straight end of the spectrum, opera goes for the wavey end.
In contrast, a falsetto voice is a type of sound that is only produced by a male voice.* It is a high voice that occurs after an upper register break in a male voice. Male singers, whether tenor, baritone, or bass can produce this falsetto sound. That is why it is called falsetto (root word false)--it means a false voice--a false high. (If you ever listened to Jackie Jackson's lead on 2300 Jackson Street, for example, that is a falsetto sound). I think this has to do something with physical anatomy of the voice box which differs in males and females. Gifted instrument of nature that he was, Michael could produce true high notes without having to access this false voice. He had extraordinary range that naturally included high notes, and then he had access to falsetto on top of that. No enhanced technology needed. This type of male singing voice is usually called counter tenor. Among counter tenors, Michael was the best in my opinion. If you listen to classical music, especially from the baroque period, you will usually find that the solos written for counter tenors can also be sung by a female alto or mezzo-soprano. The range is identical. In present day classical music, females often sing these roles because true counter tenors are a relatively rare find.
If you search YouTube, there are a number of recordings of vocalization sessions that Michael had with his coach, Seth Riggs. Here is one for starters
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX2T67jx_lg.
Michael Jackson's voice was certainly a rare, one of a kind gift. We are blessed to have heard it.
*Since I originally wrote this, Planet Jackson has informed me that scientists have recently discovered and documented the existence of female falsetto.
**Falsetto examples in Michael Jackson's work - "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough," "Butterflies," "Smooth Criminal" (used selectively on "Butterflies" and "Smooth Criminal, but not for the entire song in either case).
***Other artists using falsetto - Philip Bailey (Earth, Wind, and Fire), "Reasons"
Prince, "I Want To Be Your Lover" (The entire song is done in falsetto
voice. Compare that to his natural vocal range on "Purple Rain".)
****The following quotation came from "What's Your Frequency", an Inner Michael Message by Reverend Barbara Kaufman (
www.innermichael.com):
"Michael's vocal tick occurring on the in breath before phrasing a lyric is indicative of deep emotion. His voice, a clear tenor, vocal timbre: Spinto, Countertenor, Baritone. Highest note: B5; Lowest note : E2 Vocal range: 3.6+ octaves-- E2-B5; 44 notes by the middle of 1980s according to Seth Riggs, vocal consultant. In the 1990s, Riggs said the range expanded to 4 octaves.
Four octaves gives Michael Jackson a range that few can match."
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http://www.michaeljackson.com/sg/bl...setto-master-and-counter-tenor-extraordinaire
