The Passaggi

GuyChan

Hey guys ! Hope you're doing well 🙂 At the begining of the Course in the definition of terms of volume one, Ken says that "there are at least two Passaggi, and in some cases three". Can you explain what he means ?

Thanks in advance

Wigs

The main registers you have are your speaking register, this is what you use to have a conversation with someone. The next is the call register, you use this to shout at someone or call out across a crowded room to make yourself heard (dont shout when singing:). The last is the head register, you might use this voice to talk sweetly to your loved one or puppy dog, or sing a lullaby to a baby.

So this means your primo passagio is between your speak and call register, and your secundo passagio is between your call and head register. As for the third im not sure, I can only imagine it either involves reaching the whistle register, or there could be a different connection if you go from your speak straight to head.

@highmtn ?

highmtn

If you pay strict attention to the voice as you go from your lowest notes to your highest notes, you may notice a place where you feel an adjustment before the PRIMO passagio. Likewise, you may feel a shift above the secondo passaggio. Not everyone feels either one of these. Some people don't even notice the primo passaggio, but do notice the secondo, because of the obvious shift from chest to head voice.

On the other hand, the better you get at smoothing out the passaggi, it can get to the point that you don't feel anything at all, and it just feels like one long note or one long register.

Above the secondo, you may feel a shift that takes you into whistle register, but this one is very hard, if not impossible, to actually connect without a speed bump. KTVA does not teach whistle register, as it can be hard on your voice and is mostly unusable for much more than a parlor trick.

GuyChan

@Wigs @highmtn

Thank you for your replies ! I would like to ask something else regarding my registration. I think I'm a leggero tenor. Do you know some things about my voice type ? It was hard to tell for me, and I totally betrayed myself trying to do the dude workouts, that cost me my voice a bit. I will post some scales as soon as my voice recovers from a support issue.

highmtn

Hello, @Guy!

We all have slightly unique registrations. So we need to make sure that any stretching we do is not a strain. Stretching is good, straining is not. So we may want to do Dudes, Divas, or a combination of upper Dudes and lower Divas, according to what is most comfortable, yet a bit of a healthy stretch for our own range.

Leggerio tenor is considered to be a "light" tenor voice with passaggi around D#4 and G#4.

We are not sentenced to stay within a specific vocal fach, but should gently stretch those boundaries over a period of time. Being gentle with our vocal exercises is an important variable in growing vocal agility and range, and should be applied patiently over time.