I do believe that the entire world of music lovers has been taken over by morons. Nobody understands anymore that singing in falsetto is not as impressive as actually having a tenor voice and being able to control the actual pitch of your voice that high. These days, anytime a rock vocalist uses falsetto for a solo melody on a recording, if he does it well the critics call it ingenious. Does nobody realize that singing in falsetto is not difficult? Does nobody understand that it would be a lot more impressive if that rock vocalist really sang that high? Have music lovers truly become so distanced from the mechanics of music that they will worship anything that’s done semi-skillfully as long as it sounds sligthly different from what most musicians do? Do people not recognize the root of the word falsetto?
I am by no means insulting anyone who sings in falsetto. I myself often must induce it to sing a high note in a Kansas, Queen, or AC/DC song. Those singers have a gift I never will.
In a not entirely un-related thought, did you know that it was once a common practice to castrate male vocalists before puberty so that their voices would not lower and they could continue to sing as beautifully as women for the rest of their lives? They called them “castrati.” If you don’t believe me, look up Alessandro Moreschi and go from there.
Indeed, even some of my favorite musical icons use falsetto in their original tunes as well. That’s just proof that you don’t have to have an amazing voice to have your creativity heard. But none of those icons are ever lauded as virtuosos on the basis of their use of falsetto. That’s because those who use it properly, in my book, only use it because they have to do so. It’s a tool. Ben Folds used to do it quite often. On songs like “Evaporated,” there comes a point in the melody where he simply cannot sing the next note, mandated by inspiration to be higher than his natual range, without faking it by tightening his larynx and squeaking out an odd-sounding but necessary forced pitch. It fits in moments like that.
An interesting note is that many good singers, who start out using falsetto because they can’t sing higher, work very hard at practicing enough to stretch their range. Eventually, these diligent artists can effectively widen their vocal range to tenor or near-tenor potential. The first example that comes to mind is Chris Cornell, formerly of the band Soundgarden. I work with a man whose band used to play shows with Soundgarden in Seattle before they were a popular hard rock band. My colleague tells me that in those early days, Soundgarden’s lead singer had a range no better than Bruce Springsteen’s (it works for Springsteen because he’s not in a hard rock outfit) and couldn’t even control that.
But he got better. Hell, that’s probably the greatest understatment I’ve ever made. Cornell’s voice in its current, polished state is phenomenal, but considering that it used to “suck balls,” as described by my-coworker, it’s legendary. You won’t catch Chris slipping into falsetto, and he’s arguably the best rock vocalist alive today. There should be congressional medals for that type of thing.
*[ed. note - A very intelligent individual has brought to my attention that this essay comes across as if the author has a negative opinion toward the stylistic use of falsetto. This is an accidental misrepresentation, and I apologize for any ill feelings gathered from the work. The truth is, there indeed are instances when "the distinctive sound of a falsetto is appropriate," even for vocalists with an impressive enough range to hit those nigh notes naturally. The focus of the original rambling was simply to vent about the ignorance of many listeners of today's popular modern music. In short, they don't know what they're missin'. Go out and get some Iron Maiden records.]