chest voice
1
5.5
- noun
- /tʃɛst vɔɪs/
- Specialized
:
voz de pecho
- The modal register (or chest voice) is used primarily in speech and is characterized by a heavy, reedy, or coarse timbre.
- head voice and chest voice
- use their chest voice
Examples
-
Her chest voice was so full and so open, making her singing sound rich and powerful.
-
Adolescent girls must be trained to use both head and chest voices.
Academic text (2003) -
(Most Indian singing extends the chest voice into the upper registers.)
Academic text (2006) -
For instance, music from Eastern European styles requires a high instead of a lowered larynx, and some African styles make extensive use of the chest voice instead of the head voice.
Academic text (2000) -
Freeman's powerful chest voice laid the base for the harmony in the choir.
-
Adolescent girls must learn to use their chest voice effectively during singing lessons.
Synonyms
The lower part of the voice you feel vibrating in your chest when you speak or sing
A low, rich voice sound that people feel in the chest
How Resonant
- Specialized
1
5.5
- Specialized
1
7.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'the lower ranges of the voice with resonance in the chest' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'chest' (the upper body region) with 'voice' (sound produced by speaking/singing); the phrase literally points to the part of the body associated with that vocal register. This compositional logic is common cross-linguistically (many languages contrast 'chest' and 'head' voice) and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.
Etymology
Chest voice comes from a simple feeling in the body: when singers make low, powerful notes they often feel vibrations in their chest, as if the voice were coming from there. So the name now means the 'lower range' of singing used for a strong, full sound.