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falsetto

falsetto

14 8.0
A very high singing voice men use to reach notes above their normal range
  • noun
  • /fɔlˈsɛtoʊ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : falsete
  • In the song, her falsetto added an emotional depth that captivated everyone listening.
  • falsetto register
  • falsetto voice

He starts singing like, like falsetto, Paul McCartney falsetto.

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Examples

  • Throughout the year, time is spent singing in bass range, tenor range, and falsetto range.

    Academic text (2008)
  • Moore's vocal approach on this cut ranges from a giddy falsetto to his signature spoken word narration.

    Blog text (21)
  • "What are we going to do?" he said, his last word rising to a falsetto.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • "Pretty good," he answered in that annoying falsetto voice of his.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • The best way to assess a boy's voice is to identify the entire vocal range, excluding falsetto.

    Academic text (2008)
  • His voice shifted again, and he began talking in a piping falsetto.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Then he asked, in a strange falsetto, "Ain't you the Widow Pommeroy?"

    Fiction book (2000)
  • The tramp shook his head to shake the bottomless falsetto out of his voice.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • Crooning, rasping, moaning, shouting, or rocketing into falsetto, he mingled James Brown's gusto and Al Green's finesse.

    Blog text (6)
  • During the concert, he impressed the audience with his falsetto during several high notes.

How High

whistle
56 1.0
falsetto
  • Specialized
14 8.0
head voice
  • Specialized
1 7.1
chest voice
  • Specialized
1 5.5

Surface Forms

falsetto singular
falsettos plural

Etymology

Falsetto comes from the Italian word falso 'false' plus the small ending -etto, so it once meant a 'little false' voice. That's why falsetto names the high, not-natural singing voice that sits above a singer's normal range.