Q: How can I tell if a singer is using his or her head voice or chest voice?

A: In untrained singers, it’s easy to tell the difference. Chest is normal voice, and it is used in lower and midrange notes. When untrained singers try to sing higher in chest voice, it turns into a scream. Head is falsetto voice, and in an untrained singer it sounds like a little kid.

With classically trained singers, there is an obvious difference between chest and head voices. With operatic voices, the head voice is trained to become almost as powerful as the chest, but the two voices can sound so different from each other that it actually sounds like two different people when the switch is made.

With most professional pop and rock singers, the break is obvious. Think of when Chevel Sheppard (who won The Voice a few years ago) yodels in a song. The high notes in the yodel are falsetto, the lower notes are chest voice. There is an obvious break between the two. When trained singers sing high notes in chest, it is called “belting”. Many contemporary singers have good belting voices and avoid singing in falsetto at all because when their voices finally break into falsetto they sound horrible. Others (especially male singers) use their falsetto to their advantage, and it becomes their trademark voice (think Adam Levine).

With some well-trained contemporary singers it can be very difficult to hear the difference, because they learn techniques that eliminate the “break” between the two voices. The “Mix” method of vocal instruction is one of the methods that teach this. It actually sounds (and feels) like as the singer moves up in pitch, he or she moves to a mix of chest and head voices; like 75% chest 25% head, then as they move to a higher note it’s 50/50%, then 25/75%, then finally on the very high notes it is 100% head. As a result, there is no break, and the transition sounds completely natural. Some pop and rock singers found this on their own back in the day (think David Gates) and more and more are finding it now, with help from instructors knowledgeable in the technique.

Q: Why do we lose our accents when we sing?

A: Because singing vowels are universal. They are not the vowels we use in normal speech (in any language); they are modified to sound good when sustained for longer times and at higher pitches, which is what happens when singing.

Good singers all sing with an accent. Not the accent of their language or native community; with the accent of singers. If someone were to speak to you in the vowels that singers use when singing, they would sound very weird indeed. There are some differences between genre’s (e.g. opera vowels are more open than country western vowels) but all good singers sing with more open vowels than they speak with. And the more open vowels are, the less difference there is between accents. Some singers don’t open enough to lose their speaking accent entirely. Others hardly modify their vowels at all from speaking to singing, and it makes them sound very nasal and unpolished. But the vast majority of singers form vowels with the tongue lower and the back of the mouth more open than when speaking.

Q: How can I nurse my vocal cords back to health? I sang too high this past weekend (not professional singer) and strained them. Now my throat is very sore. I’ve already rested my voice one day.

A:  Keep resting your voice; professional voice doctors often prescribe 7-10 days of vocal rest.  During this time, don't talk much.  If you need to communicate do NOT whisper because whispering is harder on your vocal cords than speaking softly.  Get plenty of sleep.  Rest yourself mentally, as well.  Stay well hydrated by drinking plenty of water.  If you are in a dry climate, humidify your room at night.

There is a pill called Gelo Revoice, that really helps.  If Gelo Revoice is too expensive for you, Throat Coat (Traditional Medicinals) and Throat Comfort (Yogi) herbal teas are both excellent soothing remedies. The best “candy” to suck on is pure licorice made from real licorice root (e.g. Panda).

But none of this is a permanent solution.  These are addressing symptoms, not the real problem. If you strained your voice by singing high notes, the problem is your singing technique.  Take some lessons and learn to sing without strain. If you continue to sing the way you are, you can do permanent damage.

Q:  What is the most important instrument in a rock band: drums, lead guitar, rhythm guitar or bass?

A:  In one sense, all of the above. The band will sound like crap if ANY of those is not top notch. A band isn’t about one instrument. It is about the sound of the whole. One instrument being great does not make up for another instrument being mediocre.

In another sense, none of the above. The most important “instrument” is the vocalist. That is what the audience notices most, and it is the only instrument that tells them the story of the song. More eyes are on the vocalist than on all the other people put together. More ears are paying attention to the melody than to any other instrument. Most kids trying to start a band miss this point: if you don’t have an awesome singer, your band will suck, no matter how fast your guitar player can shred or how many fills your drummer can do or whatever.

Q: Who do you believe is or was the greatest male rock and roll vocalist?

A: It depends on how you define “great.” If you mean stage antics, or crowd appeal, or wild personality, or screaming vocals, you’ll get a different answer. But if you mean the highest musical quality vocal, it was definitely Steve Perry. By a significant margin. No one else was in his league. There were others that people with tin ears say were great but were actually awful singers whose vocal tone made people with musical ears cringe (e.g. Axel Rose, Kevin Cronan, etc.). There were also MANY others who sang excellently (e.g. Brad Delp, David Lee Roth), but no one matched Steve Perry’s stunning quality tone. He was from a different planet.