The head register is a vocal mechanism used in singing. It is found in all voice types from the lowest male bass to the highest female soprano. It is not associated with any particular musical pitch, but rather with the position and use of the vocal cords and larynx. The human voice is commonly divided into two registers: the upper register called the head register and the lower register called the chest register.

When singing in the head register, laryngeal behaviour is quite different from that of the chest register. The vocal cords are thin and have a wide amplitude. There is no firm glottal closure. The crico-thyroid muscles become much more active, while the action of the vocalis muscle decreases. All of the these actions reduce the volume and number of partial harmonics.

The term head register reflects the perceptions of many singers who feel that when they sing in this register the sound vibrates in their heads rather than their chests. While scientists and physicians have disproved this idea, the term is still very common.

Singing | Voice registers | Opera terminology