The Passaggio?? Say What?

Do you ever wonder why your voice cracks in a certain spot when you are warming up your voice?  Do you sometimes feel like you have two different sounding voices?  The passaggio is an Italian word meaning “passage” or “crossing.”  The passaggio is commonly known as the “break” in the voice.  The vocal registers begin blending around your passaggio.

Think of the passaggio as a transition between your chest and head voice.  Both males and females have a passaggio, but it is located in a different area for each.  The chest voice is the strongest area of the voice and it generally lies beneath the passaggio. The chest voice essentially encompasses your speaking voice and is the lowest and usually your most comfortable range.  The head voice lies just above the passaggio and can have a powerful and resonant sound with the proper training.

A major goal with vocal training is to create an even timbre through the passaggio, thus creating the sound of one voice from the bottom of your range to the top.