Voice type in baroque operas. Except for a few very rare voices (such as the American male soprano Michael Maniaci or singers with a disorder such as Kallmann syndrome), singers called countertenors generally sing in the falsetto register, sometimes using their modal voice for the lowest notes. Historically, there is much evidence that the countertenor, in England at least, also designated a very high tenor voice, the equivalent of the French "haute-contre". Until about 1830, all male voices used some falsetto-type voice production in their upper range. Countertenor voices span a broad range, covering E3 to E5. Countertenor subtypes: Countertenors are often
Voice change Voice change A voice change or voice mutation, sometimes referred to as a voice break, commonly refers to the deepening of the voice of people as they reach puberty. Before puberty, both sexes have roughly similar vocal pitch, but during puberty the male voice typically deepens an octave, while the female voice usually only deepens by a few notes. A similar effect is a voice crack during which a person's voice suddenly and unintentionally enters a higher register (usually falsetto) for a brief period of time. This may be caused by singing or talking at a pitch outside the person's