head voice

British

noun

the high register of the human voice, in which the vibrations of sung notes are felt in the head

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The idea of yodelling is to flip rapidly between your chest and head voice.

From The Guardian • Jan. 12, 2020

All she hears in those songs is a young woman who “did everything wrong,” belting her way up the scale instead of switching into her head voice past B flat.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 5, 2019

When Mendez passed from her chest voice to her head voice in “Mr. Snow,” you practically fell out of your seat.

From The New Yorker • Jun. 27, 2018

The top was secure up to B-flat in “Nur Mut!,” pretty more than heroic, and Bliss mixed in more head voice up there to make a velvety pianissimo in “Barkarole.”

From Washington Post • Nov. 16, 2016

It is very good for children to make light, airy, and smooth sounds in their head voice as they find their individual sound.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023