Head voice is the coordination that lets contemporary singers reach high notes without shouting, and without flipping into the thin, airy sound most people call falsetto. Where exactly head voice ends and falsetto begins is one of the places teaching methods disagree, and the guide lays out the camps. For this lesson, the working definition is simple: high, light, and still connected to the rest of your voice.
The reason this lesson comes after chest voice is that many singers try to get to high notes by dragging chest voice upward until it breaks. This lesson practises the opposite. You start high and come down.
What to notice
The main exercise is "vwohm." Two short downward slides, from the sixth of the scale to the fourth, and from the fourth to the tonic, with a rest between them. The "vw" start is gentle by design, a small semi-occlusion, a cousin of the hum and the trill, so the note starts without a push. Each key steps up a half step, so over the run of the exercise head voice is led upward gradually rather than grabbed at.
Listen for the start of each slide. If it begins with a click or a little burst, you are pressing the onset. If it begins airy and the tone only arrives partway through, you have started breathy. The good version starts clear and quiet at the same time.
The second exercise is the "ng" siren, a continuous slide up and down on the sound at the end of "sing." It is scored on the start, top, and end notes, so treat the score loosely; sirens are about smoothness. If the siren has a bump or a flip in it somewhere, that spot is your passaggio, and the next lesson is about it.
What done means
Sing "vwohm" through, log it, and get through at least one siren without a flip. Compare the top keys of "vwohm" against the "nay" exercise from lesson five. Many people find the same notes easier when they approach them from above.
Add "vwohm" to your routine if high notes are your goal. The siren is a good warm-up addition after the trill, since it covers the same ground with the mouth open.
The exercises
Head Voice Vwohm
About this exercise
Develops easy head-voice access by sliding down through two descending intervals: 6 to 4, then 4 to 1. The voiced 'vw' onset semi-occludes the airflow for a gentle, low-effort start, and the open 'ohm' release lets the slide settle into resonance. Landing each slide from above keeps the larynx released, while the keys climb a half step per iteration so head voice is led step by step up into the challenging range. The quarter rest between slides resets the breath so each slide is a distinct, unhurried gesture.
Promotes forward resonant placement and smooths register transitions across the passaggio with a continuous glissando. 'ng' closes the mouth with the back of the tongue and sends the sound through the nose, a mild semi-occlusion that keeps the folds vibrating with little effort while you slide through the passaggio. Many singers feel a bright, forward ring.