passaggio
Register shift point
Passaggio is a vocal music term for the transition points between registers of a singer's voice—where the chest voice shifts to head voice, or head voice to falsetto.
Navigating the passaggio smoothly, without audible breaks or strain, is a central challenge in classical vocal technique: She struggled with her upper passaggio during the aria.
Highest female voice range
- tenorEssential meaning or import
- baritoneMid-range male voice
- mezzo-sopranoMedium female singing voice
- bel cantoElegant Italian vocal style
coloratura · lyric · dramatic · soubrette · aria · legato · cantabile · portamento
Upper singing register
- chest voiceSinging from the ribcage
- vocal breakInvoluntary pitch change mid-speech
- mixed voiceVocal register between extremes
- bridgeStructure spanning an obstacle
soprano
Highest female voice range
- tenorEssential meaning or import
- baritoneMid-range male voice
- mezzo-sopranoMedium female singing voice
bel canto · coloratura · lyric · dramatic · soubrette · aria · legato · cantabile · portamento · tessitura
head voice
Upper singing register
- chest voiceSinging from the ribcage
- vocal breakInvoluntary pitch change mid-speech
- mixed voiceVocal register between extremes
bridge · lift · covering · turn · gear change · blending · smoothing
corridor
Enclosed connecting walkway
- hallwayInterior connecting passage
- walkwayPath for foot traffic
- arcadeArched passageway or gaming hall
alley · gallery · breezeway · tunnel · vestibule · loggia · portico · colonnade · cloister · thoroughfare
passaggiofermata
Sustained note symbol
held note · whole note · drone · tenuto
pass, passage, passenger, passageway, passages, passengerless