Why Don't Women Ever Sing in a Falsetto?

Описание: Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees, a trio of brothers famous for their high-pitched singing on hits like "Stayin' Alive" and "Night Fever," died this week. Surviving Bee Gees brother Bary Gibb's famous Falsetto singing is part of a male musical tradition that includes Franki Valli and the Four Seasons, Curtis Mayfield, and Prince. Why don't women ever sing in a falsetto?
Because they don't have to. The term falsetto has multiple definitions, but it most commonly refers to a vocal technique that allows men to reach the high registers that women can hit naturally.

In anatomical terms, a falsetto voice results from the stretching of the vocal cords so thin that the mucous membranes remain mostly parted, instead of opening and closing fully as they do in one's natural singing voice. This results in a higher-pitched sound outside of full voice, but it comes with a loss of power and control.

According to this description, both men and women can use "falsetto" voices for speaking or singing. But thinner, more flexible vocal cords give women greater control over their voices as they rise into the highest registers, so it's hard to tell when they move into falsetto.

Some female vocalists can also reach a register above their natural range, but with a pure, piercing quality unlike that of the traditional falsetto. This technique, famously employed at times by Mariah Carey and Christina Aguilera, is more commonly described as a "whistle tone." What's happening in the larynx during "whistle tone" singing, however, is still a scientific mystery. There you have it: Mariah and Christina, miracles of physics!