Whistle register

The whistle register (also commonly called the flageloet register) is the highest register of the human voice. It is typically used to produce pitches above E6. The ability to produce pitches in this register is believed to be rare.

Uses of the whistle register

In the European classical music, the whistle register is only rarely called for. When it is, it is exclusively used by coloratura sopranos to produce pitches above C6. Probably the most well-known example of the whistle register in European classical music is the aria "Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen" from the opera Die Zauberflöte; it calls for several pitches above C6, up to F6.

Related Topics:
European classical music - Coloratura - Sopranos - Aria - Opera - Die Zauberflöte

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In the popular music of the West, the whistle register is used more often than in its classical music. It is used with more variety and to produce much higher pitches than are called for in classical music. It is most often used by females - its best known exponent almost certainly being Mariah Carey - though there are a few male singers who use it. See the category "Whistle register singers" (linked below) for a more comprehensive list and individual singers' articles for more detail.

Related Topics:
Popular music - Mariah Carey

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There are also non-musical uses of the whistle register. Famously, a properly pitched whistle register tone can shatter glass when amplified. Unamplified notes may also shatter glass, as shown most recently on MythBusters, though these are not in the whistle register. It is also common for children of all sexes and for young women to shriek loudly in a way that sounds much like the whistle register, though it is unknown whether the physiological mechanism is in fact the same.

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