Chest Dominated Registration

One type of registration that places third in our lineup is the Chest Dominated Registration. A perfectly balanced registration is first. A falsetto dominated registration is second.

In Chest Dominated Registration, the closer muscle (arytenoid) that is responsible for producing the texture of sound called “chest” is very active.  The “chest” is the default controller of vocal muscular balance. The “falsetto” is still active too, doing its right job, but defers to the “chest,” allowing it to take the lead. The “chest” is used to doing many jobs and taking over the vocal balance, whereas “falsetto” only has one job (regulating pitch) and is used to taking a back seat.  It also seems like chest dominance is also a more common occurrence due to our modern era’s increasing insistence on more volume.

It is “chest” that is responsible for thicker cords that give us more volume. Thus, some qualities that emerge from a Chest Dominated Registration are those of being heavier, louder, thicker, with movement being more difficult due to increased size and weight. We have decreased flexibility or agility, and even a possible shortening of range as the “falsetto” cannot stretch super well under these conditions.  We feel like we are not as vocally free, and that we might get some loud sound but have to work hard to do so. As a result, vocal trouble can arise.

Best bet is to journey from this number 3 to a number 2 on the way to number 1 which is a perfectly balanced registration!