Ever wondered what the high notes that Mariah Carey uses to shock you half way through a song were called? Well, those octave warbling wails are part of the whistle register and as today’s Way Back Wednesday will demonstrate, Carey isn’t the only vocalist who knows how to sing that high!
The use of the whistle register long predates recorded music and was first made popular among US acts during the 1970s by Minnie Riperton. Since she ushered in a new era of singing, we’ve seen artists such as Betty Wright and Chante Moore base their careers on soaring above the reach of the competition.
Yet, using the whistle register isn’t about squealing random notes. Rather, it is a skill that very few artists have properly mastered.
Watch some of the best whistle register users in action below:
Adam Lopez – ‘Till the End of Time’
Betty Wright – ‘No Pain, No Gain’
Chante Moore – ‘It’s All Right’
Debelah Morgan – ‘Close to You’ (Starts at 1:25)
Mariah Carey – ‘Vision of Love’
Minnie Riperton – ‘Can You Feel What I’m Saying’
So, what exactly is the whistle register? Quite simply, it is not a part of the falsetto. Instead, it is part of an extension of the human head voice and those notes that are classed as part of the whistle register are generally regarded as those above Eb6 on the grand piano. Now that we’ve gotten all of that technical talk out of the way, let’s celebrate these singers.
What truly set Riperton, Carey and these other vocalists aside from their peers is their control. Having the ability to sing at that altitude while remaining on-key and utilising skills that other acts could barely use in their regular vocal registers is not easy yet all of the artists above do it with ease.
Several inexperienced singers attempt to mimic the whistle register with their falsetto and that is a dangerous activity because of the strain that it places on the vocal cords. For instance, did you know that Christina Aguilera rarely sings in the whistle register? She mainly uses her falsetto and that is probably why she avoids singing that high anymore – she can’t control the pitch of the notes.
Finally, it is important to note that singing in the whistle register does not damage the voice. Some people associate Carey use of the whistle register with the changes in her voice but Betty Wright is 58 years of age and her voice is still in solid shape. Really, each singer is different and there are other factors – nodules, illness, age and stress – that affect the vocal cords.
Besides, Carey’s whistle singing is even better now that it was when she was younger – the notes are stronger, she has better pitch control and her voice is more flexible. Her main issues are with her stamina and her belting, not her upper range.