Passaggio (Italian pronunciation: [pasˈsaddʒo]) is a term used in classical singing to describe the transition area between the vocal registers.
"[1] Discrepancies in terminology exist between different fields of vocal study, such as teachers and singers, researchers, and clinicians: for example, voice scientists may primarily see registration as "acoustic events".
[2] For singers, it is more common to explain registration events based on the physical sensations they feel when singing.
There are also discrepancies in the terminology used to talk about vocal registration between speech pathologists and singing teachers.
[4] These three main registers are described as having a rich timbre, because of the overtones due to the sympathetic resonance within the human body.
Their names are derived from the area in which the singer feels these resonant vibration in the body.
Men have one more additional register called the strohbass, which lies below the chest voice.
A skillful transition of this muscular activity is one of the marks of the trained singer.
"[17] David does a wonderful job describing the science behind passaggio; however, the term "break", while used frequently during commercial styles of singing, such as pop, rock, country, etc., is usually avoided in classical training.
Voice Specialist Ingo Titze explains, "Register changes may occur voluntarily or involuntarily.
"[20] For all singers, mainly classical, negotiating the passaggi can be difficult and can take years to learn how to accomplish well.
Classical voice training aims to provide the singer with the tools necessary to move through the passaggi so that the transition between registers sounds seamless and will be unrecognizable to the audience.
In Richard Miller's The Structure of Singing: System and Art in Vocal Technique, Miller identifies the male vocal passaggi as follows:[21] The primo passaggio is the first register transition.
"[23] While the number of passaggi in men appears up for debate, most everyone seems to agree on the existence of at least one passaggio.