Chest and head voice range mapping
Vocal Register Test
Capture comfortable chest and head voice boundaries, then compare the two ranges.
Test setup
Deliberately sing each boundary in the named register.
Live pitch
Chest voice
Head voice
Recent results
Stored only in this browser tab.
Completed register tests will appear here.
Register relationship
Register map
Chest, head, and shared note areas.
Vocal Register Test: Map Chest and Head Voice Ranges
This vocal register test maps the notes you deliberately produce in chest voice and head voice. It measures each register separately, calculates the combined span, and shows whether the two ranges overlap, touch at one note, or have a gap.
The tool does not identify vocal register automatically. Chest voice and head voice describe recognizable types of vocal production, but terminology and boundaries vary across singing methods and scientific frameworks.
How to Use the Vocal Register Test
- Choose Guided microphone capture or Manual note selection.
- Identify your lowest comfortable chest-voice note.
- Identify your highest comfortable chest-voice note.
- Repeat the process for your lowest and highest head-voice notes.
- Select Analyze register map.
- Review the chest, head, combined, overlap, gap, frequency, and keyboard results.
You must deliberately sing each note in the named register. The pitch detector can identify a note and frequency, but it cannot determine whether you produced that pitch in chest voice, head voice, falsetto, or another coordination.
Use comfortable, repeatable notes. Stop when singing feels painful, tight, or strained.
Microphone Capture vs Manual Selection
| Method | How it works | Best used when |
|---|---|---|
| Guided microphone capture | Detects a stable pitch and lets you capture each of four boundaries | You do not know the note names |
| Manual note selection | Lets you select all four notes from C2 through C6 | You already know your register ranges |
Manual mode begins with chest voice set to C3–E4 and head voice set to C4–E5. Each selector includes a button that plays a short synthesized reference tone.
Both methods use A4 = 440 Hz and the same calculations.
How Stable Note Capture Works
The microphone workflow analyzes 2,048 time-domain audio samples at a time. The Web Audio API provides these waveform samples through an AnalyserNode as floating-point PCM data.
A pitch becomes capturable only when the plugin has:
- A signal RMS of at least 0.01
- An autocorrelation match of at least 0.55
- At least 10 recent pitch estimates
- Less than 0.18 semitones of recent variation
- Detection confidence of at least 72%
The detector searches approximately 65–1,000 Hz. Noise, vibrato, breathiness, harmonics, and microphone processing may still affect the result.
What the Test Measures
The plugin measures four user-defined boundaries:
- Chest voice low
- Chest voice high
- Head voice low
- Head voice high
From these notes, it calculates:
| Result | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Chest range | Distance from chest low to chest high |
| Head range | Distance from head low to head high |
| Combined range | Lowest boundary through highest boundary |
| Overlap | Notes included in both captured ranges |
| Gap | Distance between ranges when they do not intersect |
| Boundary frequencies | Equal-tempered frequency for each captured note |
It does not detect passaggio, mixed voice, vocal weight, timbre, register quality, or vocal health.
How the Register Ranges Are Calculated
Each note is represented by a MIDI-style note number.
For chest voice:
chest span = chest high − chest low
For head voice:
head span = head high − head low
The combined low note is the lower of the two low boundaries. The combined high note is the higher of the two high boundaries.
Decimal octaves are calculated by dividing each semitone span by 12:
octaves = semitones ÷ 12
Boundary frequencies use equal temperament:
frequency = 440 × 2^((note number − 69) ÷ 12)
All four frequencies are displayed to two decimal places.
How Overlap and Gap Are Calculated
The overlap begins at the higher of the two low boundaries and ends at the lower of the two high boundaries.
When those boundaries intersect, the plugin reports:
- The shared note range
- Number of overlapping notes
- Overlap span in semitones
- Overlap span in decimal octaves
The note count is inclusive. For example, a shared range containing C4, C♯4, and D4 has three notes but spans two semitones.
When the ranges share exactly one boundary note, the result says Ranges touch. The overlap-note count is one, while the overlap span is zero semitones.
When there is no intersection, the plugin displays the distance between the nearest boundaries as a semitone gap.
Why Overlap Does Not Prove Mixed Voice
Register overlap means only that you reported both chest and head production at some of the same pitches. It does not prove that those notes were blended into a mixed-voice coordination.
Professional discussions distinguish register mechanisms, qualities, sensations, and pedagogical labels in different ways. Chest and head are useful practical terms, but pitch location alone is insufficient to diagnose how the vocal folds and vocal tract produced a note.
The test therefore maps your selected ranges without inventing a mix range or passaggio estimate.
Reading the Register Map
Amber keyboard notes represent chest-only pitches. Blue notes represent head-only pitches. Green notes appear in both ranges, and violet outlines mark the four captured boundaries.
The relationship heading shows one of three results:
- An overlap range
- A single touching note
- A gap measured in semitones
The keyboard covers C2–C6 and is a visualization only. It is not an interactive note selector.
Tips for a More Consistent Test
Warm up gently and maintain the intended register throughout each note. Use a steady vowel, limit wide vibrato, and keep your microphone distance consistent.
Do not capture a pitch merely because you can reach it once. A practical register boundary should be repeatable without excessive pressure.
Because register labels depend partly on vocal behavior and teaching terminology, compare repeated tests under similar conditions rather than treating one result as permanent.
Privacy, History, and Controls
Microphone audio is processed locally in the browser and is not recorded or uploaded.
Copy result includes the chest range, head range, combined range, semitone and octave spans, and overlap or gap.
Reset test clears the current boundaries and outputs. Clear history removes stored results without changing the active result.
The plugin keeps up to eight completed tests in current-tab sessionStorage, including both ranges, their relationship, input method, and time.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a vocal register?
A vocal register is a group of notes produced with broadly similar vocal behavior or perceived quality. Register terminology varies, so chest and head voice should be treated as practical labels rather than fixed pitch zones.
Can the tool identify chest voice automatically?
No. You deliberately produce chest voice and capture its boundaries; the plugin detects pitch only.
Is head voice the same as falsetto?
Not always. Some systems relate the terms closely, while others distinguish them by sound, vocal-fold behavior, or teaching purpose.
Why are four notes required?
Four notes define the low and high boundaries of both registers. Two notes alone cannot show each register’s separate span or their true overlap.
What does register overlap mean?
It means both captured ranges include some of the same notes. It does not prove mixed voice or identify a passaggio.
What does “Ranges touch” mean?
It means the chest and head ranges share exactly one boundary note. The overlap contains one note but spans zero semitones.
Why is there a gap between my registers?
A gap means your captured ranges do not intersect. It may reflect your chosen boundaries, current coordination, testing consistency, or how you define each register.
Does the tool detect my passaggio?
No. Passaggio locations are not calculated or inferred from these four pitches.
Can I use the test without a microphone?
Yes. Manual mode lets you select all four boundaries from C2 through C6 and play reference tones.
Does the tool record my voice?
No. Microphone audio is analyzed locally and is not recorded, stored, or uploaded.