Welcome to my web-page.  My name is Mike and I'm a high tenor.  I'm 17 years old, so my voice is still developing.  I hope that when my voice fully develops I will have more than the 3 octave voice range I have now; I'm hoping to go for 4 octaves.  This web-page was made in order to clarify what a countertenor is and what all of the types of countertenors are.  First there are some definitions that you must understand.  These definitions are the best definitions I could come up with by comparing multiple definitions.  Remember: each high-voiced male singer has different opinions on these definitions and the dictionary definitions aren't helpful. 

Countertenor:
The highest male voice.  Above that of a tenor.  Usually goes up to the f at the top of the treble clef, but can be a little higher or lower depending on the individual voice.
Falsetto:
A vocal technique where the vocal chords take an oval shape and are reduced to half their normal size.  It means "false soprano" but there is nothing false about it.  It is thought of as an artificial voice, but is created in a natural way, so I consider it a semi-artificial voice.
Falsettist:
A male singer who uses falsetto to sing outside his normal range.
Sopranist:
A male soprano.
Altist:
A male alto.
Castrati:
A male who was castrated before puberty.
High tenor
A tenor who's voice extends into the alto or soprano range.

There are many more kinds of countertenors than a person might think.  There are three general types though:  Type 1, Type 2, and Type 3.

A Type 1 Countertenor is a natural voiced countertenor.  There are two reasons why a man is type 1.  A male can be born without the hormone that causes the lowering in a males voice.  A man can also be castrated at a very early age to keep his high voice.  Males that were castrated before they reach puberty are known as Castrati.  They have to be castrated before puberty in order to become a countertenor because the hormone which lowers the males voice doesn't become active until then.  Natural voiced countertenor voices usually stop around Middle C, but can go lower depending on individual voice.

A Type 2 Countertenor is a falsettist.  He uses falsetto in order to sing in the alto or soprano range.  He also has his natural range which is either that of a tenor, baritone, or bass.

A Type 3 countertenor is any boy who has not yet reached puberty. All males are Type 3 countertenors until their voice starts to lower.  Most people refer to them as plain altos and sopranos instead of countertenors though.

Type 1 and Type 2 differ in the fact that one is natural and one is semi-artificial.  For this reason some people think that a Type 2 is a "fake" countertenor, but that's not true.  Studies have been done to see the difference between falsettist and natural voiced countertenors and no difference was found.  The vocal chords are conducted in exactly the same manner, so there is really no difference at all. Both Type 1 and Type 2 countertenors have extremely soft singing voices. It is nearly impossible for a Type 1 countertenor to sing any louder than mf, and it is impossible for a falsettist to sing louder than mf. At least that is the theory, since no falsettist has been able to do so yet.

There is also another type of countertenor (Sort of); a high tenor.  A high tenor is a tenor who's range extends into the alto or soprano range.  The difference between a high tenor and a countertenor is that a countertenor's central voice is that of either an alto or a soprano and the high tenor's central voice is that of either a tenor 1 or a tenor 2.  High tenors and Type 1 countertenors don't have to use falsetto in order to sing in the alto or soprano range, while Type 2 countertenors have to use falsetto in order to sing in that range.  In most cases a countertenor is easily distinguished from a high tenor, but sometimes it is extremely difficult to tell the difference.

To break down the divisions even farther, there are two vocal categories for countertenors:  Sopranists and Altists.

Sopranists are Type 1 Countertenors whose central voice is placed in the soprano range and Type 2 Countertenors who are usually natural voiced tenors and high-baritones.  They are also referred to as male sopranos.

Altists are Type 1 Countertenors whose central voice is placed in the alto range and Type 2 Countertenors who are usually natural voiced low-baritones and basses.  They are also referred to as male altos and contraltos.

The countertenor voice is rare and is even harder to find nowadays because society has frightened them away.  Back in the Renaissance Period countertenors were sought for highly.  Women weren't allowed to perform and countertenors were used to sing the higher parts.  Countertenors were well respected and appreciated.  Now, many countertenors are afraid of the outside world.  In today's society, people are rude to each other and make hurtful comments to one another.  Being a tenor in this society automatically makes you homosexual.  At least, that's the way it seems to me.  I've seen people call tenors "gay" or "queer" just because they sing high, and the higher the tenor, the more likely he will be harassed.  A tenor 2 is harassed sometimes, a tenor 1 is harassed more often, a high-tenor is harassed a lot, and a countertenor is harassed most of the time. I can't believe society! I've seen so much harassment based on prejudice. I've found articles on-line referring to countertenors as homosexuals and I've also seen males being called homosexual because of their voice. I feel sorry for those who harass others; because one day, they will get what they dish out 10 fold.

Society feeds people the idea that males with high voices are homosexuals by always showing homosexuals in movies as having high voices, but homosexuals have low voices too. You can't judge a person's sexuality based on prejudice. You have to get to know the person first. The way the person acts and the things the person says have no relation to their sexuality.

Being a countertenor is a rare and wonderful gift that should not be hidden away in fear, but shown to all.  If you are an instrumentalist and you have the ability to play almost every instrument in the world, don't you show off you talents and gift?  Why isn't it the same way vocally?  Countertenors have a rare gift that should be showed off, just as the instrumentalist shows off his gift.

Any male has a falsetto range if he is taught to use it, but Type 2 Countertenors differ in the way they conduct their falsetto range.  A normal male's falsetto range is usually only a couple pitches at the top of his vocal range, but a countertenor's falsetto range is huge!  It extends way beyond his natural range and also intertwines with the top of his natural range.

If you have any further questions about countertenors that I haven't answered you can try some of the links on my web-page. If they can't answer your questions then feel free to e-mail your questions to me. Also, feel free to listen to the mp3's on my countertenor-sounds and tenor-sounds page. I hope I've answered any of the questions you may have about countertenors.

Please remember that countertenors have a unique gift. If you don't like the way countertenor voices sound, that's fine; but please keep an open mind about countertenors. Let people judge for themselves whether or not the countertenor sound is something they can appreciate.