To more specifically understand the word treble, we recall an Italian boy named Robertino Loretti. In the 50s of the last century, world fame fell upon him. Robertino was only eight years old. No one has ever heard such a voice. He sang a treble.
What is treble?
If we compare the singing range with ordinary speech, it becomes obvious that in the conversation we use a maximum of one octave, while in singing, especially professional, the range reaches up to three octaves.
In singing, a chest sound is distinguished, in which the chest register is involved, and falsetto, or treble, is the head register. With falsetto singing, only their edges oscillate in the vocal folds. The glottis is not completely closed, forming an ellipse. The pitch of the voice depends on the number of vibrations of the vocal folds. Each person has folds of different lengths, widths, resilience and tension. The strength of the voice is directly dependent on the amplitude of the vibrations of the folds and on their tension.
The treble is a high children's singing voice. Often it does not matter who sings the treble: a boy or a girl. Until the 18th century, young men or castrate singers sang in such a voice. Sometimes children's voices were replaced by tenors-falsetists. Today, instead of the word "treble" they use the familiar soprano.
Treble is what voice?
The human voice also has a timbre (coloring). Usually a timbre is characterized by such words as “pleasant”, “melodic”, “sonorous”, “gentle” or, conversely, “deaf”, “metal”, “creaky” and so on.
All voices are divided into male, female and children's. Many people know that women's voices are divided into soprano, mezzo-soprano and contralto. Men’s are divided into tenor, baritone and bass.
Children's voices, especially boyish voices, differ from adult voices. They are characterized by a high, silver sound. Boys have ligaments short and thin. There are approximately three groups of children with treble.
These are children from six to nine years old - the first group. Their voices sound in the head register, the range is small (maximum octave) and they are not much different from the voices of girls.
The second group is boys from nine to eleven years old. Their voices are transparent, sonorous, tender and melodious. A striking example of this is Robertino Loretti and the boy who played the main role in the movie "Chorists" by Jean-Baptiste Monnier.
The treble range is from “to” the first octave to the “salt” of the second. Gradually, in children, voice learning acquires a mixed (mixed) character. Boyish voices begin to sound with more power, rich in overtones. For many, the voice takes on a chest sound.
The third group is boys between the ages of eleven and thirteen. Their voices sound in mixed register and differ from girls. In addition, they begin to differ in sound power. As a rule, their voice is stronger and reaches its peak during this period. After a while, they will begin a mutation, that is, the transition from the childhood stage to the adult.
The popularity of treble sound
It is known that the choir of boys is especially popular in the spiritual environment. Pure, silvery voices of children fit perfectly into the singing of troparia, kondak, antiphons. This is also due to the fact that during the Inquisition, women were not allowed into the church choir. The tradition has remained, especially in Catholicism. It is interesting to watch solo performances by gifted children. It is sad that this period does not last long.
Music experts believe that the treble is a very gentle voice and must be protected from all loads. However, pedagogical practice shows that boys in this period can and even need to sing, since during the mutation period they develop not only the vocal apparatus, but also the adult voice is formed.
You can sing, but following a certain regime. They need to limit themselves in time and have more rest. It is strictly forbidden to sing only in the acute period of a mutation, reaching severe rattling, sore throat, and inflammation. During this period, it is important to put the voice in such conditions that it naturally develops, without haste. Usually, boys with the appearance of chest notes begin to artificially thicken the voice to the bottom and sing in that key. This is a serious mistake that can cost a lot to the voice owner.
Stress in the word "treble"
The Russian language is interesting in that many words can be pronounced with different stresses. For example, in the word “cottage cheese” it is allowed to stress both the first syllable and the last. The same story with the word "treble". Emphasis can be put on the letter “and” or on the letter “a”. From this, the meaning of the word will not change.