Falsetto Singing
Hawaiian music emphasizes the voice. Many Hawaiian songs feature falsetto, called leo ki'eki'e, a term coined in Hawaiian in 1973. Falsetto singing, most often used by men, extends the singer's range to notes above their ordinary vocal range. The voice makes a characteristic break during the transition from the ordinary vocal register to the falsetto range. In Western falsetto singing, the singer tries to make the transition between registers as smooth as possible. In Hawaiian-style falsetto, the singer emphasizes the break between registers. Sometimes the singer exaggerates the break through repetition, as a yodel. As with other aspects of Hawaiian music, it is probable that falsetto developed from a combination of sources, including pre-European Hawaiian chanting and early Christian hymn singing. Falsetto may have been a natural and comfortable vocal technique for early Hawaiians, since a similar break between registers called ha'iha'i, is used as an ornament in some traditional chanting styles.
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