 In comparison to female voices the male voice usually has an extended range towards the low notes, but the lowest parts of the range are usually not used.In actual practice, it is generally acknowledged that a majority of countertenors sing with a falsetto vocal production for at least the upper half of this range, although most use some form of "chest voice" (akin to the range of their speaking voice) for the lower notes.The most difficult challenge for such a singer is managing the lower middle range, for there are normally a few notes (around B3) that can be sung with either vocal mechanism, and the transition between registers must somehow be blended or smoothly managed.