What Determines What Your Voice Sounds Like? (2024)

As a marker of singularity, our voices are as effective as our fingerprints. Though people may share a similar pitch or certain vocal characteristics, under close examination, no two voices are alike. Height, weight, hormones, provenance, allergies, structural anomalies, emotions, and environmental factors all play a role in determining how your voice ultimately emerges, which means not only is your voice yours alone, but that you’ll have a few variations on that voice throughout your life.

The first and most obvious vocal determinate is your sex. Anatomically, males have larger vocal folds (aka vocal cords) than females, so, even before hormones surge during adolescence, boys typically have deeper voices than girls. These folds are stretched horizontally across the larynx (the voice box) and, when air is brought up from the lungs to speak, they vibrate. The length, size, and tension of the folds determine what’s known as the fundamental frequency of the resulting sound, which averages about 125 Hz in men, 210 Hz in women, and 300-plus Hz in children. The higher the Hz, or frequency of the sound wave, the higher the pitch. High frequency sounds reach our ears faster, partially explaining why kids’ voices can be so grating.

When we hit puberty, hormones invariably cause the voice to change. During this time the vocal folds lengthen and thicken, causing them to resonate at a lower frequency, which produces a deeper pitch (think of the strings on a guitar). In males, the production of testosterone ramps up, and the larynx increases in size. Men that produce higher levels of testosterone during puberty will usually develop lower voices as they grow into adulthood. Girl’s vocal folds will also grow a bit (about 3 mm compared to 10 mm in boys), but, since they’re not churning out testosterone, their voices remain comparatively high.

Genetics also play a role in how our voices mature. Although how a child’s voice develops owes something to mimicry of their parents, people from the same family will often sound alike because laryngeal anatomy is dictated by your ancestral DNA just like every other physical trait. It’s the slight variations around this anatomy that make our voices distinct.

CHANGING YOUR TUNE

The voice you enter adulthood with is, by and large, the voice you’re stuck with for most of your life. That said, there are several factors that can influence vocal changes, many of which are fleeting, some of which are not. A temporary voice change happens when you catch a cold. Here, the cold virus makes the vocal cords swell, causing them to rub together, which lends a rasp to our speech (the irritation is further aggravated by an urge to clear your throat, which makes the swelling worse).

Our emotional state also affects how we speak. When we’re excited, nervous, or frightened, the muscles buttressing the larynx contract involuntarily, and tension in the vocal cords will increase to produce that high, unsteady pitch we associate with alarm. Though the voice will return to normal once the stimulus passes, people who are generally high-strung will often adopt some variation of this alarmed voice as their natural cadence.

One of the most frequently applied vocal designations is describing someone as “nasally.” A voice that seems birthed as much in your nose as in your throat can be caused by a number of things, which are separated into two categories. Hyponasal speech, the more common of the two, occurs when there’s a lack of airflow through the nose while speaking. Nasal congestion is the primary culprit, as anyone with allergies or chronic sinusitis can attest to, but hyponasality can also stem from a deviated septum or certain adenoidal maladies. Hypernasal speech, on the other hand, results from an influx of air through the nose while speaking, and is especially noticeable when saying words that begin with a consonant. Hypernasality can be caused by a cleft palate or other velopharyngeal insufficiencies, and speech can be majorly impaired in these cases.

Some of the common environmental and lifestyle factors that contribute to what your voice sounds like include pollution, an overly dry climate, smoking, drinking alcohol, or shouting/screaming too much. The vocal cords and larynx are like any other muscle in that they can be overused and strained, so, like most things, moderation is key when it comes to taking care of your voice.

The inevitability of aging will lead to a final, permanent voice change for most of us. After a lifetime of speaking, the vocal cords and surrounding tissue lose strength and elasticity, and our mucous membranes become thinner and drier. Known medically as presbyphonia, elderly voice change manifests itself through reduced volume and endurance, noticeable shakiness, and difficulty being heard. Ironically, at this age men’s voices will increase in pitch, while women’s will lower, in a kind of reverse adolescence.

What Determines What Your Voice Sounds Like? (2024)

FAQs

What Determines What Your Voice Sounds Like? ›

The air blowing through the folds makes them vibrate. The vibrations make sound waves that travel through your throat, nose, and mouth. The size and shape of these structures create the pitch, loudness, and tone of your voice. That's why each person's voice sounds so different.

Is the sound of your voice genetic? ›

It may not surprise you that genetic factors influence vocal quality. After all, voice qualities are largely determined by the size and shape of your larynx, neck, throat and facial structures all determined by genetics. But the influence of environment is too strong to be ignored.

What determines the tone of voice? ›

As with the strings of a guitar or piano, when vocal folds are longer and thicker, they tend to vibrate more slowly and so produce a lower-pitched voice, whereas shorter and thinner vocal folds vibrate more quickly and thus produce a higher-pitched voice.

How do you hear what my voice actually sounds like? ›

A Trick to Hear Your Voice in The Way Others Might Perceive It. An easy way to find out how your voice actually sounds is by placing your hands in front of your ears as if to separate your mouth from your ears and try to speak.

What determines the pitch of your voice? ›

Vocal Fold Vibration & Pitch

The faster the vocal folds vibrate, the higher the pitch. Extremely slow vocal fold vibration is about 60 vibrations per second and produces a low pitch. Extremely fast vocal fold vibration approaches 2000 vibrations per second and produces a very high pitch.

Is recorded voice your real voice? ›

Yes it records the voice that is coming out of your mouth. Microphones record your voice in the way that other people hear your voice. We hear our own voices slightly different than other people because of a few reasons. When we speak, we are hearing the sound of our voices vibrating within our skulls.

Do children inherit voice from parents? ›

Most of the voice is a matter of training. So while the gross physical structures are inherited, you teach yourself how to speak.

What is a disrespectful tone of voice? ›

A disrespectful tone of voice is one that makes the speaker feel superior to another. It is a trait that displays an insolent attitude and haughtiness. You will recognize it immediately, especially if it is directed towards you. Ask a disrespectful person a question and they will reply with sarcasm or rudeness.

Why are some voices deeper? ›

Larger vocal folds (a.k.a. vocal cords) vibrate at a lower rate, producing a lower pitch. Meanwhile, a longer vocal tract—which extends from the lips to the larynx—generates a deeper resonance in the voice.

Why do singers put their hand on their ears when they sing? ›

I think they do so because after putting their hand on their ear, they not only protect themselves from the noises but also hear their own voice more clearly. This helps them to sing better.

Is the voice I hear in my head my real voice? ›

When you speak and hear your own voice inside your head, your head bones and tissues tend to enhance the lower-frequency vibrations. This means that your voice usually sounds fuller and deeper to you than it really is.

What pitch of voice is most attractive? ›

It was confirmed that both genders with a low voice have more developed leadership abilities. There is also abundant evidence that women prefer men with a deep voice, while men prefer women with a high voice. Attractive male voices are around 96 Hz and the most attractive women voices are up to 280 Hz.

What creates a deep voice? ›

As your larynx grows, your vocal cords grow longer and thicker. Also, your facial bones begin to grow. Cavities in the sinuses, the nose, and the back of the throat grow bigger, creating more space in the face that gives your voice more room to echo. All of these factors cause your voice to get deeper.

Do shorter people have higher voices? ›

Shorter speakers have shorter vocal tracts that amplify high-frequency components in their voice, while taller speakers have longer vocal tracts that amplify low-frequency components of the voice22,23.

Is a good voice inherited? ›

The data showed that genes play a big role. About 40 per cent of singing ability is heritable – shared between the twins with identical DNA. But there is also a correlation in singing ability in twins who do not have identical DNA, and it is almost as strong.

Where does the sound of my voice come from? ›

The sound of your voice is produced by vibration of the vocal folds, which are two bands of smooth muscle tissue that are positioned opposite each other in the larynx. The larynx is located between the base of the tongue and the top of the trachea, which is the passageway to the lungs (see figure).

What determines how loud your voice is? ›

"Everybody is born with a different size larynx and vocal cords within that. Also, some may have smaller lungs and can't generate enough airflow to have a louder voice." Pathologically speaking, the volume of a person's voice can be due to changes in the tissue or vibration rate of the vocal cords.

Does your voice actually sound different to others? ›

Internally, your voice will have a lower tone. But on a recording, where air alone carries sound, your voice may assume a higher frequency — an accurate one, as far as others are concerned. “If you listen to a recording of your voice, yes, that's actually what the rest of the world is hearing,” says Matthew R.

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