Comments on: is it possible to change the sound of your voice?

Question: is it possible to change the sound of your voice?

krautland — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 15:44:00 -0800

is it possible to change the sound of your voice?

I'm curious if there is a way to influence the sound of your voice -- to go from a keith olbermann voice to an ed rendell or clint eastwood voice. this is not about pronunciation or intonation to me but about the sound their vocal chords produce before they put any twang onto it. is this a question of drinking too much whiskey, sheer good or bad luck or is this something one could influence?

this is a theoretical question. I sound awesome.

By: phunniemee

phunniemee — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:01:03 -0800

You can get surgery to move stuff around and put pressure on/take pressure off of the vocal cords. Or blast them with lasers.

By: tomcooke

tomcooke — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:03:07 -0800

Previous related question.

By: Elysum

Elysum — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:12:31 -0800

Must be.

Listen to people from different areas, countries - accents in other words. There seems to be a big difference not just in 'twang' but in pitch and tone that I figure must be trained, rather than inborn.

Like, in some accents, women seem to pitch their voice a lot higher or lower than in other accents.

But y'know, it seems like it'd inevitably be a combination of nature + nurture, and some people have a bigger natural range to work with.

By: artof.mulata

artof.mulata — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:17:04 -0800

that related post really does cover it doesn't it?

but learning to breath from the diaphragm really did it for me. practice making long vowel sounds and bouncing them off your belly when you do. sustaining a long 'ah' or an 'oh' is perfect. your belly should vibrate when you do and that's how you know that you've hit your diaphragm.

put your hand on your belly and breathing in make your belly rise and fall through your breath. that's the indicator that your on the right track. you'll probably find the sound is pretty quiet when you first try, but it should be easier to achieve some volume with regular practice.

early in the morning always seems the right time as your generally more relaxed at that hour anyway. and booze doesn't hurt, either.

By: Class Goat

Class Goat — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:21:56 -0800

Of course it is possible.

David Niven's voice in his last movie had to be dubbed by Rich Little. Supposedly part of the contract was that Little never admit to doing it, but by this point it's pretty much an open secret.

By: flabdablet

flabdablet — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:34:00 -0800

A data point: there are more Simpsons characters than the show has voice actors.

By: answergrape

answergrape — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:25:56 -0800

Margaret Thatcher did it with very expensive voice coaches. Listen to her; at some times she's very shrill and high. Most of the time, during her speeches she deliberately pitched her voice low.

I think I remember an interview with Kathleen Turner, who said she did it by smoking and putting pencil erasers on her back teeth to force her projection back her throat.

By: Z303

Z303 — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 04:24:51 -0800

Because voice is such a gender cue its something male to female transsexual do have to deal with, wikipedia has a nice overview and candiFLA on youtube has some more practical examples

By: LilBucner

LilBucner — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 07:05:30 -0800

I love that you referenced "Ed Rendell voice" - I take it you are a Philly guy?

By: arishaun

arishaun — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 23:55:54 -0800

Of course it's possible! To continue with the cartoon example, listen to early episodes of Beavis and Butthead. Mike Judge did the voices for 80% of the characters before they got some serious money from MTV. It's still hysterical to me to hear a female character have the Judge undertone in her high pitched voice.

More personally, my husband is from Virginia and we're in LA. When he speaks to people out here, his voice takes on a lower, more muted register. When he speaks to people back in Virginia, the volume tends to go up and there's a slightly nasal quality typical of the regions accent. Same things happens with his parents.

By: The Whelk

The Whelk — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 05:54:43 -0800

Possibly apocryphal:

Richard Burton, the actor, was ashamed of his high-pitched "girly" voice growing up. So he went out to the countryside and shouted himself hoarse every day until he'd tore his vocal cords.

I don't recommend it.