Our Voice

     Merriam-Webster states that the voice is “sound produced by vertebrates by means of lungs, larynx, or syrinx.” 

     According to the Voice Foundation:  Voice as We Know It = Voiced Sound + Resonance + Articulation

     The “spoken word” results from three components of voice production: voiced sound, resonance, and articulation.

     Voiced sound: The basic sound produced by vocal fold vibration is called “voiced sound.” This is frequently described as a “buzzy” sound. Voiced sound for singing differs significantly from voiced sound for speech.

     Resonance: Voiced sound is amplified and modified by the vocal tract resonators (the throat, mouth cavity, and nasal passages). The resonators produce a person’s recognizable voice.

     Articulation: The vocal tract articulators (the tongue, soft palate, and lips) modify the voiced sound. The articulators produce recognizable words.

     There are some people that have such a soothing voice that you could listen to them all day and not become tired of it.  There are others (I think I fall into this group) who have a raspy voice and you can barely stand to pause for them to speak a sentence.

     Researchers have long known that newborns recognize and prefer their mom’s voice.  And any new mother can tell you that the sound of her voice delights her new baby.  The opposite is also true.  Moms know the voices of their babies.  Have you ever sat in a group of new moms while their babies are in another room?  Suddenly one of children cries out in some type of obvious need.  Generally before the second cry one of the ladies will start getting up and respond: “That’s mine.”

     We all consider different voices every day.  Those we live with, those we work with, those we go to school with, or others that we meet throughout the day.  We spend our entire lifetimes around people “talking” to us in one fashion or another.

     The voice is a marvelous gift that we have been given by our Creator.  Let’s try to use it in an up building fashion.  Never use your free gift of the voice to make someone feel inferior to you or to create dissension within a group.

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"With the passage of time

there is nothing sweeter to hear

than the voice of a loved one."