# Gender and vocal preference



## Dim7 (Apr 24, 2009)

I'm curious whether there's a significant correlation between gender and preference for either male or female vocals (not that a poll on a classical music forum exactly answers that question, but I'll do it anyway). I'm a dude and I have always preferred male vocals. Female vocals are usually at their best just like another pleasant sounding instrument like a flute or something - I almost never get those "kicks" special to vocal music from female vocals. But perhaps ironically lower male voices don't do much for me either.... I pretty much only like tenor range vocals. Mostly talking about popular music here since I have basically only learned to tolerate classical style vocals rather than genuinely enjoy them.

edit: replace "I like both equally" with "I can't say whether I prefer male or female vocals in general"


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

I'm male and prefer female vocalists, especially in classical music.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

I'm male and I like both male and female vocals in Classical music. Some things suit one voice, some another, and some are very interesting when sung by the voice one wouldn't expect.

In Rock music, I prefer male voices. Van der Graaf Generator with a female lead instead of Peter Hammill? Jethro Tull without Ian Anderson? The Beatles without John and Paul? The Stones without Jagger? CCR without Fogerty? The Doors without Morrison? Captain Beefheart without Don? The Mothers without Frank? Alice Cooper without Alice? Unthinkable. But Jefferson Airplane with Grace. No other!

In vocal Jazz, my top faves are Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald.


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## Cosmos (Jun 28, 2013)

I'm a dude and I prefer female voices in classical, though I tend to be more captivated by the lower ranges. I love full choruses with the whole mix, but stand alone, I prefer altos.

In non-classical, I don't have a voice preference. Guys and gals equally


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I am male and prefer female voices in classical, but do appreciate and enjoy good male voices too. It's just that any time I have pursued a particular voice (aria CD or additional operas or other works) it has been a female voice. Oddly, in non-classical I have generally preferred male voice.


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

I'm a gentleperson and I have no set general preference, it is all depending of the repertoire! fx. I have no love for female voices in Schubert songs but don't mind wimmin' singing Schumann. etc and so on.. i.e. I find it impossible to vote!

/ptr


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## Dim7 (Apr 24, 2009)

ptr said:


> I'm a gentleperson and I have no set general preference, it is all depending of the repertoire! fx. I have no love for female voices in Schubert songs but don't mind wimmin' singing Schumann. etc and so on.. i.e. I find it impossible to vote!
> 
> /ptr


There is the "I like them both equally" -option. Doesn't need to be interpreted that the gender never matters at all, just that _overall_ you can't really say that you prefer either.

Unless of course, you are confused about your gender .


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## Bix (Aug 12, 2010)

I am of the mens and like all voices equally.


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

Dim7 said:


> There is the "I like them both equally" -option. Doesn't need to be interpreted that the gender never matters at all, just that _overall_ you can't really say that you prefer either.
> 
> Unless of course, you are confused about your gender .


No, I'm not confused about "my" own gender, but I don't like them "equally", I like voice types unequally or rather, either or the other more depending on the repertoire, I do not have a general preference (I'm more the type who dislike generalisations! They are never worth while!)

/ptr


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

"Vocals" seems to be a generic term which goes beyond classical, so in that sense, I don't prefer either gender. 

In opera, though, I strongly dislike women whose vibrato is so wide you have trouble distinguishing the words and sometimes even the notes. Men don't bother me that way. 

So other than that, I'm cool.


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## Gaspard de la Nuit (Oct 20, 2014)

I like both, it's really amazing to hear a singer with truly great abilities up close/ in person....I tend to be able to appreciate any kind of voice if the skill is great enough.

With that said, I tend to have something of a preference for darker, more dramatic voices, and I find larger/ lower voices to be the most impressive ones to my taste. That goes for male or female. As for the opera I've seen, I tend to like the characters those voices play more as well - evil, old, interesting, powerful, fringe/ marginalized, etc....everyone else seems kind of generic by comparison.

That preference extends toward non-classical too, but if the person has high voice and has something really special about the timbre, than that works for me as well. But generally I'd care more about the quality of the music, as long as the vocals are tolerable (i.e., not Bob Dylan).


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

female voices for sure. they tend to be more melodious and have greater versatility (being able to sing in a wider range of tessituras, contrasting colors in different parts of the voice, more likely to have strong high notes AND strong low notes, etc)


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## Celloman (Sep 30, 2006)

I am a male and I don't have a preference. If I really like a singer I will listen to him or her, gender notwithstanding.

(I know how Albert7 would vote if he saw this thread.)


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

The male/female duo is the best. <3


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

No gender preference, but I tend to like the middle-range voices of both sexes - mezzo-sopranos and baritones - and to dislike chirpy high sopranos (the non-chirpy ones are all right) and rumbly-grumbly basso profundos.

I've noted and found curious the preference for high voices in popular music, especially in male singers, and think its sad that the wonderful mellow baritones like Bing and Perry are a thing of the past. Maybe its because popular music is now largely by and for children?


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Bulldog said:


> I'm male and prefer female vocalists, especially in classical music.


I second this :tiphat:


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## Dim7 (Apr 24, 2009)

Woodduck said:


> I've noted and found curious the preference for high voices in popular music, especially in male singers, and think its sad that the wonderful mellow baritones like Bing and Perry are a thing of the past. Maybe its because popular music is now largely by and for children?


There is a general preference for higher pitch in lead melodies and lower pitch in accompanient in most music. In opera too tenors tend to be the protagonists and as far as I understand are more popular than baritones or basses. That doesn't really answer why baritones were previously more popular though.


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## Steatopygous (Jul 5, 2015)

Looking at this poll, I see 23 male respondents and 3 female. the latter figure is a little disappointing. 
Why do people think this forum has such a higher proportion of males? The internet can be a sleazy or aggressive place, but certainly not here, so that isn't putting women off. Are men more inclined to sit around on computers, more inclined to like classical music, or just more inclined to have time? What other factors have I overlooked?


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Steatopygous said:


> Looking at this poll, I see 23 male respondents and 3 female. the latter figure is a little disappointing.
> Why do people think this forum has such a higher proportion of males? The internet can be a sleazy or aggressive place, but certainly not here, so that isn't putting women off. Are men more inclined to sit around on computers, more inclined to like classical music, or just more inclined to have time? What other factors have I overlooked?


Apart from the fact that the M/F ratio on this site is skewed strongly towards male, you might consider that men are more likely to take part in this type of gender related poll.


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## Dim7 (Apr 24, 2009)

Becca said:


> Apart from the fact that the M/F ratio on this site is skewed strongly towards male, you might consider that men are more likely to take part in this type of gender related poll.


Maybe I should have emphasized that the poll is anonymous.


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## Steatopygous (Jul 5, 2015)

Becca said:


> Apart from the fact that the M/F ratio on this site is skewed strongly towards male, you might consider that men are more likely to take part in this type of gender related poll.


Thanks for answering my post. You are surely right, but my question is why? Why is this site skewed strongly towards male? Women are as musical as men, as likely to go to concerts. Is it because men get obsessive about their interests? 
And why are men more likely to take part in such a poll? Is there something demeaning about it or challenging? Is it just tedious unless you are obsessive, like many of the (male) posters, including me?


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## Steatopygous (Jul 5, 2015)

Or, I just had another thought. Is it because such polls are about hierarchy and ranking, aspects about which women are popularly supposed to have less interest? 
But Queen of the Nerds (I assume) is female, and is interested in ranking operas. Of course, an exception does not prove a rule.


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## Proms Fanatic (Nov 23, 2014)

I hate making generalisations like this, but men seem to be more predisposed to being obsessive about an activity. This might manifest itself in checking a forum daily/many times a day on the internet.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Steatopygous said:


> Thanks for answering my post. You are surely right, but my question is why? Why is this site skewed strongly towards male? Women are as musical as men, as likely to go to concerts. Is it because men get obsessive about their interests?
> And why are men more likely to take part in such a poll? Is there something demeaning about it or challenging? Is it just tedious unless you are obsessive, like many of the (male) posters, including me?


All I can say from my perspective is that...
a) polls typically imply generalizations and I find I just don't like most of them for that reason, my answer today will probably be different tomorrow (women can't make up their minds? :lol: )
b) this particular poll gets into gender issues which women are less likely to be interested in
c) there are times that this site almost literally reeks of testosterone - one-upmanship


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## jenspen (Apr 25, 2015)

Steatopygous said:


> Or, I just had another thought. Is it because such polls are about hierarchy and ranking, aspects about which women are popularly supposed to have less interest?
> But Queen of the Nerds (I assume) is female, and is interested in ranking operas. Of course, an exception does not prove a rule.


Steatopygous, that is being too kind to us females. I liked your previous insights - about men (on the _whole)_ being more obsessive* in their interests than women, though I think I would have used another, neutral, adjective - completionist? systematic? It occurs to me that the_ intimidatingly_ informed amateurs I've known have been male engineers or scientists with impressive collections of recordings and theoretical knowledge of music - the sort of music lovers who would not be shy about expressing opinions on this forum.

*not that there's anything wrong with being obsessive about music.


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

As a guy, I tend to prefer female vocals, especially in Russian songs and operas like those of Tchaikovsky & Rachmaninoff and in Puccini's operas.


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## Steatopygous (Jul 5, 2015)

jenspen said:


> Steatopygous, that is being too kind to us females. I liked your previous insights - about men (on the _whole)_ being more obsessive* in their interests than women, though I think I would have used another, neutral, adjective - completionist? systematic? It occurs to me that the_ intimidatingly_ informed amateurs I've known have been male engineers or scientists with impressive collections of recordings and theoretical knowledge of music - the sort of music lovers who would not be shy about expressing opinions on this forum.
> 
> *not that there's anything wrong with being obsessive about music.


I know, you're right. And they all have bushy beards, and rather manic eyes, and are really interesting for about 41 seconds and then you just want to get away. 
Mind you, my beard is very closely cropped, and I am neither a scientist, nor an engineer. But I am mad, MAD I tell you.


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## T Son of Ander (Aug 25, 2015)

I'm a male, and in classical I probably lean toward male voices. I do love full chorus, but with a smaller ensemble or soloists, I do prefer the lower men's voices. In popular music, though, I prefer the female voice.


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## MoonlightSonata (Mar 29, 2014)

I'm male, and I like both equally.


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## Dim7 (Apr 24, 2009)

I'm both equally, and I like neither.


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## Gaspard de la Nuit (Oct 20, 2014)

Lots of people have probably already read this but it seems semi-relevant.

http://discovermagazine.com/2005/nov/men-hear-womens

Part of the reason I think some female voices have that quality is, as the researcher suggests, they sometimes fluctuate pitch a great deal, which is common to a lot of music throughout the world (and is pretty much taken for granted in western music).

Men on the other hand, often speak in a monotone voice. Personally I think this is largely cultural, since many social dogmas around the world dictate that women are emotional (or even unstable) and can express greater range and intensity of feeling, whereas men are supposed to be fairly mechanical and unemotional.

The second thing is that most instruments in most parts of the world are generally higher in pitch than a male speaking-voice, but are equal to female speaking or singing voices.

Overall though I think they're probably confusing voice with manner of speaking, especially when the researcher suggests male voices are more basic. Female voices have slightly higher overtones but especially heavy or resonant male voices seem somehow complex in their overall timbre to my ears.

Lastly, nothing was ever mentioned about how women perceive voices.


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## Dim7 (Apr 24, 2009)

The article mentioned how female voices were easier to understand - I've found that as well, particularly when learning foreign languages. The difference is sometimes huge.


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## Rhombic (Oct 28, 2013)

By the way, why are there so many men on this site? The proportion is extreme.


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## Headphone Hermit (Jan 8, 2014)

^^^ maybe women have more sense? Better things to do? Are more closely supervised at work?


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

Dim7 said:


> The article mentioned how female voices were easier to understand - I've found that as well, particularly when learning foreign languages. The difference is sometimes huge.


I wonder why that is. Something to do with being maternal and reassuring, like the voice they use for satnavs? It's not usually the case with operatic voices that females are easier to understand, because the soprano singing voice is so far above the speaking voice, and I believe that certain vowels are difficult or impossible to sing on some very high notes. Personally I don't notice any difference with speaking voices. Perhaps women try harder to be understood, whereas men just assume it's everybody else's task to figure out what they mean. :devil:


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

So far, not enough women have voted (5 total) for any kind of meaningful results. Hopefully the results of male female votes (36:5) is not representative of the ratio of men and women active on this site. Would think there would be more women, but as Headphone Hermit says, maybe they have better things to do.


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

I'm a male and I like both pretty much equally. I tend to be able to understand what male singers are saying better, though. That has more to do with the general range than the gender of the voice.


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## jenspen (Apr 25, 2015)

Dim7 said:


> The article mentioned how female voices were easier to understand - I've found that as well, particularly when learning foreign languages. The difference is sometimes huge.


Me too. And tenorish French voices easier for me to understand than rumbling, resonant basses. I didn't notice that anybody advanced technical reasons for this? Apologies if they have. Some things I've taken note of in relation to using Equalizers in amateur sound editing:

"boost in the 1KHz to 5KHz range to improve intelligibility and clarity" (That seems to be the range in which consonants are crispest and female speaking voices typically fall between 200Hz and 2000Hz.)

and

"the difference between the letter "F" and "S" is 6,100 cycles for a guy and 8,000 cycles for a girl. In other words, clarity is in the high frequencies".


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## Krummhorn (Feb 18, 2007)

As an accompanist I do not have a preference - as a listener, my preference is baritone voice. For me, the clarity of that voice range coupled with great diction always makes for a splendid performance.


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## Dim7 (Apr 24, 2009)

Dim7 said:


> The article mentioned how female voices were easier to understand - I've found that as well, particularly when learning foreign languages. The difference is sometimes huge.


I have to add that I was talking about speaking voices. For singing voices it might be opposite even. People generally sing higher than they speak, so it is to be expected that there might be differences in terms of comprehensibility.


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## Dim7 (Apr 24, 2009)

Headphone Hermit said:


> ^^^ maybe women have more sense? Better things to do?


The same logic could be applied to why men don't read as much fashion blogs, so these are not really answers I think....


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## Guest (Sep 7, 2015)

It depends on what they're singing about, and the quality of the song, much more than the gender of the singer.

So solo artists like David Gray and James Blunt do nothing for me, but I love Robert Wyatt and Andrew Bird.
I can't think of any female artists that I _wouldn't _listen to or find a turn-off, but my favourites are Stina Nordenstam and Kate Bush.

Overall, I prefer bands to solo artists anyway.


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

jenspen said:


> Me too. And *tenorish French voices easier for me to understand than rumbling, resonant basses. I didn't notice that anybody advanced technical reasons for this? *Apologies if they have. Some things I've taken note of in relation to using Equalizers in amateur sound editing:
> 
> "boost in the 1KHz to 5KHz range to improve intelligibility and clarity" (That seems to be the range in which consonants are crispest and female speaking voices typically fall between 200Hz and 2000Hz.)
> 
> ...


An excellent point! No technical reasons that I know of, merely aesthetic ones. 

Well, for me, anyway.


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## k1hodgman (Sep 8, 2015)

Female here. I like both, but only if they have "darkness" in them. I can't stand bright, pure-toned Sopranos and Tenors.


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## Rehydration (Jun 25, 2013)

I just like listening to anything anyone has to say through singing, whether it be female tenors or male altos or female sopranos or male basses. My favorite voice types are alto and tenor because both men and women both can sing in those ranges.


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## dwindladwayne (May 18, 2015)

Castrato is the way


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

In all my time as an opera-lover (female), I have never considered this question. I'd have to say that I like the voices of both genders equally. I do have a special love for Verdi baritones and for mezzo-sopranos, but I'd never say I like one better than the other.


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## bestellen (May 28, 2015)

I'm male and generally prefer female vocals


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## helenora (Sep 13, 2015)

I voted for both. I think it's the 6th vote in a category " I like both equally" . I tend to like less tenors, but well, it depends on timbre of a voice.
so far 50/10.....and totally 60.


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