# Is your speaking voice an indicator of your singing voice? (Particularly for men)



## Musicforawhile (Oct 10, 2014)

If a man has a deep, rich, sonorous and resonant speaking voice is it likely that he would also have a good singing voice? I am thinking of a few men I have known who had lovely speaking voices, would it be fair for me to say to them that they would probably have good singing voices and should think about having lessons? For some reason I never get the same feeling from a woman's normal speaking voice, unless she is speaking with breath support like a trained actor.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

I'm female myself and have had voice lessons, so I'll just speak from my own knowledge. I think it _could _be an indicator that the singing voice would be fine as well; however, one has to remember that singing uses many more muscles and is a far more complex process than speaking is. One also has to consider the fact that some great opera singers do not have equally attractive speaking voices. One (admittedly female) example is Renee Fleming -- beautiful singing voice, but her speaking voice strikes me as shallow and even a bit lispy. Among male singers, Placido Domingo has/had a lovey, silky speaking voice; it's hard to know if it was always like that or if it became like that as a result of developing his singing voice. I would guess probably the latter, as training your singing voice does tend to make the speaking voice smoother and more resonant.


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

I've always liked early recordings with a spoken introduction by the singer. Occasionally a different announcer was used, but you can usually tell- for example there's a very plummy English (or old fashioned American) voice that announces Edouard de Reszke's Infelice, but the song from Martha is announced by the bass himself in thickly accented English. I don't know whether you would guess the quality of his singing voice from this fragment of speech, though. One bass voice I love which sounded exactly the same in speech and song is Paul Aumonier: as soon as you hear the announcement in that wonderful sonorous voice you know you're in for a treat:






An even better example of a bass speaking/singing voice is Juste Nivette:






And you can find this similarity and corresponding beauty of speaking/ singing voices in tenors also:






Women were less likely to announce their records than men. Is that because of gender roles or just that their speaking voices record less well? There is likely to be less of a resemblance between singing and speech, since the female speaking voice lies below the trained singing voice. We can hear Lise Landouzy announce the quartet from Rigoletto: it always surprises me that Agustarello Affre didn't announce this because the tenor part begins the quartet, and his records are generally self-announced in a far more phonogenic voice than Landouzy's:






Jean de Reszke told his pupils that the speaking voice was the foundation of the singing voice. He may have meant the declaimed speech of the actors of the day such as Sarah Bernhardt, whose speech sounds pretty much like song! The declaiming voice resembles the trained operatic voice more closely than does the casual speaking voice. An example would be a couple of Maurice Renaud's earliest recordings (I can't remember which ones they were) where the baritone, unsure whether to begin, asks 'Va?' and 'Allez va?' in a light, rather ordinary voice which might be anyone; yet on the Pathe cylinders which have an intentional announcement, he speaks with a booming resonance that leaves you in no doubt that the Monsieur Renaud who is about to sing is the same as the person announcing him!


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

men: yes
women: not really. some sopranos can have super LOW speaking voices. I'd say voice for women is a better indicator of age than voice type


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

If you take into account that in England, the U.S. and probably other British colonial (or former colonial) environs, the tendency for men to force their voice downwards (a cultural thingie connected with a notion of what 'manly' is) and that being now near reflexive and unconscious, then, absolutely no to your question as to a match close to what their singing range is / might be.

Just think of the speaking voices of many an East Indian male, higher, lighter, with less stress or strain on the vocal chords. -- that is their speaking habit, and has nothing to do with, say, "All East Indian Males Have Shorter Vocal Chords" and is also probably not any real indication of their fach. In some Asian cultures, the cultural stereotype for a woman's speaking voice is high, light, slight and bird-like... not that there are not natural female altos among Asian women.

Much of this has to do with habitual speaking timbre as tied in to cultural assumptions of gender typing, and those assumed stereotypes then become accepted, in place, and are furthermore, _expected_, the children growing up where such assumptions are in place and in practice will incline toward the accepted and in-place norm.

Why else all the otherwise odd questions and discrepancies between the most 'natural' fach and the speaking voices? What else accounts for the man who is actually a lyric tenor but who speaks in an (actually unnatural) lower baritone range, i.e. what on earth would have him forcibly lower the timbre of his natural speaking voice?


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## Badinerie (May 3, 2008)

No...I'm forbidden by law to sing. My conversational voice is tolerable but my singing can stun cattle at forty paces. And thats my Mothers opinion!


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## Jobis (Jun 13, 2013)

With men, it depends. If someone's speaking voice is really deep and resonant they're probably a bass. Otherwise they could be anything; occasionally tenors force their speaking voice down to sound more manly, or baritones raise their voice in pitch to give a lighter tone to it.

Women are harder to tell, because a lot of altos or mezzos tend to raise their speaking voice in pitch (perhaps to sound more 'feminine'), and some sopranos have deep sounding voices (especially early in the morning!).


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Jobis said:


> With men, it depends. *If someone's speaking voice is really deep and resonant they're probably a bass*. Otherwise they could be anything; occasionally tenors force their speaking voice down to sound more manly, or baritones raise their voice in pitch to give a lighter tone to it.
> 
> Women are harder to tell, because a lot of altos or mezzos tend to raise their speaking voice in pitch (perhaps to sound more 'feminine'), and some sopranos have deep sounding voices (especially early in the morning!).


well, they're probably not a tenor, but lots of baritones have very deep speaking voices
http://vocaroo.com/i/s1a9zUH0nZX0


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Have you ever heard Franco Corelli's speaking voice?
I think you'd quickly change your mind. Gorgeous and powerful singing voice, mousy speaking voice.

(Of course, then there is Eric Owens!)


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Jessye Norman sang soprano but spoke as a baritone.


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

If I'm singing, I'm too drunk to properly critique.


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## BaronScarpia (Apr 2, 2014)

I think that good singers generally have _full_ voices which are often, but not always, quite rich. Renee Fleming's speaking voice is low and croaky...

I think speaking pitch is also indicative of voice type. They say that one's lowest usable note generally lies around a major third below one's average speaking pitch. My speaking voice is reasonably high, which tallies with my _supposed_ tenor voice 

And Bellinilover, I never knew you'd had voice lessons!!


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## Musicforawhile (Oct 10, 2014)

Seattleoperafan said:


> Jessye Norman sang soprano but spoke as a baritone.


 Hmm is that a joke?


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## Musicforawhile (Oct 10, 2014)

PetrB said:


> If you take into account that in England, the U.S. and probably other British colonial (or former colonial) environs, the tendency for men to force their voice downwards (a cultural thingie connected with a notion of what 'manly' is)


Interesting...I didn't really realise men did this...Rich, deep male voices also sound very natural to me.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Seattleoperafan said:


> Jessye Norman sang soprano but spoke as a baritone.


Which may be why she sang so many high notes flat.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> Which may be why she sang so many high notes flat.


that would be the case if he said



> Jessye Norman sang soprano but *was actually a mezzo*


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## hzanelynn (Nov 10, 2014)

*Speaking Voice*

Hi,

I agree with what you have said below. I am a tenor and have been told repeatedly that my speaking voice was way to low. I tend to place my speaking voice in the very back. I have been told to raise my speaking pitch, mostly for vocal health reasons. Have you heard anything or read any research about the speaking voice and vocal health?

Thanks



Jobis said:


> With men, it depends. If someone's speaking voice is really deep and resonant they're probably a bass. Otherwise they could be anything; occasionally tenors force their speaking voice down to sound more manly, or baritones raise their voice in pitch to give a lighter tone to it.
> 
> Women are harder to tell, because a lot of altos or mezzos tend to raise their speaking voice in pitch (perhaps to sound more 'feminine'), and some sopranos have deep sounding voices (especially early in the morning!).


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Seattleoperafan said:


> Jessye Norman sang soprano but spoke as a baritone.





Musicforawhile said:


> Hmm is that a joke?


I don't think Seattleoperafan is joking. I heard Jessye speak a few months ago and her voice is deep and rich.


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