Voice

Apart from facial features, the most conspicuous properties that we, human, often exploit to advantage to recognise different people are our voices. Different people have different voices although there are selected few that have exactly matching frequency of sound. The human voice is a product of nature and nurture, shaped both by the power of genetics and influence of the environment. Today, I would like to talk about my voice.

Andrew (a friend of mine) told me that my voice is unique in the sense that only very few people possess such voice. He said it is natural for the range of men's voice to descend by one octave from a typical lower treble range of a pre-pubescent boy. As a result, the voice becomes deeper and more suited for purpose involving baritone and bass singing. Some men have their voice pulled down by a few notes, resulting in a a higher, sexier tenor range. A few like me, have the lower half of their range being dragged down all the way while the top half remains high in pitch. The upper half is the falsetto voice that is often airy and tiresome to make when sung by normal men but for me, it comes out effortlessly and is considerably richer as well as "rounder".

It is not that my voice is very nice to hear since it sounds much like scratching the blackboard with the fingernails. However, what intrigues (and saddens me) is that i am able to sing soprano, alto, bass and become completely helpless when it comes to the tenor range. It is like losing one whole range of notes that are often utilised by male pop singers when performing a hot and hip song. When I first sung in soprano and alto, it sounded very weird since it is as though my voice has undergone a significant overhaul to sound very much like a woman. Most of the time, i find it easier, more relaxed to sing many pop songs in falsetto than in my normal voice.

The relevation of the nature of my voice comes with a mixed feeling. I feel quite at ease to sing high notes that are out of reach for most guys and some girls. However, I so lament the fact that the quality of my tenor notes is lousy that I sometimes question my sex. There are simply some notes in between that i can't possibly reach. I have to thank the choir M.M for putting me in Alto 1 though so that i can challenge myself to sing in upper area of tenor. It is strenous at most time and tiring.

Sometimes, I think that everyone should explore and understand their voice. It is after all the vehicle with which we communicate, transfer information and express emotions to one another. For people who can recognise notes and vocalise them, it is an opportunity to use their voice to sing. And singing, i admit, is tough, tiring and most importantly, practice oriented. Nothing is easy.

P.S: For your information, the pitches of the voice ranges, in descending order, are soprano, alto, tenor and bass. The traditionally masculine man's voice is that of bass.