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Why Do We Sound Different Through a Microphone?

by Warren Riddle on June 30, 2009 at 03:29 PM

You've spent hours writing quality comedic YouTube material and perfecting your delivery, but when you finally watch your masterpiece, your voice doesn't sound deep and smooth like you'd expected. Instead, you sound like a whiny, pubescent goob. What's the deal?

PopSci.com recently asked Vanderbilt University audiology professor why a person's recorded voice sounds different than what they hear when they speak. He attributes the perceived sound of a person's voice to throat, skin, and skull vibrations. Those vibrations mixed with sound waves (called bone conduction) create a "deeper, more dignified," lower frequency pitch than what others hear. Microphones and recorders don't convey those vibrations either, because they only register sound through air conduction.

But, don't fret too much over your actual high-pitched intonations, because it's not as bad as you think. The professor believes that upon hearing their recorded voice, a person's brain will initially have difficulty accepting the foreign, unexpected sounds. So, while you might not actually sound like Barry White, you probably don't sound too much like Screech, either. [From: PopSci.com]

Tags: audio, auditory, biology, ears, hearing, recording, science, sound, top, voice

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