Why are high pitched voices, in general, perceived better at singing? What is the inherent quality in a higher pitched voice that can strike a chord with listeners’ feelings as opposed to a lower bass-level tone?
If a piece of music is arranged such that it composes mainly of soprano-range instruments, would a bass-range voice be perceived as better, to balance the overall sound?
Why isn’t music made that way?
hallo! I’ve been following for your blog for a while now but never felt the urge to comment, until this post – I disagree because I’ve always found low voices more engaging to listen to. High-pitched voices are not quite easier to ignore, but can feel like background noises, like birds twittering away. Curious; why is it you feel high-pitched voices are perceived as better in singing?
Hello Rach. That thought came to me when I saw a singing contest commercial on TV. When participants hit high notes, the crowd goes crazy. I’ve never seen people go wild when someone hits a low note. At karaoke, people always want to sing in the songs’ “original key” (which are really adjusted to suit each singer), and very hardly these singers’ keys are too low for a regular person, except for when a girl tries to do a male singer’s songs. That just means more professional singers (at least in pop music) generally have a higher vocal range. Take X Japan for example, even though the vocalist’s pitch is already very high, Yoshiki always ups at least half a step to each song based on Toshi’s vocal range because, in his words, “it sounds better if you have to stretch your voice.”
I dun generally like high-pitch voices, but if you are talking about normal voices, or even a slightly lower voice hitting high notes, it would mean that the particular singer has a wide vocal range. Having a wide vocal range is a gift that listeners really appreciate.
If you are talking about Ayumi Hamasaki’s voice reaching high notes, then, I’m not so sure. She has a much lower talking voice, but almost all songs were sang in a much higher pitch. So, do we actually think she’s a fantastic singer?
Actually, I think loudness of the singer’s voice seemed to be a more of a factor in the listener’s perception, considering that a lot of singers were getting their vocal cords damaged trying to use “powerful” singing. (Eg. Adele, Sam Smith, Meghan Trainor and the late Chester Bennington (Linkin Park Frontman))
Yea, for the same low voice, someone who can hit a high note generally seems to fare better. It might be a misconception but the data appears that way.
Interestingly, regarding loudness of a voice, karaoke machines that rate your singing do award higher points for the same voice in higher amplitude, so it makes sense that volume plays a part.
Recently heard a song: https://youtu.be/Sqf1whX-mI4
It’s high-pitched but not sang in a “powerful “ manner.
Just thought tt u might b interested.