A
male
age
26-29,
anonymous
writes:i have had my growth spuirt im getting facial hair and all that stuff im 5'10" and my voice still hasnt changed should i be worried? also im gonna be 15 in 2 months Reply to this Question
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male
reader, daletom +, writes (19 August 2010):
Ummm . . . I don't understand the connection between "being worried" and "my voice still hasnt changed".
What should you be worried about? As a practical matter, your voice pitch and timbre will be what it will be. It's one of the main physical characteristics that makes you unique among all other people. I don't know the characteristics of your voice, nor what you think it "should be". Be careful what you wish for . . .
As a practical matter there are notable disadvantages to having a deep-pitched voice. Any tendency toward gruffness or raspiness is more noticeable. Some women may be impressed, but others (who haven't seen you) may assume that you drag your knuckles on the ground as you walk. Low-pitched voices are disproportionately represented among the villains in TV and movies - think of Darth Vader's voice, versus Luke Skywalker's. (Yeah, James Earl Jones - who did Vader's voice - played many "hero" roles in person, but his basso profundo voice seems to be more favored for villains.)
Physics lesson: The energy content of human speech tends to be concentrated roughly from half an octave above middle-C to an octave or two below middle-C - especially for men. But the majority of articulation, intelligence, and qualities that contribute to speaker recognition are located in the 3 octaves or so ABOVE middle-C. That's one reason women's voices are often used for recorded announcements, and may be why they were favored for employment as telephone operators (when we had live operators): higher-pitched voices tend to be more easily understood. And a telephone transmission engineer will confirm that the traditional (for the last century or so) telephone voice channel carries frequencies from roughly 300 Hz ("D" above middle-C) to 3400 Hz (piano high-A, almost 4 octaves above middle-C).
( I have a rather low-pitched voice, and a little experience on both sides of an audio mixing console. When I'm in a situation to use a PA system, I try to get the operator to de-emphasize the bass on my voice channel. And I don't care for the bass-boost "proximity effect" you get from classic PA mics like the SM-58.)
Medical lesson: Human growth and development varies widely among individuals. I was 16 before I had whiskers, and didn't reach my adult height until after I turned 19. On the other hand, my voice was starting to change when I was 13 - and actually drew a fair amount of teasing and ridicule from my classmates. Your family doctor is actually the best person to discuss these differences with you.
A
male
reader, Fatherly Advice +, writes (18 August 2010):
 Of course this is a medical question. I'm no endocrinologist, but I would say that if you have facial hair your voice is pretty much where it is going to be. Congratulations you're a tenor. Nothing wrong with that. Remember everyone is different.
FA
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A
female
reader, halibutfishnchips +, writes (18 August 2010):
No worries! Your voice will change later. Maybe in a year or so. There's nothing wrong!
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