Finding Your Unique Singing Voice

Folks are always asking how to find their unique singing voice. Is there such a thing? When someone asks for this, what exactly are they looking to find?

Hey I’m Josh, the founder of VoSci. This weeks episode was written by Timothy Wilds. Lets get into it.

We will begin by unpacking the word unique. The word has two possible definitions: singular, meaning “one of a kind,” or exceptional, as in “remarkably unusual or special.” Much like a person’s fingerprints, every human voice has an element of uniqueness about it, which is why it can be used as an identifier. But, what makes this so?

Biological sex, the combination of genetics and hormones, defines the entire human body, particularly its size and shape, directly impacting the vocal anatomy. The primary players of the vocal anatomy are the true vocal folds, which live within the cartilages of the larynx, and the vocal tract, consisting of the larynx, pharynx, oral cavity, nasal passage. The true vocal folds produce the source sound during phonation and the vocal tract resonances transform the source sound into what we perceive as the voice. A person’s genotype, or genetic makeup, and sex assigned at birth (or transitioned to), are chief in determining the sound of baseline phonation in a human. When I speak of baseline phonation, I am referring to the sound produced during speech. Speech is a human’s first foray into the world of phonation. 

The size and shape of a human isn’t the only contributing factor affecting the sound of your voice. Your speaking voice is a reflection of your baseline phonation plus the environmental or contextual influences that you heard and mimicked as a young child, resulting in what you think of as your speaking voice. During these formative years, you took what you heard and through a long process of trial and error, developed a system for making sounds with your vocal anatomy. From these mono-syllabic utterances you advanced to words, phrases, and sentences. Of course, all of this was situated upon the language or dialect being absorbed, along with any accompanying accent. Other influences that shape the sound of the speaking voice are: neighborhood setting (rural, suburban, urban); general noise level (at home, school, work); class (rank in society); education level. In summary, at a very early age, a person’s “manual of the voice,” the operating system for phonation, is created.

With the foundation of human speech laid out, let’s move to singing. This is a natural progression; both modes use the same mechanism and are forms of communication. It explains why one hears similar traits between a person’s speaking and singing voices. To illustrate this, imagine each of the following icons speaking and then launching into song: Dolly Parton singing “Jolene,” Barbra Streisand singing “The Way We Were,” or Kermit the Frog singing “Being Green.”

Given what we’ve already established concerning biological sex and environmental influences, we can, with considerable confidence, assert that every human fundamentally has a unique voice. With that said, we can call off the search, right? Hmm? I question if this is the uniqueness folks are seeking. I suspect there are other reasons.

It is my conviction that most people take the fundamental uniqueness of their voice for granted. The sound of every person’s voice develops unconsciously over many years and is so deeply integrated into identity that it becomes unnoted.

Therefore, beyond the fundamental uniqueness, I believe some folks want a sound that will result in notoriety and fame. This brings us back to our definitions of unique as “one of a kind” or “remarkably unusual or special.” We are talking unique at its highest level. A voice that is iconic. A voice that becomes a standard by which other voices are measured. Think Judy Garland, Freddie Mercury, Whitney Houston, Nat King Cole, Ethel Merman, Luciano Pavarotti, Cynthia Erivo, Louis Armstrong, Lady Gaga, Tim McGraw, Julie Andrews, George Michael.

Listening to great singers at the apex of their craft is inspirational. To pursue singing, in order to join the vocal pantheon, is a lofty ambition. Such a goal could be tremendously stressful and crushingly disappointing. Greatness often finds a person, not the other way around.

If such an exalted definition of unique is not desired, what else might be motivating the search? Perhaps they are looking for their “true to me” sound. In other words, a singing voice that encapsulates who they think they are, or want to present themself as. Odds are they are probably already showing their personality through their hair style, fashion sense, social circle, lifestyle choices, social media presence. In essence, they are looking for a singing style that expresses a persona. 

This version of unique makes the most sense to me based on my interaction with students. For many beginning students, the attraction to singing is something other than the act of singing. It’s a fascination with the aura of celebrity. Essentially, singing isn’t as much the goal as it is a pathway to fashioning one’s self in the likeness of another person. This phenomenon is not unique to singers. People behave similarly when it comes to TV and film stars, sports heroes, and influencers.

The much-quoted proverb, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” remains true today. If this is the path a singer wishes to take, their first step is no more complicated than shopping. Start by listening to singers you admire or wish to emulate. In regard to their singing, listen for the following: phrasing, breath use, vowel and resonance choices, dynamics, rhythmic placement, ornamentation/agility, registration choices, articulation and diction, tone color. 

Try your hand at reproducing these effects you hear. This is where training with a knowledgeable voice trainer is invaluable. They can help you understand what you are hearing and replicate the singing techniques producing the style in the recordings.

This may be all it will take to get them to the place they want to be: sounding like someone famous. I want to affirm that there is nothing wrong with this goal. Imitating what we hear is the primary way a person learns to talk and sing. It is what motivates impersonators and tribute bands. But a word of warning: being like, and by extension, singing like someone famous, is a narrow path. If you invest in sounding like, say Billie Eilish, what happens if you decide to branch out?

This observation raises a fundamental question. What motivates someone to learn to sing? This is a deep question that deserves a full podcast. Look for one in the near future. For now, we’ve identified projection of persona as possible motivation. Let me offer another by way of a personal story.

I began my training as a singer over fifty years ago. At that time, if you took voice lessons, you were guided along the path of becoming a classical singer. Sadly, at that time in history, the world of voice training was staunchly biased. This meant learning to sing in a voice quality that was appropriate for classical vocal literature. Loosely speaking, most would describe it as an operatic sound. There was no encouragement to sound like a specific artist. My training was in service to a genre and a voice quality associated with it. The concept of a voice quality is a hallmark of the Estill Voice Training System. Think of the structures of the voice like a list of ingredients combined to create a dish according to a recipe, or voice quality.

Earlier in this podcast, we discussed the concept of a “true to me” voice. Looking back, I don’t remember that being a concern in my lessons. I willingly placed my voice in the hands of a voice teacher and asked few, if any, questions.

So, was the resulting sound my “true to me” voice? It’s such a good question and one I don’t think I had ever pondered prior to writing this podcast. My conclusion is this: the sound of my singing voice was my “true to me” voice in service of the songs I was singing. It was a combination of my fundamental vocal uniqueness combined with the requirements of a voice quality. This became my default setting and this version of my “true to me” voice served me very well as long as I sang classical vocal literature.

In time, and by necessity, I had to sing other types of songs and that required different voice qualities. This required changing out the structural requirements of one voice quality for another, producing another version of my “true to me” voice. Even in a different voice quality, you would still know it’s me.

One of my favorite illustrations of this is Broadway legend Kelli O’Hara singing “They Don’t Let You In the Opera, If You’re a Country Star.” In the course of song, she shifts effortlessly from a nasal twang quality to an opera quality, never losing her fundamental uniqueness. Kelli’s performance reminds us that the human voice is mind-bogglingly flexible and can produce a variety of voice qualities. She demonstrates both the understanding and the ability to flex to produce the sound needed to bring the song to life.

In closing, let’s summarize what we’ve discussed. 

Anyone wanting to find their unique voice doesn’t need to look very far. It’s naturally occurring as a result of one’s biological sex and environmental influences.

Seeking after an iconic voice, a “one-of-a-kind” or “remarkably unusual or special” voice, is an uncertain mission. If you find yourself the recipient of either, it has less to do with you finding it, and it finding you.

Choosing a particular style of voicing as an identity is a common path for many singers, but be careful: imitation can be inspirational but also limiting.

One’s “true to me” voice is a combination of its fundamental uniqueness plus meeting the structural requirements of a voice quality in service of a song.

If desired, a singer can have multiple versions of their “true to me” voice simply by moving to a different voice quality. Flexibility grants you access to a world of opportunities.

I hope you found this episode helpful. We are hard at work on a full guided course that will walk you through developing your unique style, we are expecting it to be available this fall in VoSci Academy. Until next time, keep singing smart.