the sound or sounds uttered through the mouth of living creatures, esp. of human beings in speaking, shouting, singing, etc.
2.
the faculty or power of uttering sounds through the mouth by the controlled expulsion of air; speech: to lose one's voice.
3.
a range of such sounds distinctive to one person, or to a type of person or animal: Her voice is commanding.
4.
the condition or effectiveness of the voice for speaking or singing: to be in poor voice.
5.
a sound likened to or resembling vocal utterance: the voice of the wind.
6.
something likened to speech as conveying impressions to the mind: the voice of nature.
7.
expression in spoken or written words, or by other means: to give voice to one's disapproval by a letter.
8.
the right to present and receive consideration of one's desires or opinions: We were given no voice in the election.
9.
an expressed opinion or choice: a voice for compromise.
10.
an expressed will or desire: the voice of the people.
11.
expressed wish or injunction: obedient to the voice of God.
12.
the person or other agency through which something is expressed or revealed: a warning that proved to be the voice of prophecy.
13.
a singer: one of our best voices.
14.
a voice part: a score for piano and voice.
15.
Phonetics. the audible result of phonation and resonance.
16.
Grammar.
a.
a set of categories for which the verb is inflected in some languages, as Latin, and which is typically used to indicate the relation of the verbal action to the subject as performer, undergoer, or beneficiary of its action.
b.
a set of syntactic devices in some languages, as English, that is similar to this set in function.
c.
any of the categories of these sets: the English passive voice; the Greek middle voice.
17.
the finer regulation, as of intensity and color, in tuning, esp. of a piano or organ.
–verb (used with object)
18.
to give utterance or expression to; declare; proclaim: to voice one's discontent.
19.
Music.
a.
to regulate the tone of, as the pipes of an organ.
b.
to write the voice parts for (music).
20.
to utter with the voice.
21.
Phonetics. to pronounce with glottal vibration.
22.
to interpret from sign language into spoken language.
–adjective
23.
Computers. of or pertaining to the use of human or synthesized speech: voice-data entry; voice output.
24.
Telecommunications. of or pertaining to the transmission of speech or data over media designed for the transmission of speech: voice-grade channel; voice-data network.
—Idioms
25.
the still, small voice, the conscience: He was only occasionally troubled by the still, small voice.
26.
with one voice, in accord; unanimously: They arose and with one voice acclaimed the new president.
[Origin: 1250–1300; ME (n.) < AF voiz, voice (OF voiz, vois) < L vōcem, acc. of vōx; akin to vocāre to call, Gk óps voice, épos word (see epic), Skt vakti (he) speaks]
voice, sound produced by living beings. The source of the sound in human speaking and singing is the vibration of the vocal cords, which are inside the larynx, and the production of the sounds is called phonation. The vocal cords are set into vibration by air from the lungs that moves through the windpipe passing over them, and they in turn produce resonance in the column of air enclosed by the pharynx. The mouth and throat are variable in size and shape, thus permitting alteration of vowel sound and pitch. At puberty the vocal cords of the male become approximately double their original length, with the result that the average adult male voice is about an octave lower in pitch than the female.
The Voice in Music
Not only is the voice the principal means of human communication, but it was undoubtedly the first musical instrument. The principal difference between singing and speaking is that in singing the vowel sounds are sustained and given definite pitch. Despite the innate and natural quality of singing, the training of the singing voice for artistic purposes is among the most subtle and difficult branches of music pedagogy. The instrument is within the performer, and the condition of the vocal apparatus, and thus the quality of the voice, is strictly dependent on the physical and mental condition of the singer. Since the vocal impulse cannot actually be described, the teacher's task is to provide the pupil with concepts, usually systematized into a vocal "method," that will free the vocal apparatus from restrictive tensions and lead ultimately to the complete coordination of all the faculties involved. The foundation of the scientific study of the voice was laid in the middle of the 19th cent. by Manuel Patricio Rodríguez García, a successful voice teacher and writer, who invented the laryngoscope (used to examine the interior of the larynx).
Because of the great changes that have taken place in the art of singing within Western musical culture, modern singers can only approximate the vocal timbre of previous eras. Gregorian chant may have been sung with a nasal timbre resembling Oriental technique. The Neapolitan operatic school developed the virtuoso art of bel canto, in which brilliance of vocal technique was stressed rather than romantic expression or dramatic interpretation. The sound of the castrato (see eunuch), for which many 17th- and 18th-century soprano and alto roles were intended, is approached by several contemporary countertenors using falsetto techniques. The electronic microphone has, in recent times, had an enormous impact on the voice and on styles of singing, through its ability to project very quiet, intimate sounds, and to magnify exciting sounds to a feverish intensity.
Singing voices are classified according to range as soprano and contralto, the high and low female voices, with mezzo-soprano as an intermediate classification; and as tenor and bass, the high and low male voices, with baritone as an intermediate classification. Within these ranges there are specific designations of the quality of a voice, e.g., coloratura soprano. Choral music generally requires a range of about an octave and a half for each voice; a solo singer must have at least two octaves, and some have been known to possess ranges of three, even three and a half, octaves. See also song.
Bibliography
See D. Stevens, ed., A History of Song (1960); R. Luchsinger and G. E. Arnold, Voice, Speech, Language (1965); R. Rushmore, The Singing Voice (1971); S. Butenschon and H. Borchgrevink, Voice and Song (1982).
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