The Changing Larynx It happens in both boys and girls, but the change is more evident in boys. Girls' voices only deepen by a couple of tones and the change is barely noticeable. Boys' voices, however, start to get significantly deeper.
Your voice during puberty
A voice change is one of the secondary sexual characteristics adolescents develop. In boys, this happens between ages 12 and 16; in girls, between ages 10 and 14. The first sign of puberty in girls is breast development, while in boys it's an increase in the size of the testicles.
Girls voices deepen during puberty as a result of the larynx and vocal cord growth, but because women's voice boxes are smaller overall the transition is more gradual. Since their voices are higher naturally, the change is barely noticeable.
As you go through puberty, the larynx gets bigger and the vocal cords lengthen and thicken, so your voice gets deeper. As your body adjusts to this changing equipment, your voice may "crack" or "break." But this process lasts only a few months.
For women with a voice that sounds like a man, it could be because of the size and thickness of their vocal cords, in which case, they'll need to develop full resonance too, to make their voice sound warmer, an essential quality of a female voice.
It used to be thought that voice pitch in mammals relates to body size, but that is no longer believed top be the case. McElligott pointed out that you can have big men with higher-pitched voices, or smaller men with lower-pitched voices, so pitch is not always an indication of body size.
Men first speak in a sing-song type of voice and then adjust it to a lower tone when they are talking to someone they find attractive. Some experts believe men modulate their voices first as a way to put women at ease and then lower the tone of their voice to sound more masculine.
As the body goes through puberty, the larynx (or voice box) grows larger and thicker. It happens in both boys and girls, but the change is more obvious in boys. Girls' voices only deepen by a couple of tones and the change is barely noticeable. Boys' voices, though, start to get much deeper.
Women are more attracted to men with deep voices – and this attraction is strongest among prettier, more feminine women. In fact, women prefer a masculine voice more strongly and more unanimously to a masculine face.
Studies show that women tend to prefer men with deep voices, which are linked to higher testosterone levels and general reproductive prowess. Men, meanwhile, are drawn to women with high-pitched voices, which are associated with high estrogen levels, perhaps serving as a cue to a woman's health and fertility.
When you go through puberty, your voice deepens. Men's voices often deepen up to an octave, while women's voices usually move about three tones lower. After puberty and well into older adulthood, some people's voices may change, but not everyone's. Men's voices tend to go up in pitch.
Women's and children's voices have a higher frequency than men's voices – 165 to 255 Hz, as opposed to 85 to 180 Hz for men. Additionally, women's and children's voices generally have a lower amplitude (meaning, they are softer), so you may hear them at a different volume than men's voices.
We fall for sound, too.
Scientists have discovered that when a woman is fertile, her voice sounds more seductive to men. And women react more strongly to men with deeper voices. One study in particular found that men who heard a woman's voice could get tingles in their skin.
For girls, vocal cracks most commonly occur when the voice is strained during singing or from other periods of intense usage. Risky behaviors like smoking and abusing alcohol can also put a strain on the voice, resulting in the occasional crack.
So it tickled me to discover my voice was referenced in a recent dating study from the University of Sussex which found that men find a lower tone more attractive.
Husky voices signal "sexual interest" and can help women stand out from the crowd, say researchers. Perhaps less surprisingly, the study found men also drop their pitch when they meet women they are attracted to.
Research confirms that deep voices give men an aura of power and sexual allure. Men with low, resonant voices are more likely to be perceived as attractive, masculine, respectable, and dominant.
"However," he says, "evidence suggests men evolved deeper voices mainly for intimidating other men rather than attracting women." Studies show that men with deeper voices tend to have higher testosterone levels (an indicator of dominance) and a more athletic body type.
The results of the analysis showed that the men with deeper voices produced ejaculate with fewer sperm cells than the men with higher pitched voices.
Males and females have different vocal fold sizes, and the shorter vocal folds of women makes their pitch higher. Furthermore, some women simply have more naturally higher-pitched voices than others.
Before your growth spurt, your larynx is relatively small and your vocal cords are relatively thin. So your voice is high and kid-like. But as bones, cartilage, and vocal cords grow, your voice starts to sound like an adult's.
Humming, for example, allows you to warm up your voice box so you can have more control over your voice. Hum often, and you'll be able to lower your voice's pitch, talk a bit deeper, and eventually make your voice sound deeper on mic or video.