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.
Girls' vocal cords are usually shorter and thinner than most boys', which is why their voices sound higher. This difference in pitch is even more noticeable in grown-up men and women.
Males generally have low pitched voices (A2 to C3) while females have high pitched voices (A3 to C4). Rougher articulation is often associated with male voices while the female voice is associated with a gentler articulation. Males tend to use full pitch range during speech while females vary pitch range during speech.
Generally, women have higher pitched voices because they have a shorter vocal tract and a smaller larynx, while men have longer vocal tracts and larger larynxes. This difference in vocal tract lengths and vocal larynx sizes results in the sound waves created by men and women having different waveforms and frequencies.
Women have shorter vocal cords which vibrate more quickly and produce a higher pitch, while in men the longer vocal cords vibrate with low frequencies giving them deeper voice. Thus, women have high-pitched or shriller voice as compared to men.
In general, women speak at a higher pitch—about an octave higher than men. An adult woman's average range is from 165 to 255 Hz, while a man's is 85 to 155 Hz (see sources). Men's voices are generally deeper because the surge of testosterone released during puberty causes their vocal cords to elongate and thicken.
The most obvious difference between male and female voices is pitch -- what we perceive as a high or deep voice. Men, on average, speak almost an octave lower than women. And women (as we learn in the radio story above) tend to say the deeper, the better.
It does sound weird, but it's not impossible. It can happen when a full grown men who had undergone physical changes during puberty, but their high pitch voice remains unchanged. For those affected, they actually have a voice problem known as puberphonia.
There's a small crossover between a male and a female's pitch range. This explains why some male singers have high-pitched singing voices that can sound like a female singer on first hearing.
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.
The voices of most women and children fall into a higher frequency range – generally 165 to 255 Hertz – while male voices are typically lower frequency at 85 to 180 Hz. Another factor that can make women's and children's voices more difficult to hear is that they are generally softer (less loud) than men's voices.
The vibrations and the speed at which they vibrate are dependent on the length and thickness of vocal cords. Women have higher pitches than men as they have shorter vocal cords.
One of the most effective ways to sound “girly” is to increase the pitch of your voice, either to the A/B range for a pubescent girl or the C/D range for a prepubescent girl.
But no sex differences were detected in blood pressure, heart rate, or pupil dilation—all measures of emotional responsiveness. These results suggest that males and females feel the same thing, but report what they feel differently.
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.
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.
Tenors are the highest male voice and, like sopranos, they are capable of delivering thrilling high notes and often have a brilliant shining timbre.
A feminine vocal tract creates a softer sound. Over time, feminization voice training can help sustain this softer, brighter sound as your new norm. There are many approaches to how to achieve this in voice feminization therapy, what's most important is finding what works best for you.
Is it possible for someone to be sexually attracted to someone's voice? Yes, it is certainly possible to be sexually attracted to someone's voice. I fell for a woman with a deep, sultry voice. It was the first thing I noticed about her when I met her at a local writing group.
Japanese women have been found to have higher pitches than Dutch women. This finding has been explained in the past by assuming that Japanese women raise their pitch in order to project a vocal image associated with feminine attributes of powerlessness.
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.
Often, our voices feel and sound a little hoarse, making us perceive our voice as lower. This could be down to thickened excess mucus that has settled on the vocal cords overnight.
Women are generally assumed to be more talkative than men. Data were analyzed from 396 participants who wore a voice recorder that sampled ambient sounds for several days. Participants' daily word use was extrapolated from the number of recorded words. Women and men both spoke about 16,000 words per day.