Again and again I am asked whether it is even possible to train a "proper" voice. In such questions, I usually hear the skepticism as to whether the voice is not rather an integral part of the personality, i.e. unchangeably bound to a concrete character. In my opinion, this would also be worth an exciting discussion – but today I want to question how such a desired "proper" voice should be constituted. And whether there is such a thing at all?
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Interesting term. My association with "orderly" does not spontaneously go in the direction of voice, but I think of "order" (which seems more static than alive to me). But perhaps there is a closer connection than first suspected:
Just as every person keeps his individual order and this is composed of more and less conscious partial aspects, so is called "orderly" someone who can optimally use and control this system.
If I relate this thought to the personal handling of each person's voice, I could speak of a "proper" voice if sb can control and optimally use his "vocal apparatus" (which is technically a trainable, muscular system and at the same time is a holistic interplay of body, soul and mind) in a wide variety of situations.
There are undoubtedly beautiful voices, just as there are visually beautiful people. The latter can be changed to a certain extent, the former probably too. But the possibilities of voice training are often overestimated, especially by voice coaches who make a living from it.
Hello Mr. Fischbacher and companions,
I think of too "neat" full, powerful, doll; like "a good portion"; then you mean enough = sufficient = much. So this would mean for the voice that it would also be or is sufficiently strong, audible, perceptible = good.
Greetings to the week!
Dear Heidi Bieber, thank you for your thoughts! You put it perfectly in a nutshell: Use your voice in a controlled and optimal way ... – from your personal experience, this probably automatically includes an empathetic response to the interlocutors. This is what often falls by the wayside in the search for "proper" voices. In other words, if only "loud enough", "understandable", "clearly articulated", "with a good vocal position" etc. are searched for and trained.
Greetings from Salzburg, Yours sincerely, Arno Fischbacher
For me, a proper voice has someone who doesn't squeak while talking, swallow syllables or otherwise get 🙂 on my nerves vocally. And I also make an effort, in the sense of my mother, whom I often heard say as a child: Speak properly! And we children then said: yes, eeeeehhh!
@Marc: "Beautiful" ... oh that's a whole different discussion, isn't it? Beauty, it is so aptly said, lies in the eye (or in this case in the ear) of the beholder!
And as far as the possible changes in vocal expression through training are concerned: Doesn't the effect of every "normal" voice also lie in the special nuances? In the nuances that trigger and cause this and that? As soon as someone is able to make use of these otherwise unconscious subtleties, we have already gained a lot for everyday life, work and life, haven't we?
Voice training for art and stage, however, does indeed have different demands. There you also think about the beauty 🙂
Kind regards, Arno Fischbacher
@Stimme-and-profile: Dear Ms. Sroka, "full" is a nice word ... and, yes, I also think that it's always about both sides – does the person feel comfortable with his or her voice – and the right thing arrives on the other side.
By the way, I particularly like your video on your website!
Greetings to Hamburg!
Interesting question, Arno!
I am also asked about it again and again in the training sessions. I think that proper voices can create order in the sense of clarity in contact. To do this, you should know how voice works, what vocal resources you have and that voice ultimately only sounds decent if it acts in harmony with your own goals and needs. So it's quite clear: there are decent voices and we all carry the foundations for them within us.
Hello Thomas, thank you for this beautiful sentence: "Order in the sense of clarity in contact". Very fine definition, I think. Don't just look for order in yourself, you need this small step beyond that.
That's a really exciting question. As a coach, I would distinguish between a proper voice and an effective voice. A neat voice is one that matches the controls. It fits into the order.
An effective voice is directed at the audience. It does not primarily have to fit the speaker, but create an effect on the audience. Of course, it should be positive and if the voice is "decent", it increases the accuracy. But the effect depends on the sensitivity of the audience and that is more diverse than the individual person.