• 0 Posts
  • 91 Comments
Joined 1 month ago
cake
Cake day: June 23rd, 2025

help-circle











  • Disclaimer: I am not an audio engineer or musician, I have a college-level understanding of physics, and I dick around with video games and electronics as a hobby, so I have a little specialized understanding of audio, waves, energy, etc.

    Human voices don’t work like loudspeakers where the diaphragm vibrates. Our diaphragm moves air through constant pressure, and the larynx is what actually creates the vibration. A deep vs high-pitched voice is defined by the geometry in the larynx. It’s more like a breath-operated instrument like brass or woodwinds, and in those, the difference between high and low notes isn’t all that significant.

    It might be more significant between a bass and alto saxophone, but the sheer volume of the instrument itself plays a greater role. And usually they’re played louder than a typical singer.

    I don’t know if there is actual measurement of energy expenditure for human vocalization. You could measure energy of the sound waves, but I’m not sure if that would directly correlate in the way you’re thinking.

    Edit: as mentioned I’m no engineer, so if the larynx uses any kind of resonance to produce its sound, I have no idea how that works.