Recording and Voice Processing, Volume 1

Introduction

Since Plato and Aristotle, we have often heard this quote, “The voice is the mirror of the soul”. It is true that before understanding the meaning of a word, we must understand its emotional side; we recognize the intonation that makes a voice more or less unique. The paralinguistic characteristics of a voice, that personalize it, take priority over the meaning of the message that is delivered. They express the emotional aspect of the interlocutor and favor the transmission of emotions.

It is also necessary to take the environment into consideration; the voice exists only through its medium, the air which surrounds us. The numerous acoustic variables, vocal cords and different morpho-anatomical cavities of the individual form the timbre of the voice, which can be modified during its diffusion by the environmental medium in which it is established.

Each individual has a different timbre that represents a sound signature. The voice is the reflection of the body and the spirit, but let us not assume that its characteristics are as static and reliable as the genetic code or fingerprints. They are variable, determined by numerous parameters linked to morphology, imagination, environment, affect and even gestures, even if many of these elements do not affect the hard core that builds the essence of a voice.

The recorded voice brings different sensations that often flout the canons of the direct voice, spoken or sung, but it is far from being unpleasant and it has become, ...