Poll Which orchestral instrument(s) does your voice most resemble?

[tahutoa]

This was a question I pondered which actually ended up being a good conversation starter (feel free to use it yourself). Best for get-togethers with family or intimate friend groups.

Determining the answer should be based on two criteria:

1. the Timbre, the part of a sound that defines its character; the bit that allows you to tell the difference between, say, a violin and a flute. Is your voice smooth? Breathy? Nasally? Deep? Soft? High?
2. the cadence, by which I mean how you use it in your everyday speech. Do your sentences start out strong, then reach a point of sustain? Do they start soft, but quickly become louder? Are they commanding and sonorous? Timid and understated? Do individual words each have their own punch? Do they flow together smoothly?

(If you can't answer this part very easily, it pays to put forth this question when surrounded by people who know you well already. They will be able to tell you the manner in which you speak if they think about it together.)​

Many instruments will be played in specific ways. (It would be strange to hear the opening to Rhapsody in Blue played on a string instrument, wouldn't it?)
Although your voice may resemble the color (or timbre) of more than one instrument, the way you use your voice will break the tie.

They say the human voice is like an instrument. So, it stands to reason that it must resemble one of them. After all, Dvorak chose the English horn for the New World symphony because it was what most resembled the voice of a man he knew. Old cartoons also would often use woodwinds or brass instruments to imitate laughter and people speaking.
In other words, say these composers wanted to emulate your voice for their purposes. Which orchestral instrument(s) would come closest to matching your voice, both how it sounds and the way you normally use it?

(After answering the poll for "which type," add a reply saying which instruments you think your voice resembles.)

 

[Just a Wario Fan]

Interesting question, but not one to be easily answered. People sometimes say that my voice is a bit "crackling", i.e. starts off strong and coherent, but when trailing off it becomes a bit weak and my vocal cords cannot longer "run smoothly", so to say. It's also a bit nasally, but that's just what I personally think when hearing audio records of my voice. (If you know why your own voice sounds so weird on audio recordings, this probably won't come as a surprise.)

So yeah, I think the best answer would be a double reed instrument, with a deep, somewhat nasal sound, though I don't know exactly which instrument that would be.

By the way, the instrument that most closely resembles a human voice (albeit one of a choir singer) would probably be the Vox Humana rank of a pipe organ; it literally means "Human Voice" after all.

 

[JorgeTheOddity]

Do you count mayonnaise as an instrument?
Jokes aside, I don't think I can say the answer with confidence. I wanna say I have a deepish and nasally voice, so maybe a Bassoon? Something in the woodwinds area.
Thing is, my voice always sounds different in recordings (and other people, I would imagine), and I never got used to that. It just sounds... Off. I'd say it's still in that woodwinds region, just for consistently.

 

[tahutoa]

Interesting question, but not one to be easily answered. People sometimes say that my voice is a bit "crackling", i.e. starts off strong and coherent, but when trailing off it becomes a bit weak and my vocal cords cannot longer "run smoothly", so to say. Would a fitting comparison be Super Dave? It's also a bit nasally, but that's just what I personally think when hearing audio records of my voice. (If you know why your own voice sounds so weird on audio recordings, this probably won't come as a surprise.)

So yeah, I think the best answer would be a double reed instrument, with a deep, somewhat nasal sound, though I don't know exactly which instrument that would be.

Perhaps Contrabassoon, but playing in its upper range (which sounds more like a regular bassoon but with some differences).

By the way, the instrument that most closely resembles a human voice (albeit one of a choir singer) would probably be the Vox Humana rank of a pipe organ; it literally means "Human Voice" after all. Y'know what, I have to agree.

Looking this up got me to listen to a video with a Reed/Pump Organ, which brought to my attention that organ in particular is very good at emulating several woodwinds.
Tell you what that is; I'm hearing the Huntering With Bomb organ.
Sounds like Shawm music that I heard in History of Western Music class.

If you've got a particular recording in mind you'll have to link it, because outside of these two examples I keep seeing conflicting interpretations on what Vox Humana is.

 

[Terrormisu]

while it's not an orchestral instrument, i've noticed that my surprisingly deep and strong voice (despite being a girl) sounds kind of like a soft Electric Guitar, like this



i think it's because my voice is really rough and has a very distinct European accent to it

 

[Baker Man]

I often hesitate my sentences, what instrument would that imply?

 

[tahutoa]

I often hesitate my sentences, what instrument would that imply?

That'd be more like a type of articulation (like staccato).

while it's not an orchestral instrument, i've noticed that my surprisingly deep and strong voice (despite being a girl) sounds kind of like a soft Electric Guitar, like this



i think it's because my voice is really rough and has a very distinct European accent to it

That sounds awesome. You should read off a monologue for something. Also, they actually *did* have acoustic guitar in the orchestra, sort of. It wasn't common at all, because most orchestral colors disagree with it (and even today it's mostly the same). It was almost always used as accompaniment, and otherwise would be the subject of solo pieces. You had to be proficient with the instrument yourself or know someone who was to compose for it (wouldn't surprise me if they used tabs even back then). That was a nice video you linked, by the way. Very nice amp colors on display there.

 

[Baker Man]

That'd be more like a type of articulation (like staccato).

ah, ok, i guess i'll ask some people what instrument they think i sound most like, bc idrk

 

[Baker Man]

I listened to my voice for a while, and I noticed it sounded like a single reed