A different study on the perception of vocal sexiness says that men and women both find mid-pitched voices to be the “most sexy.” At the same time, a different study on interviewers' voices says that being high-pitched with an extensive vocal range is the most attractive.
There is also abundant evidence that women prefer men with a deep voice, while men prefer women with a high voice. Attractive male voices are around 96 Hz and the most attractive women voices are up to 280 Hz.
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.
Husky voices signal "sexual interest" and can help women stand out from the crowd, say researchers. Perhaps less surprisingly, the study found men also drop their pitch when they meet women they are attracted to.
Men are more attracted to women with higher-pitched and breathy voices, as these seem to indicate smaller body size, a study published in Plos One suggests. Further research indicates that women who sound attractive usually are.
To sound more attractive:
Men: Lower your pitch, but do not go beyond the norm. Women: Keep your pitch high but natural. Both: Expand the range of your pitch/use intonation more frequently.
The reason feels intuitive: the similarity makes us feel like we're part of a certain social group. An extension of this is, perhaps, a phenomenon called “phonetic convergence,” where people interested in each other tend to start sounding more similar, completely unaware of the effect.
"When you wake up, your vocal folds need to warm up just like the rest of you," says Pitman. "Before a runner goes out, they stretch and run slowly to get the blood flowing.
As a result, women find men with lower-pitched voices more attractive. It's the opposite for men, who are more attracted to women with higher-pitched voices, which is perceived as a marker for femininity. Attractiveness in the voice is important for the impressions we give our potential partners.
Women are more attracted to men with deep voices – and this attraction is strongest among prettier, more feminine women. In fact, women prefer a masculine voice more strongly and more unanimously to a masculine face.
"However," he says, "evidence suggests men evolved deeper voices mainly for intimidating other men rather than attracting women." Studies show that men with deeper voices tend to have higher testosterone levels (an indicator of dominance) and a more athletic body type.
Men who have lower-pitched voices have higher testosterone, they're more likely to be healthy, dominant, attain high social status. These are all things women find really attractive,” O'Connor told Global News.
Contraltos are arguably the rarest of female voice types and they possess a tone so dark they often give the men a run for their money. If mezzos are like clarinets, contraltos are more like bass clarinets.
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.
Remember, your vocal cords have been at rest for many sleeping hours, which is a reason why they sound deeper in the morning. Doing a lot of heavy talking on your dry, swollen cords can cause additional irritation. Give them some time to rehydrate and rejuvenate.
A quavering voice is shaky and a little unclear. People's voices are often quavering when they're tired or afraid. If you're about to cry, you might speak in a quavering voice.
Results showed that men instinctively change their pitch. Men first speak in a sing-song type of voice and then adjust it to a lower tone when they are talking to someone they find attractive.
Soprano: this is the highest singing voice, with the highest tessitura. It is also the most common female voice.
If his voice seems to trail off when the two of you are talking, it's not likely he is interested in you. But if his voice is deep and present, and asking questions about what you are saying; he is probably crushing on you too.
Turns out that's what most guys do. And so do most women. Researchers found that, "Both sexes used a lower-pitched voice and showed a higher level of physiological arousal when speaking to the more attractive, opposite-sex target.
Conclusions: Female speakers with vocal fry were rated as less attractive and intelligent than female speakers without vocal fry, but perception of male speakers did not change whether or not vocal fry was present in the acoustic signal.
Both men and women were perceived as more mature in the low pitch voice conditions, indicating that the pitch manipulation was effective. The study found that men were rated as more attractive when paired with a low pitched voice, and no significant pitch effect was found for pictures of women.