Why does your voice change as you get older? - Shaylin A. Schundler

Learn more about TED's student voice initiative here: bit.ly/2ODTRIq
View full lesson: ed.ted.com/les...
The human voice is capable of incredible variety and range. As we age, our bodies undergo two major changes which explore that range. So how exactly does our voice box work, and what causes these shifts in speech? Shaylin A. Schundler describes how and why our voices change when we get older.
Lesson by Shaylin A. Schundler, directed by Andrew Foerster & Nick Counter.
Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Michael Aquilina, Vinamr L. Sachdeva, FireWolfLasers, Kshitij Shah, Mohammad Said, Teach Me Diné - Navajo Language, Victoria Veretilo, Rebecca Reineke, Felipe Hoff, Kyanta Yap, Brandon Thomas, Lewis Westbury, Ojas Kapoor, Johnny Gutierrez, Mirzat Turap, Jaime Arriola, Emilia Alvarado, Javid Gozalov, 真佑 劉, Ethan Cole, Philipp Hiestand, Paul Beard, Deepak Iyer, Markus Goldhacker, Mihai Sandu, Keven Webb, Hendrik Mueller, Maurice Castonguay, Kristiyan Bonev, Maryam Dadkhah, Joshua Wasniewski, Michał Friedrich, Arlene Spiegelman, Doug Henry, Alick Au, denison martins fernandes, Hashem Al, Daniel Nester, Richard A Berkley, Benjamin Chan, Dee Wei, Abdallah Absi, Denise A Pitts, Pi Guanghui, Doris, Kurt Almendras, Raymond Lee, and Nicolas Silva.

[@TEDEd]

Every student has an idea worth spreading. Learn more about TED's student idea platform here: bit.ly/2ODTRIq. Because the time to share student voices is ALWAYS now.

[@rosasukses3610]

TED-Ed NOICE

[@rocksjas]

Thank you so much for making all these amazing videos! They are really interesting and I enjoy watching them! :D

[@kyraarts]

Could you do a video on Ligma?

[@danman9956]

TED-Ed c.

[@felixrubiooficial55]

TED-Ed hi guys I was trying to find the animated videos on the app but couldn’t find it would tell me how I got a iPhone

[@alur_chip8271]

the animation is absolutely adorable

[@TsunamiHead62]

What's your profile pic of??

[@supayosefu9233]

Maimuna Fairuz I also wanna know

[@alur_chip8271]

SupaYosefu it's from Yuri!!!On ice. It's a picture of Mila Babicheva

[@metahashmhc680]

OMG YURI AHHHHHHHHHH I HATE THAT GAME its so creepy

[@alur_chip8271]

afia Akhlaq ??? It's from an anime?? Not a game?? Are you talking about DDLC?

[@JackSanRio]

The new question is why can't we hear our actual voice/tone (unless you use recorder and hate yourself for your voice).

[@kemarrobinson1912]

yes I wonder

[@JackSanRio]

Unicorn_Queen the number of 's' shows the pain😂

[@inzaghiii]

According to BBC: "It’s because when you speak you hear your own voice in two different ways. The first is through vibrating sound waves hitting your ear drum, the way other people hear your voice. The second way is through vibrations inside your skull set off by your vocal chords. Those vibrations travel up through your bony skull and again set the ear drum vibrating. However as they travel through the bone they spread out and lower in pitch, giving you a false sense of bass. Then when you hear a recording of your voice, it sounds distinctly higher." Sorry for the long answer lol

[@jenniferjean85]

This helps explain why you think your voice sounds exactly like the singer your singing along with on the radio, but others don't agree. You hear that you are matching the pitch perfectly. But to hear how you really sound when you sing, you need to record yourself and listen to it. All professional singers do that to make sure they are singing properly.

[@JackSanRio]

wuhoo123 That was helpful no need for ted ed video for this😄

[@sebastianelytron8450]

I love the sound of my own voice! said no one ever

[@emmajackovin]

Haha😂😂

[@aswarmofcrabs]

Sebastian Elytron I hateeee my singing voice, even though I'm professionally trained. My speaking voice is obnoxious too

[@lakshmimohan6467]

😁

[@RookieN08]

Well the good news is that regardless of how obnoxious your voice sounds to you, everyone around you is fine with it.

[@lieberte]

I love my voice

[@CalebDoesStuff]

Perfect timing Ted, today was the first day I’ve had a bunch of voice cracks.

[@TEDEd]

Hang in there, CalebDoesStuff. 😊

[@briano8329]

they have been watching you for years

[@saakmalo8273]

Enjoy puberty dude. It’s a wild rollercoster. Can’t really relate cause I’m not a dude. But yay for you Caleb

[@cappuccinocoffee9734]

Prepare for some embarassing moments ahead caleb. Presenting a drama in front of class when my voice cracked was the worst.

[@bl1tz533]

Welcome to the dropping-balls club.

[@abhijitleihaorambam3763]

I learned a lot about biology from your video

[@InfoConGafas]

Abhijit leihaorambam more Anatomy than biology

[@giorgospapoutsakis5271]

​@@InfoConGafas yiu get what he's trying to see but nvm

[@DragonActual]

It’s like a mandatory patch we have to go through

[@blixology]

We’re gonna get paragoned lmao

[@NovaMenno]

My voice never suddenly switched. Sure, I got voice cracks, but overall my voice dropped slowly but steadily

[@Monochromicornicopia]

Unless you opt for the castration debuff

[@TheEphemeralMammal]

GDI Castration = Jailbreaking The Larynx.

[@nick.3455]

"Your free trial of puberty has ended"

[@technohammer6751]

You know those people with really deep voices? Imagine how deep they think there own voices sound.

[@randomaccount8846]

Imagine corpse thinking about his own voice that would be scary

[@jaylim6019]

this video should be titled "why does the grandma have airpods and I don't" 4:00

[@falcon5178]

hearing aid

[@Juici667]

@@falcon5178 that looks nothing like a hearing aid

[@falcon5178]

@@Juici667.

[@drinkmilk6024]

EnterFalcon Wooooooooosh

[@falcon5178]

i know its a joke

[@holliec1528]

Imagine if girls had deep voices and boys had high pitched voices

[@holliec1528]

Imagine the queen with Dwayne the Rocks voice

[@emmajackovin]

hollie c oml that would be weird

[@stanyoonjinforeheads1618]

I can feel the earth coming to an end, then!

[@this_rishi]

I just imagined.. what's next?

[@jayfawn8478]

hollie c dwayne's voice is not that striking....

[@Maria-mu3hb]

I always thought my voice actually sounded good...that was before I recorded myself talking.😭

[@mennatallah4068]

Miriam Haralson 😂

[@Diamondesignsempires]

Me too :((((((((((((((((((((

[@sosobo2991]

Me three

[@Zol_1312]

No that feeling.

[@ricardokessler]

Imagine if girls had the male look and boys the girl’s one lol

[@youtubeviewer8146]

Thank you Ted for posting all these amazing and interesting videos, that I absolutely just love.

[@mosaicbrokenhearts2886]

Why is my voice too soft? When I'm speaking people will be like I can't hear u, even if I scream also..

[@meeraaa08]

Awe, that's cute. I sound like a angry sick 4 year old.

[@falcon5178]

Why is my voice -too soft?- constantly yelling? when i'm speaking people will be like i can hear you thinking even if i whisper also..

[@ra_alf9467]

Same, I'm a man but my voice is too soft

[@user-mz6zn1od9h]

Hah same people always say they can't hear me or that I'm speaking too softly.

[@ChenBritMi]

My guess is you have sensitive hearing? I have that problem as well

[@carcinogenicthalidomide3057]

All I feel is,pain for the people who hear me everyday.I wish they could hear the voice that I hear when I speak.

[@matherman1111]

you probably have it easy, i sound worse than fruity pinnochio.

[@manal.daoudi]

@@matherman1111 😂😂😂😂😂

[@reese76man]

Way before getting too much older, Elton John's voice seemed to change drastically between the 70s and 90s. Chris Cornell was hitting some seriously great high notes, even after 50. I guess it just varies.

[@parkchimmin7913]

Man, the animation keeps getting better and better! It looks so adorable and funny!

[@PatrickvonMassow]

Thanks for the informative video. However it didn't give the information I was hoping for. While the reasons for vocal changes during puberty and when you're old are rather well-known, I'd like to know why and how the voice changes between ages ~25 to ~55. It especially (but not exclusively) shows in singing voices of opera singers that tend to get darker over this peroide of time.

[@zamarisims332]

I Love watching this channel, even if i don't understand the topic I learn it by the end. I love these videos they make want to learn more as I age. Right now me being in middle school i'm pretty average, but these video make me a whole level smarter. This year I got in advanced Math and Science, And I'm very proud. I wouldn't be here without you. Thank you!

[@rea8585]

My heart stopped when I saw the creepy balls cutting guy's face 😱

[@monika5793]

I- 😂😂😂😂

[@Historyjewels]

When

[@sxlstzce]

*balls*

[@PloverBones]

When?

[@sxlstzce]

@@PloverBones 0:20

[@annikaheydl7342]

This channel always seems to know the random questions floating around in my head

[@aaliyahmaurice]

When I read the title I answered “Puberty” but it came out with a voice crack. 😑

[@meeraaa08]

haha

[@falcon5178]

oof

[@xman1504]

Wow this is the earliest I have ever been to Ted Ed

[@genisay]

I believe after castration was outlawed, they simply switched to getting new singers. Once your voice cracked, you couldn't be a part of the choir anymore and someone younger had to take your place.

[@taylorduncan4777]

In middle school we had a kid giving a speech on Veterans Day and he had a voice crack that kid probably thinks everyone forgot but i still remember and think about it ALOT

[@practicalpen1990]

In Spanish (at least in Mexico) we call voice cracks "roosters", in expressions such as "your rooster escaped". I've always found it hilarious.

[@lucaslayton3974]

Can you make a video about what makes a good singing voice and why some people can sing well and others can't?

[@HuongPhan-ez3hb]

Love this I always wondered how the voice box works. Can you please make a video shows how singers train their voice. Lots of love from Viet Nam

[@aleksiazilfo5013]

I love this channel. Boom. I said it.😍

[@crazybestfriendforever1456]

Love all of these educational videos IN ANIMATIONS (thats what catches our kid minds by the way) and the fact that its no charge.

[@falcon5178]

_o u r k i d m i n d s_

[@GustavoGomes-nn5np]

@@falcon5178 I N A N I M A T I O N S

[@HeidiBird]

This is actually a terrifying video. I'm very attached to my singing voice and the knowledge that I will lose it within the next few decades feels like being told I'll die way before I expected to. :(

[@Simply2]

Me: Asks this question Parents: *It's called puberty, kid.*

[@astronautbehera7621]

The animation is simple yet sophisticated. WOW!

[@nattikinss3680]

We learned about the larynx in fifth grade but this is amazing!

[@vivieneb3131]

Love how simply this concept was explained! Thanks TED-Ed :)

[@riteshram74]

I need the intro music to be my alarm lol

[@harrymix]

Incorrect at @1:53 "By pushing the air faster or slower we change the frequency and amplitude of these vibrations" The Hz is changed by faster vibrating vocal cords, making faster waves, but faster air over vocal cords do not necessarily change the pitch.

[@JustinY.]

The server updates screw with the player model

[@thatpizzadrive]

Skooma Ikr But What About Pillar Men?

[@holengon4444]

I just realized, if we see Justin Y. everywhere, doesn't that also mean we are everywhere too?

[@someonethatsinafucktonoffa104]

Chlorophyll ! Then the ones who hate justin just for seeing him are hypocrites

[@coco-rs6yd]

Justin Y. Long time no see

[@circle4602]

Report him

[@mango7736]

I'm 14 and going through puberty and I sound so wierd. Its sounds deep but squeaky at the same time. I just hope I don't sound like this forever.

[@eggyo69]

Don't worry, you probably won't. :-)

[@mango7736]

@@eggyo69 thank you :-)

[@quarts5519]

have fun going through puberty....

[@phreak761]

Mr squeaky.

[@ASTERIKKX]

same im 14 and my voice is so different from 6 months ago

[@f.n30]

Every time i watch a Ted ed video i get fascinated and i simply thank god for this amazing body we live in and ted ed is why i think our bodies are so fascinating and let us wonder so much about each and every organ and cell's function

[@lakshmimohan6467]

I came as soon as I saw Ted Ed 🙌 animation is awesome as always 👏

[@saniyakhan2439]

My voice still sounds like my 5 year old self

[@apricat582]

Same

[@radrad4471]

Same

[@steadystep759]

How old are you all? It will start changing from 12-15 years old. In my case, I'm 13 and its just started to crack alot and get alittle deeper. Some experience it earlier or later then others.

[@gamingpalace2]

Squeakers will always be squeakers...

[@gamingpalace2]

@@merrillgeorge1838 who cares, you're 11. Enjoy it while it lasts.

[@therealaluminosilicate]

The narrator's voice is really soothing, I can hear it all day.

[@legend2533]

I love the movement animation

[@Itsaloraaa]

The singer is so cuuuuuttteeeee

[@xyryzpatagnan2141]

Hey Ted Ed I love the vids that you make, keep up the amazing content

[@NovaMenno]

I remember when I was younger I could hit all the notes an alto can sing without effort. Now I am a low bass that can pump out every note a tenor can sing by using my falsetto (for reference, in normal circumstances in the middle of the day I can go from low D2 all the way up to A5, where voice.exe decides to stop working. I have to switch to falsetto when singing everything higher that F4, everything under that is comfortable. In the morning or evening, I can reach a C2, and in rare instances even a Bb1. I'm also working on my octavist range, and I have managed to somehow hold an A0, that is the lowest key on a standard piano for anyone wondering)

[@jinarose5374]

How to keep them young and healthy?

[@syedali9179]

Jina Rose there muscles so like all muscles exercise them

[@falcon5178]

harvesting fresh ones should work

[@bellasherwin3166]

I love the animation! 🤩it really added to the video!

[@diec2338]

0:54 the middle one is my sister in the shower

[@diec2338]

@@rafiahharoon271 lmao, thx?

[@zachang3428]

I loved the art so much that I couldn't focus on the narration!

[@nyctus2025]

The voice box is a scary and amazing organ, especially when you hear lions fighting.

[@harikrishnanudayakumar7720]

Always love the quotes at the beginning of the videos.

[@shfnnghh]

The animation is so cute and good

[@momostudioo]

The animation style is adorable

[@ivo3185]

3:05 is not true. The vocal folds aren't homogeneous before puberty only to differentiate during puberty. If it were true, we'd be unable to phonate using different laryngeal vibratory mechanisms before puberty. Children's voices would be restricted to mechanism 1. 4:14 I liked how you alluded to the role of the vestibular folds in the development of breathier, wheezier voices! :)

[@lilboi4694]

Youthro Ted knows what they talk about and does there research and ACTUALLY professionals honey

[@GameGoodness321]

@@lilboi4694 Maybe this person does their research as well, or learned it in school? Ted isn't always right, and that's okay. Maybe this person is wrong, but Ted could be too.

[@mr.sandman6823]

This channel is so good, even my school supports it

[@asdfasdfuhf]

So how do you maintain your vocal chords, just by speaking regularely?

[@falcon5178]

i guess

[@alenjakupovic678]

The animations were so great for this one.

[@CuriosityCulture]

I can't wait for my voice to change as I age, I think it's cool lol

[@judequalls8197]

Harshil Patel hmm

[@Aztlan632]

Im 13 trust me them voice crack are anoying but funny XD

[@gomcocramp]

don't count on that, just go to speech therapy. much more effective

[@falcon5178]

this guy looks 27

[@krystalxmagic]

I think it's pretty cool we have a voice, we all can do anything with it.

[@expertech6514]

Why we when hear our own voice we just feel shame

[@pleasemyytcommentsaredumb.8189]

cus it sounds different from our brain voice, brain voice is the voice you have in your hesd

[@hannara566]

When my favorite singer has changed his voice, getting order, I was so sad. I know that this is natural, but I couldn’t help worring about his voice to change. But he has overcome this change, many people became love his song. Neat! Actually i didn’t like my voice, so i used to imagine about having girly voice. As result, i happend to realize that now my voice suits me best. I think it actually comes from one’s character or habit. My voice is just me! I love my voice!

[@flooshm]

That lady has Airpods ;) 3:58

[@merazulbasitchowdhury6891]

Can you make a video on the differences between the vocal cords in singers vs humans?

[@D.CipherGames]

the deep voice of the narrator

[@SamCaracha]

Adding the reverb from all to oral and nasal cavities to the base tone of the larynx and you get yourself a voice.

[@katherinepagan4860]

Finally, the science behind old people voices!

[@claireschweizer4765]

Ted ed!!! Do more on the voice! I love this! I need mooooooore!

[@olli9984]

My voice has been cracking a lot lately. Does that mean my voice is getting deeper?

[@user-dl3vn8ze9n]

My voice started changing when I was 11 and I was so confused why I sounded so strange.

[@quarts5519]

@plastic_angelz im 11 and my voice become 12% deep ;-;;-;;;;;;--;;;

[@zsalt2018]

@@quarts5519 that’s oddly specific ‘~’

[@jadeuwu9860]

me before video: ye i'd do any thing for dat angelic voice me after video: *NO THANKS*

[@marioreds7826]

if anyone is curious about how the castrati sounded like, there are recordings from the castrato singer Alessandro Moreschi

[@theanxoiushero800]

That explains why I suddenly went from sounding like a newborn baby to corpse husband

[@camillelomax9537]

I thought I was gonna have a girly voice but I sound like corpse husband

[@manali7279]

Ted-Ed has the answer to every question I ever had.. Thank you Team Ted-Ed!

[@mochi2690]

I'm 16 and my voice still sounds like a girl lol.😆 I always talked in high pitch since childhood. I used to kill Let It Go's high note, I still can today but it would leave my throat soar.😂

[@skylarnoel487]

I have the opposite problem! I'm a girl with a pretty low pitched voice haha.

[@TransVoiceCoach]

ur probably approaching it with too much vocal weight I can hit d2 consistently but I can also hit like d6 consistently its just about the coordination u use to get there

[@imtokyoghoulgaming6496]

Why is there girls here

[@EcoEats-rk4wk]

I wanna know who voices these because their voice is so soothing

[@tiengmyketnoi9268]

people : he- me : *E M B R A C E T H E W I L D E R N E S S*

[@moiraksmith]

You guys need to talk about vocal chord dysfunction

[@gashetauwu1932]

In my case it was actually backwards xD, when I was 14 I used to have a very deep almost batman like voice and now that i'm 19 my voice it's so fine that almost 90% of the time people confuse my voice with a girl in phone calls and WhatsApp audios, the other 10% are just friends and family that just sometimes mistake my voice jsjs

[@jonasshiujunhimgsps6078]

@whimsical5325no it does not work like that 🙂

[@OXIR]

You hearing your voice vs recording and listening to it is like looking into the mirror vs taking a picture and looking at it.

[@getthebread1256]

Suprising but why does my grandma has the most strongest voice of us all and the most loudest 😂 her voice is even greater than mine suprising 😂 She's a cranky old lady still got some strong voice 😂

[@Skuint]

I learn even more in educational videos than in school with our teachers....

[@day6atemywallet78]

I never noticed how my voice changed, it still sounds like a child’s voice and as for singing....let me not even mention 😖

[@0901강민재]

우리의 목소리가 나이에 따라서 계속 변화해가는 이유에 대하여 알아보는 시간이 되었습니다. 우리가 목소리를 어떻게 내는지에 대해서도 알아보는 시간이 되었고요. 정말 재미있는 시간이 되었습니다. 감사합니다.

[@SamuelSamuelSamuel1]

I better get a deep voice, I’m 15 and can hit an F7 Edit: I’m 16 now… still can hit an F7 😑

[@GalactixFX]

I-

[@zhandraeolsim8908]

Wait till youre 17 or 18😂

[@kshitijaiyer]

Find your voice and inspire others to find theirs.

[@riz2k179]

Because of eating so much SAUCE!

[@occasionalfan-content4771]

Riz2k17 Are you Albert Einstein

[@aarone.1981]

I [hate] that my singing voice sounds so good in my head; but after I heard a recording of it, never sang aloud again!!

[@moribuntaro]

Same

[@SNDodds]

I have two teenage brothers. Why does the younger one have a deeper voice than the older one?

[@PAULOBASS77]

Hello? I am a musician, singer and KZbinr, owner of a musical channel that talks a lot about low vocal use; and it was then that I saw this wonderful video and found this animation very interesting showing how the vocal change behaves according to age. Please, I could show this video to my subscribers, using only my narration in Portuguese and, above all, of course, with your permission? I would like to thank you very much. Note: With attribution to the owner: TED-ed

[@L0rdOfThePies]

4:03 look out lady theres a see through taller lady next to you, oh no she has airpods in she cant hear us!

[@fmessinamarquetti]

these videos are amazing. keep up the good work

[@madelynpoling1738]

I'm in middle school, so everyone's voice is different, and chorus has a definite variety of voices, but the sopranos sing high pitched notes and then they expect the altos to keep up so my fellow altos are dying, yay voice changes

[@NazFXStudios]

Loved the animation on this!

[@decrepitmanlet652]

0:46 *most “rappers” be like*

[@hplovecraft8145]

here for the class!

[@circle4602]

Nowadays, there is a thing called earrape.

[@someanminieminymymememe9169]

proguy Especially in K-POP

[@tritonvid9680]

proguy also know as earbleeding

[@ihatedmyoldnamesoheresanew7204]

@@someanminieminymymememe9169 (insert comment about how your reply is irrelevant)

[@nyc_joshuaaa4125]

How much would it cost if I inserted a comment?

[@GameGoodness321]

@@ihatedmyoldnamesoheresanew7204 It's not irrelevant since they're saying there's a lot of earrape in K-Pop.

[@Viktor-cz7bs]

The best animation so far.

[@Person47]

thats why you cant breathe at the same time as speaking

[@gomcocramp]

yes you can: speaking is technically breathing, but with voice in action

[@falcon5178]

you are always breathing while talking

[@stargirIll]

@@falcon5178no it’s not

[@xatyl]

More Anatomy and Physiology please this was the bomb