Why your voice is like a fingerprint

The features that make your voice unique.
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Most of us use our voices every day to communicate one way or another, but the way we produce sound is so much more than the words we say. Our voices are about as unique as fingerprints - similar instruments, but with endless variations.
As humans, we each essentially produce sound in the same physiological way, but it’s not as simple as plucking a guitar string. And when we talk we’re dropping clues about who we are, what we do, and where we’re from. A dialect can hint where a person is from. An expressive range might suggest a person is a singer or actor. A slow and quiet tone could mean a person is feeling sad or tired. Check out the video above to learn more about the ins and outs of how we produce sounds and why no one else sounds like you.
For more on the ins and outs of how we produce sound:
asa.scitation....
For more on how puberty changes a person’s voice, including what we do and don’t know about why our voice boxes are so sensitive to sex hormones: www.ncbi.nlm.n...
You can find Justin Stoney’s website here: newyorkvocalco...
Note: The headline on this piece has been updated.
Previous headline: Why no one sounds exactly like you
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[@Salted_Potato]

Vox has the greatest array of journalists I have ever seen in any channel. Serious talent all around to cover so many versatile topics with high quality!

[@napinkpa]

Them and Vice news too

[@keanpaolomiguelcabaero8819]

@@napinkpa I hope you mean vice news

[@SamsonFernendez]

Except this one, she brings bad vibes 🤷

[@justlisten82]

​@@SamsonFernendezat least she's hot 😅

[@Vort_tm]

@@justlisten82 From positivity to objectification in 4 comments.

[@DSQueenie]

This is interesting because my sister and I have very very, I’ve always been told identical voices, similar voices. Even our parents can’t really tell them apart if we speak to them from another room. The only way we are told apart is by our word choice.

[@watsonunlimitedmusic]

Yeah that's the one statement here that doesn't entirely hold true..

[@jdredman]

@@watsonunlimitedmusic Sure it does. Identical, but not the same. The OP and their sister likely have the same upbringing. Had they been separated at birth and moved to another state or even country, they'd likely sound vastly different.

[@dyamoy]

Question…have you used this particular “feature” to your twin’s /demise/? 😅

[@DrDjones]

Identical or similar ... make up your mind already

[@visitstothebank]

I understand what you are saying me and my brother are 4 yrs apart but we sound identical, I can tell the difference in our voices it’s small but I see it but most ppl can’t.

[@Imbatmn57]

My mom and i sound really similar on the phone, if its analyzed you could probably see the difference but most people cant tell who's actually calling.

[@Imbatmn57]

Its the same with her sisters, my grandmother would always wait till they said something only they would say, till she figured out who "its me" is.

[@DSQueenie]

It’s the same for my sister and I. We’ve always been told our voices are identical.

[@triciac.5078]

My mom, her sister and I all sound the same on the phone.

[@jamestdawson]

I think there are many variables as I once dated a young woman who sounded nearly identical to her mother despite being adopted.

[@hopeweiss9549]

same

[@boy638]

But just like how there are non-twins that look uncannily similar to each other, there must be people's voices that sound virtually identical but we just have yet to find it?

[@TheOfficialNathanMacLeod]

I presume so but accents and languages would mask it to some extent.

[@ymmwina]

I knew two identical twins who sound exactly the same, and I've heard other stories of strangers sounding the exact same (leading to pranks and stuff). This video is so interesting but in my life, i have met people who sound identical sooooo....

[@Ginamichelle767]

Vocal doppelgangers!

[@gamemeister27]

Yeah I found an ASMR video where the guy sounded way too similar to me for my own mental health

[@alexxxO_O]

I've literally heard people with UNCANNILY similar voices to me.

[@Hawk259]

I love this! I’m a Speech-Language Pathologist! This is my jam! So happy to see more education about these areas 🤗

[@foxque2149]

As a SLP I proudly enjoyed the video too, high five!

[@eLLeGx3]

Another SLP here!!! Totally got excited about this video too.

[@tyr3759]

A FSD here! Totally not excited, but it's interesting.

[@nzs316]

So how do we differentiate ChatGPT from the real person. Today they are very close. Give it another couple months and it may be impossible to differentiate the copy from the original.

[@megzmeow]

Speech and language therapist in the UK here! Just started specialising in dysphonia - this will be so useful to so many people! More please!

[@mmleehan]

When you sound like somebody that I used to know

[@mysticmarble94]

OUT 🥸🥸🥸

[@gabor6259]

Kimbra sounds like Katy Perry.

[@anonymousc.8934]

You didn’t have to cut me off 😢

[@gabor6259]

@@anonymousc.8934 Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing!

[@Dr.Kraig_Ren]

*Why no one sounds like you* _Even I don't sound like myself when I hear my recordings...._

[@gabor6259]

That has to do with where your ears are. Other people hear you a little differently than you hear yourself because they are at a different distance and angle from your mouth than your own ears are. If you record yourself with a phone, try putting your phone right next to your ear and "see" if it sounds more like you.

[@samiam2003]

💀

[@ShazeemKhan]

​@@gabor6259 OMG I never thought of that, it works! Lol

[@RailzNY]

Tell that to WhatsApp after listening to a message you've just sent

[@paulcarlachapman628]

As others have commented, sometimes a vocal imprint seems to run in families. I sound like my mother did and my daughters sound like me. Both my brothers sound like Daddy did. Then you will see sibling singing pairs or groups who can achieve amazingly close harmony because they sound so much alike. Voices are interesting.

[@nikkitronic80]

This was very interesting. I used to sing a lot and be pretty good at it too. I sang in choir all through school, used to do musical theater and just sing for fun at home or in the shower. Then I became addicted to drugs for many years and never sang, it was a sad, terrible time in my life. I’ve been sober for four years now and when I try to sing, it comes out as a shadow of my former singing self. I thought I’d try to get back into choir but I can hardly hold a tune anymore. I can just feel that my muscles have atrophied down in there. I wonder if with practice it’s something that can come back? Because it’s pretty bad lol, I sound awful now lol

[@RarelyAChump]

"There will be no one who will ever sound like you", but there will be technology that can already 😅

[@perhapsyes2493]

Full pedantry mode: That's not a "someone", that would be a thing. (Until AI declares itself/is declared sentient, that is ... which might be very close)

[@brettito]

@BunsGlazing obviously you have never left your own town because there are people in the world that do not speak English natively. I feel bad for you.

[@nightspicer]

there are some people that can do insanely accurate impersonations

[@samiam2003]

💀fr

[@Davi_L]

When I was in 8th grade a classmate of mine moved 5,000 miles across the world. 7 years later I was visiting that country sitting in a lobby talking on the phone and some random person walked over and said "Davi, is that you?" It was him.

[@10nsolly]

Is there an explanation for people who can do impressions really well?

[@debangan]

Training their vocal chords to make diverse range of sounds. Then adjusting them to sound like somebody else. It is never 100% accurate though.

[@bobbymoss6160]

muscle control. end of explanation.

[@SoftTofu123]

lets say you draw something. it's unique. but I can always try to copy it as best as I could. maybe it's close enough that i can trick others. it's basically the same thing.

[@LuukvdHoogen]

I think many great impressions have to do with timing and mimicking someones thought process. When I see a great impression I think: 'that is exactly how she would say that!' in stead of 'that is exactly the right frequency and resonance!'

[@encouraginglegacy]

@@LuukvdHoogen Good point here.

[@nateridgely6778]

I’ve always noticed that people who look alike don’t always sound alike, but anybody who sounds like someone almost always looks like them

[@kfemme68]

I do know one thing that changes things... for me it was being in a major car accident and having tubes in my throat for so long or so many (I'm not sure which was the culprit for sure) but it damaged my vocal cords and makes it very hard for me to sing at all anymore. But being alive after that accident wasn't a guarantee so I'm just thankful I'm alive.

[@stellarsyd]

When we think about this musically, it is just so beautiful

[@AxeSoul]

PLEASE do more videos on voices/vocal stuff!

[@abmindprof]

Thanks, as a linguist I appreciate videos like these. It must have been hard to narrow down. There's so much more that could be said, such as languages that use voice changes (most obviously tones but also various stretches and relaxing) to make meaning, smokers voice, and so on.

[@abmindprof]

@@justayoutuber1906 I try.

[@gradientcube]

Vox has been making some amazing videos lately.

[@sonnychoi]

Just so you and the other presenters know, none of you sound annoying or weird! From my personal experience, people who comment on how "irritating" or "unattractive" on another person sounds, are the people I want to listen to the least.

[@Merlincat007]

They're probably insecure about their own voices :(

[@carolines.6517]

amen!

[@leonhardeuler675]

5:38 as a podiatrist, I can tell you that the foot is the sole. Not the larynx.

[@rishabh30695]

Bro she meant SOUL not SOLE.

[@elmatichos]

The sigh was unreal :D I love your comment

[@juliandavidac]

😂😂😂😂 sole

[@zumabbar]

what a solely interesting fact

[@AudreyYun]

voices might not sound EXACTLY alike, but plenty of voices sound very very similar so as to be practically the same to the ear.

[@jasminek3612]

What’s creepy is when sisters sound almost exactly the same

[@claudiaperi4990]

Come play with us

[@astaridjatmiko8187]

"The larynx is a person's soul". Yep, i can't agree more.

[@ltfreeborn]

This is essentially, a video to boost self confidence.

[@user-op8fg3ny3j]

Kinda felt like it was personal when she brought up the old comments that got under her skin

[@JeskidoYT]

@@user-op8fg3ny3j most videos on this channel stem from just one idea related to someone's personal life. a subjective question turned into a semi objective research.

[@tessiepinkman]

This was super cool! I had an idea of how this all worked, but not at all in this detail. Thank you for always providing us with interesting topics, and most importantly; topics with *substance* - because that's really quite rare.

[@delyar]

I am a musician and mainly work with singers, I very much like this presentation

[@xanthespace5141]

A question I haven't thought about but uh thanks for giving an answer?

[@rizdog5735]

I thought about this a lot

[@mellow-jello]

Voices are unique, and that said, tech will come close enough that when listening to a facsimile by AI, you won't hear the difference.

[@andrewsantamonica6025]

2:36 that pause though!

[@DrewRobertson1]

I work with a guy who, if I didn't know any better, was my cousin. He sounds identical. It kind of prevents me from having a normal convo with him without cracking.

[@TeKaMOTO]

Never noticed anything about the way you speak, but now that you mentioned it, I immediately hyper focused on it and noticed you hardly move your jaw when you speak.

[@flashsurfing]

She also speaks through her mostly closed teeth, especially noticeable on the end of words

[@dennis9052]

Guys, the fact that larynx can say a lot about a person is one of the most unquestionable truths I have ever heard. Nice video to all Vox's team!🎬

[@voicetube]

I'm a voiceover artist for a living… And I approve this video… :-)

[@robrodell]

Wooooooooooooooonderful video. As a trained singer, 5:13 reminds me to "prektis prektis prektis!" as declared by Mary McDonnell in the movie Sneakers, so that my cords (aka folds) don't atrophy as quickly.... Thanks Vox.

[@justlisten82]

Now I'm even more interested in how some people can mimic and impersonate others so well.

[@artemcaesar3535]

The last part was a brilliant :3 I feel roughly the same when I try to produce high pitch sounds ))

[@outtersteller]

So how does relate to stuttering ??? I struggled with this while growing up. It runs in the family but always dissipates during puberty. I just wanna understand how it works and why. Trying to connect the dots with this explanation.

[@Liolia22]

I beg to differ; me, my sister, and my mom all sound identical when we say “hi” in Russian on the phone 😆 but yes, once we start talking longer, we likely sound different (but it may be related to our varying accents). (Edited for grammar/word choice)

[@christianhansen3292]

the pitch of that guy's squeaks at the end are amazing!

[@zumabbar]

whoa wait. whispering strains your vocal cord????????

[@ananas_anna]

Yep. Which is why when you have laryngitis, you should never whisper.

[@abdullahibnemobin7725]

@Vox Would suggest if there can be a part-2 of this to explain how does vocal mimicry works?

[@Avius_River]

Perfect timing for this video

[@2468whodoweappreciate]

Thank you, I learned a lot in this video.

[@Surenwithhisvideos]

Thanks Leonardo Di Caprio for that pristine explanation 🙂

[@ShazeemKhan]

Loving the content, just subbed. Greetings from Trinidad 🇹🇹

[@ntobekomtimkulu239]

Could we have a video like this describing accents?

[@josh8560]

Only OG's remember the orignal title of this video...

[@miyotto]

Yeah, I put this on my watch later list and I'm surprised that the title has been changed

[@har5814]

What's the title though?

[@ra5aus]

I'm an identical twin and everyone says we sound exactly the same, our mother & my brothers wife gets confused.

[@koguma8823]

what about identical twins?

[@Aragorn7884]

That's a lot of sticky notes in the background LOL

[@Thunder10nutella]

Oh myy- i literally had the same question running in my mind yesterday when i was studying, This definitely helped me better :D

[@sullychow4123]

I was fascinated and horrified by that keyhole camera footage of the vocal folds

[@FedericoMaggiore]

Very appreciated! You explained it in the simplest way possible, great! Btw the last note Justin did was a whistle, wasn't it?

[@KaDrop]

so I have a question, since it’s a muscle, couldn’t you pull/sprain your vocal muscles?

[@TYsdrawkcaB]

you can strain them, but not really pull or sprain them.

[@brokenwizards9122]

3:50 The reason this video was probably made.

[@ZachPincince]

Nobody gonna talk about that casual F7 at the end? 👀🤯

[@_Sameeeta_]

So we’re just gonna ignore dude hitting a WHISTLE NOTE at the end?!?!?

[@dirkdiggler.]

I dont even sound like me when i hear myself

[@hurricanemarigolds2818]

I have trouble telling some voices apart, kinda surprising voices would truly be unique. Some people look startlingly similar to eachother too, almost like they have the same base template lol.

[@MrDavidMcNick]

Some Vox producers don't really show up on camera, but I sure am glad Kim is one that does.

[@AlphaGeekgirl]

In my family, if I visit my mother and I answer her phone, I can have a 10 minute conversation with her friends and they do not know that they’re not talking to my mother. Scarier still, is my sister and her two sons all sound the same on the phone. My brother-in-law cannot tell whether he’s talking to his wife or his boys.

[@MajorProgress]

So when people can sound or mimic another person or animal or sound, what are they doing, and is it a vocal fold "control" or a change/alteration further up the pathway?

[@antonco2]

Your channel is named Vox, you make a video about voices and you don't joke about it?!

[@vennstudios9885]

NOOOOOO YOU DID NOT YOU DID NOT JUST MADE TWO SMALL BALLOONS CLASH TO EACHOTHER NOOO

[@Saleehhh]

My two brothers sounds the exact same, they are not twins

[@lamMeTV]

Dont get upset about some comments. You are a content creator, its the life you chose. Pretending that humans are better than they are sets you up for failure.

[@greegeo]

Only if school was this informative and cool :/

[@paavoilves5416]

It is, but a video with cool graphics is just easier to digest

[@SophieMerau]

@@paavoilves5416 Unpopular opinion

[@SophieMerau]

@@paavoilves5416 It isn’t cool.

[@yungchop6332]

Got that middleschooler "I hate school because they give us homework" mindset

[@sifyh.9561]

It can be! I study English Literature and Linguistics and I learned all of this at school!

[@RosheenQuynh]

Could we have a video on bass voices? 👀

[@hopsiepike]

Penguin parents find their young in the vast collective nesting grounds, by each one’s unique voice.

[@CHLOE_IN_100SKIES]

learning that made me more aware of my throat 😂

[@hamza-chaudhry]

That guy was engaging

[@chirag.r]

Amazing!!

[@paulalancaster1]

The very short clip from "Coming to America" doesn't relate to the topic. Just two old guys arguing about Ali. I assume this is an editing error. So what, if not for this error, are we supposed to have seen instead?

[@2nd3rd1st]

The host and The Magicians actress Stella Maeve look very similar. Interesting.

[@shahdnone7281]

I was just thinking about this the other day!

[@FS-me8mj]

Subahanallah!

[@billsykes5392]

Looking forward to Big Tech unethically using this as a biometric identifier 😊

[@mugumyapaultheafricannomad9488]

I'm watching an answer to a question I have never asked myself. Lol

[@heyjaydance]

6:05 okay Mariah 😂

[@0rod]

That clip of the vocal folds were the most terrifying thing I’ve witnessed

[@OhMaiGuy]

"Bigger, longer, thicker, more muscular" ✌🏾😮‍💨

[@Charles-SG]

What about accents? Do they influence vocal cords in any way?

[@ironic.]

My confidence is through the roof Thanks Vox

[@riyanbabar8416]

This video is amazing ❤❤

[@viktorhammarberg2213]

Fingerprints aren't that unique actually, about a 1 in 10,000 chance you'd be able to open someones phone with finger ID, that's why they moved to Face ID. That means about 800,000 people on earth have practically identical fingerprints as you.

[@ASDPolitics]

I don't know about this... when I group call on the phone with people with my three friends (we grew up together since 3rd grade), people say they can't tell the difference between our voices.

[@WaveRaider-ox4nh]

JERSEY!

[@MiguelAngel_Romero]

Wait a second... Whispering strains your vocal cords????

[@jdredman]

I can almost always pick out my kid from all the other kids' voices at the playground.

[@saloo769]

Thank you Vox for the video Very interesting

[@LalitoTV]

So if pitch affects the tension, and women have higher pitches, does that mean that it's more likely for women to damage their vocal folds?

[@Yalda581]

No the tension affects the pitch, so does the basic vibration of the vocal folds. There is always a pitch where your vocal folds are at ease. For women it is just higher. Maybe there is a density reason for it

[@nurfuerdieplaylist]

I'd say no, the higher pitch in women's voices is probably not due to higher tension but their overall size. The strings on instruments also produce higher pitches just by pressing them against the neck (of a guitar for example), which changes the vibrating length but does nothing to it's tension. But maybe being smaller would also make them more prone to damage? Idk. Just my two cents :)

[@nobodyoh288]

Ai has entered the chat.

[@santha_psk]

what about mimicry artists then?

[@TYsdrawkcaB]

it’s all about manipulation. also, mimicry artists can never sound exactly like the person they’re trying to mimic. the best of us might be able to fool some security, but we’d never be able to sound identical to those we’re trying to imitate

[@QWERTY-gp8fd]

@@TYsdrawkcaB laughs in ai

[@BBQBeerKars]

Short answer: Nobody! ‘Cuz I be amazin’

[@QueenAlexia88]

Ever been to the nethurlands

[@legendsofmyself]

Great!. Thank you

[@velociraptor5962]

Fascinating.

[@Min5]

i love all the vox voices

[@mihakrivec8449]

Man has got that PIANO RIZZ🥵

[@bossdakila4733]

@vox hey. Can you please make a video about dreams. I saw an article that dreams are connected to our 2nd version in the parallel universe. I’ll appreciate it very much. Many thanks!