By Lim Soo Ping
In 2013, I was the special guest at an event of The Art of Voice. In my address, I talked about the importance of voice in effective verbal communication. I have had voice training before. So I could speak with a little credibility.
I also spoke about the other form of communication using voice, namely singing. Here I share an extract of my speech.
Our voice is also for singing. Songs are a form of communication too.
In a song performance, musical instruments often complement the voice. But they cannot replace voice.
Voice can deliver content or lyrics. No musical instrument can do that. Voice can simulate the sounds of certain musical instruments. With an a cappella group here tonight to entertain us, who needs an orchestra?
As I contemplated the characteristics of voice vis-à-vis musical instruments, I see other interesting features as well.
First, a human voice comes in a special casing, the human body. Our body can gesticulate, gyrate, swing or dance to the flow and rhythm of the song being sung.
Secondly, voice comes with a built-in database of songs for instant recall. These can be constantly updated. And there is no “Delete” button.
Thirdly, you can put your voice to “silent mode”. When you did that, your song would play out in the “sound box” of your mind. Only you yourself can hear it.
Fourthly, and this is of particular importance, your voice follows you wherever you go, be it to the park or beach, or to your friend’s home when you are invited over for dinner.
It even follows you into the shower. You can’t bring any other musical instrument into the shower. A saxophone would sound muffled; the water would damage the key pads. A violin with its wooden body would become warped.
And you can’t take a piano into the bathroom. It would not fit in unless you are showering in your garden. And that’s why we can only sing in the shower. Gene Kelly sang in the rain.
However, I would advise against an a cappella group practising in the shower. The members would lose focus.
So, our voice is a very important part of our body. Let us all make the best use of it to communicate well, to entertain others and ourselves, and to build connections with people in our workplace and in our community.
Lim Soo Ping
(Feature photo by Wenhao Ryan on Unsplash)
