A New York Times bestselling writer explores what our unique sonic signature reveals about our species, our culture, and each one of us. Finally, a vital topic that has never had its own book gets its due. There’s no shortage of books about public speaking or language or song. But until now, there has been no book about the miracle that underlies them all—the human voice itself. And there are few writers who could take on this surprisingly vast topic with more artistry and expertise than John Colapinto. Beginning with the novel—and compelling—argument that our ability to speak is what made us the planet’s dominant species, he guides us from the voice’s beginnings in lungfish millions of years ago to its culmination in the talent of Pavoratti, Martin Luther King Jr., and Beyoncé—and each of us, every day. Along the way, he shows us why the voice is the most efficient, effective means of communication ever devised: it works in all directions, in all weathers, even in the dark, and it can be calibrated to reach one other person or thousands. He reveals why speech is the single most complex and intricate activity humans can perform. He travels up the Amazon to meet the Piraha, a reclusive tribe whose singular language, more musical than any other, can help us hear how melodic principles underpin every word we utter. He heads up to Harvard to see how professional voices are helped and healed, and he ventures out on the campaign trail to see how demagogues wield their voices as weapons. As far-reaching as this book is, much of the delight of reading it lies in how intimate it feels. Everything Colapinto tells us can be tested by our own lungs and mouths and ears and brains. He shows us that, for those who pay attention, the voice is an eloquent means of communicating not only what the speaker means, but also their mood, sexual preference, age, income, even psychological and physical illness. It overstates the case only slightly to say that anyone who talks, or sings, or listens will find a rich trove of thrills in This Is the Voice.

The first comprehensive, fully-illustrated approach to the voice that explains the anatomy and mechanics in detailed yet down-to-earth terms, for voice users and professionals of all kinds This book is the first to explain, in clear and concise language, the anatomy and mechanics of the mysterious and complex bodily system we call the voice. Beautifully illustrated with more than 100 detailed images, Anatomy of the Voice guides voice teachers and students, vocal coaches, professional singers and actors, and anyone interested in the voice through the complex landscape of breathing, larynx, throat, face, and jaw. Theodore Dimon, an internationally recognized authority on the subject, as well as an expert in the Alexander Technique, makes unfamiliar terrain accessible and digestible by describing each vocal system in short, manageable sections and explaining complex terminology. The topics he covers include ribs, diaphragm, and muscles of breathing; the intrinsic musculature of the larynx, its structure and action; the suspensory muscles of the throat; the face and jaw; the tongue and palate; and the evolution and function of the larynx.

Offers a new model of vocal tract articulation that explains laryngeal and oral voice quality, both auditorily and visually, through language examples and familiar voices.

This book provides step-by-step illustrated descriptions of diverse vocal fold injection techniques, including some not previously described. The aim is to provide laryngologists in general, and especially those who are less experienced, with the detailed understanding and guidance needed in order to achieve optimal outcomes. Highly experienced experts describe approaches via the transoral, transnasal, and transcutaneous routes and offer guidance on indications, injection materials, pre- and postoperative care, and the management of complications. Special considerations that must be borne in mind when employing different vocal fold injection techniques, in different settings, are also carefully explained. In offering comprehensive, up-to-date information on this minimally invasive and cost-effective procedure, Vocal Fold Injection will be an essential aid for practitioners.

This book discusses the aging voice, one of the interesting issues related to aging. Population aging is an issue in most developed countries, where both physicians and specialists are required to improve clinical and scientific practice for elderly adults. In particular, the need for expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of aging voice pathologies is increasing continually. New developments in regenerative medicine have taken care for the aging voice to new level, and the contributors to this book use their wealth of experience in the field of the aging voice to present the latest advances in this field. This book is a unique resource, providing new perspectives for physicians, clinicians and health care workers who are interested in the aging voice.

The definitive evidence-based resource on the diagnosis and treatment of voice disorders Laryngeal Function and Voice Disorders: Basic Science to Clinical Practice by renowned experts Christopher Watts and Shaheen Awan focuses on the latest developments in the assessment and management of voice disorders. New ASHA practice recommendations are included in accessible, digestible, and didactic content. This unique multimedia resource merges historical facts and experiential understanding with recent advances in scientific knowledge and evidence-based practice patterns. The book includes discussion of the anatomical, physiological, acoustic, aerodynamic, and imaging science informing the understanding of vocal function in normal and disordered states. Major technical components of voice evaluation are covered, including perceptual analyses, acoustic analyses, aerodynamic analyses, and laryngeal visualization. Key Highlights Case studies reinforce evidence-based approaches, clinical relevance, and practical applications Discussion of laryngeal disorders, laryngeal evaluations, laryngeal endoscopy and stroboscopy, and voice rehabilitation Voice and airway impairment evaluations, diagnostic and treatment processes, and options available to speech-language pathologists Guidance on collaborating with medical specialists, in particular otolaryngologists Videos and sound files aid in the understanding of the perceptual and acoustic components of voice evaluation This highly practical reference is a must have for upper-level undergraduate students in communication sciences, graduate students in speech language pathology, and practicing health care professionals. Otolaryngology and neurology residents and physical therapy doctoral candidates will also find this resource beneficial.

“A remarkably entertaining and thought-provoking look at the human voice and all of its myriad functions and sounds . . . Wonderful” (Library Journal, starred review). From Farinelli, the eighteenth-century castrato who brought down opera houses with his high C, to the recording of Johnny B. Goode affixed to the Voyager spacecraft, Let Me Clear My Throat dissects the whys and hows of popular voices, making them hum with significance and emotion. There are murders of punk rock crows, impressionists, and rebel yells; Howard Dean’s “BYAH!” and Marlon Brando’s “Stellaaaaa!” and a stock film yawp that has made cameos in movies from A Star is Born to Spaceballs. The voice is thought’s incarnating instrument and Elena Passarello’s essays are a riotous deconstruction of the ways the sounds we make both express and shape who we are—the annotated soundtrack of us giving voice to ourselves. “Standout pieces include a biography of the most famous scream in Hollywood history; a breakdown of the relationship between song and birdsong; and an analysis of the sounds of disgust. Akin to: A dinner party at which David Sedaris, Mary Roach and Marlon Brando are trying to out-monologue one another.” —Philadelphia Weekly “The beauty of Ellen Passarello’s voice is that it’s so confidently its own . . . I began randomly with her essay wondering what the space aliens will make of ‘Johnny B. Goode’ on the Voyager gold record and couldn’t stop after that.” —John Jeremiah Sullivan, author of Pulphead