The Top 10 Remarkable Achievements of the Human Voice

The human voice is truly extraordinary. From the primitive sounds of early humans to the complex communication systems we now use, we've created a rich array of vocal expressions, enabling us to build on each other's discoveries without the need to relearn basic knowledge, like the process of creating fire.

With over 31,000 languages and an endless variety of songs, the human voice has achieved remarkable feats, ranging from opera to bird communication. Here are ten stunning vocal feats that showcase the incredible abilities of our vocal cords.

10. A Singular Duet: The Throat Singers of Tuva

Tuva, part of the Russian Federation, is located in southern Siberia, just north of Mongolia. Its people have lived in birch-bark yurts and herded goats and yaks across the expansive plains for millennia. Tuva is perhaps most famous for its folk tradition of 'throat singing,' a unique vocal technique that requires extraordinary control to highlight subtle overtone frequencies.

Tuvan throat singers have the incredible ability to produce up to four distinct pitches at once, a technique often likened to the sound of a bagpipe, though far more melodious. This allows the singer to harmonize with themselves by singing multiple notes simultaneously.

Beginning with a deep, resonating drone, throat singers skillfully adjust their vocal tracts to fragment the sound, amplifying certain overtones to create additional pitches that can be heard alongside the original drone. This technique often imitates the sounds of nature, like birds whistling, streams gurgling, winds howling, or the low growl of a camel.

It wasn’t until recently that throat singing started to be performed indoors, where it has since become a favorite among tourists. A great example of this can be seen in this clip, where you can observe how the singer doesn’t just transition between notes but overlaps them, producing two sounds at the same time.

9. The Click Languages

Click languages refer to a group of African languages in which clicks are used as distinct letters or components of letters. Initially a prominent feature of the Khoisan languages, these clicks have spread into various Bantu and Cushitic languages. In these languages, clicks make up part of the consonantal inventory, mixed with more universally familiar sounds.

The clicks themselves are quite distinct. When the tongue is placed against the roof of the mouth, it produces a sharp, popping or smacking sound. When positioned between the lips – known as the 'kiss click' – or against the teeth or the side of the mouth, the sound becomes softer and subtler.

Xhosa, a prominent language of South Africa’s Eastern and Western Capes, is a great example of this. As demonstrated in the cheerfully titled video, “The Three Xhosa Clicks Taught Easy!” (above), the process typically involves creating a clicking sound alongside a traditional vocal sound. Xhosa's clicks are represented by the letters x, c, and q. These clicks are then combined with vowels, a practice which, after several minutes of trying, I can confirm is far more challenging than the video suggests.

There is only one known instance of a click language being used outside Africa: Damin, a now-extinct ceremonial language spoken by the Lardil people of northern Queensland, Australia.

8. Taa

No, that wasn’t a mistake. Taa is indeed a language – and it holds the distinction of being the most phonetically diverse language in the world.

The Taa language, spoken by only a few thousand people in Botswana and Namibia, boasts five distinct types of clicks, along with a variety of tones and sharp vowels often articulated with a swift, choking sound. It is widely regarded by linguists as having the most extensive phonetic inventory of any language on the planet.

Taa has two recognized dialects, named after the regions of the !Xoon people who speak them. Describing the language is as intricate as the language itself. Though research is somewhat unclear, it is known that East !Xoon Taa has at least 58 consonants, 31 vowels, and four tones – high [á], mid [a], low [à], and mid-falling [â] – while West !Xoon Taa contains at least 87 consonants, 20 vowels, and two tones.

7. Holding a Note

The amount of time a person can sustain a single, uninterrupted note is known as maximum phonation time (MPT). This measure provides an estimate of how tightly a person’s vocal cords are closed. In this case, tighter vocal cords are preferable, as they conserve air and allow for longer sounds.

MPT isn’t just a way to wow a concert crowd. It is also a diagnostic tool used by speech and respiration doctors. For example, MPT can be an important indicator for patients with partial vocal cord paralysis. Often, it is used alongside MLPT – maximum loudest phonation time – to assess the overall strength of a patient’s voice.

On average, healthy adult men can sustain a sound for 25 to 35 seconds, while women typically manage 15 to 25 seconds. However, there are notable exceptions. In 2017, a viral video featured pop star Ariana Grande holding a high note for well over a minute. While impressive, claims that she broke the MPT record were inaccurate.

The actual MPT record belongs to Richard Fink IV, who in 2019 achieved the vocal equivalent of the four-minute mile by holding a note for two minutes and one second. This shattered the previous record of one minute and 52 seconds set by Turkish singer Alpaslan Durmus.

6. ASMR

Commonly referred to as 'the tingles,' ASMR – autonomous sensory meridian response – is a unique experience in the digital age. It’s characterized by a pleasantly stimulating sensation, often described as static-like, starting at the scalp and traveling down the neck and spine. While the term only emerged in the past decade, ASMR has exploded in popularity on YouTube, where many ASMRtists have garnered millions of followers, with some even reaching millionaire status.

Aural triggers for ASMR typically include soft sounds like humming, whispering, and tongue clicking. These vocalizations are often amplified and enhanced by highly sensitive microphones, creating a sort of ASMR autotune effect. Other common ASMR sounds include tapping, crinkling, and dripping. Additionally, some people experience ASMR through visual stimuli, such as calming hand movements or a soothing metronome.

ASMR might never have gained popularity if it weren't for one man: PBS painter Bob Ross. His show, The Joy of Painting, drew in viewers not only for his artistic skill but also for his rhythmic brushstrokes, the gentle scraping of his palette knife, and his calming, baritone narration. Many viewers reported experiencing an inexplicable, tingly, euphoric sensation, a blissful trance as Ross painted his iconic 'happy little trees' and majestic mountains.

Although much of the science behind ASMR remains a mystery, studies suggest that the phenomenon is more of a physical response than an emotional one – making it a feat of the vocal cords, rather than a tug on the heartstrings.

5. TEN Octaves?

The record for the widest vocal range ever belongs to American singer and composer Tim Storms, born in 1972. Storms holds the Guinness World Record for spanning an incredible 10 octaves – nearly double Mariah Carey’s famous range, and more than three times the average vocal range of three octaves.

Any singer with such a range must also hold the record for either the highest or lowest note ever recorded. In Storms' case, his remarkable ability is showcased at the lower end of the spectrum – or, more accurately, completely outside it. Storms holds the record for the lowest note ever sung: a G (-7) at 0.189 hertz, which is a staggering eight octaves below the lowest G on a piano. This note is below the threshold of human hearing and was captured using a low-frequency microphone, later verified through precise sound analysis.

Storms' exceptional ability was first noticed when he sang in a Christian choir as a child. As his voice continued to deepen, it captivated not only audiences but also the medical community. One ENT specialist was so fascinated that he inserted a video scope through Storms' nose and down his throat. It was discovered that Storms' vocal cords are nearly twice the usual human length, and his arytenoid muscles, which control vocal cord movement, exhibit extraordinary range – contributing to his powerful, resonant sound.

4. Gimme a Break

The human voice is capable of making the glass half… shattered. Many individuals – including this young boy – have the ability to break a glass with nothing but the power of their voice.

Every object has a resonant frequency, which is the pitch that causes it to vibrate. Hollow objects, like wine glasses, are particularly sensitive to resonance, as demonstrated when you run a damp finger along the rim or gently tap the glass.

To break a glass with their voice, a singer must match the glass's resonant frequency. It also helps if the glass has tiny imperfections, which many do. Loudness is a key factor, with a minimum of about 105 decibels – roughly twice the volume of normal conversation – needed to break the 'sound barrier.' The singer must hold the exact note for several seconds to successfully shatter the glass.

However, luck plays a role as well: Every material has invisible cracks and imperfections on its surface, but their size and placement vary significantly. As a result, wine glasses that appear identical can have vastly different susceptibility to breaking. While some may shatter with the sound of a human voice, others might remain intact, as shown in this compilation featuring more little children.

3. A Near-death Aural Experience

Klaus Sperber, better known as Klaus Nomi, was a German countertenor whose otherworldly stage persona matched his extraordinary vocal range. Nomi became an operatic and absurdist performance icon, putting on bizarre yet visionary theatrical shows adorned in heavy makeup, eccentric costumes, and a signature hairstyle that embraced his receding hairline.

His music was just as unconventional, ranging from synthesizer-driven interpretations of classical opera to pop-culture covers of songs like Chubby Checker's 'The Twist' and Elvis Presley’s 'Can’t Help Falling in Love.' He also provided backing vocals for rock legend David Bowie during a captivating 1979 performance of 'The Man Who Sold the World' on Saturday Night Live.

Sadly, Nomi's life was tragically cut short by the rising AIDS epidemic that began spreading in the early 1980s. Nevertheless, Nomi saved some of his most remarkable performances for his final months. He transitioned to operatic pieces, including Baroque-era opera attire complete with a full collar. This collar was not only a part of his dramatic flair but also served a practical purpose, covering the cancerous lesions of Kaposi’s sarcoma caused by AIDS, which had appeared on his neck.

In one of Klaus Nomi's final performances (above), his voice radiated with vitality, even as his physical body neared the end.

2. Pansori

More substantial than K-Pop, Pansori is a traditional form of musical storytelling from South Korea. The word 'Pansori' is a blend of two Korean terms: 'pan,' meaning 'a gathering place,' and 'sori,' meaning 'song.' This genre is marked by expressive singing, stylized speech and gestures, and narratives that merge both elite and folk cultural elements.

Pansori is a marathon performance rather than a sprint. These performances can last up to eight hours, with a single singer, usually holding a fan, accompanied only by a barrel drum. During this time, the performer improvises on various themes from both rural and sophisticated stories and texts.

Originating in the 1600s, Pansori was an oral tradition among commoners until the late 19th century when it became more popular among the wealthier class. This new audience infused the genre with more sophisticated literary content. Pansori's subject matter now spans from tragic romance to anthropomorphized fantasy. 'Ch’unhyangga,' for instance, tells the difficult love story between a nobleman and the lower-class daughter of a female entertainer, while the satirical 'Sugungga' recounts the adventures of a hare who finds himself in a sea kingdom – a reversed fish-out-of-water scenario.

As modernization pushed Pansori to the fringes, it was recognized by the South Korean government in 1964 as a National Intangible Cultural Property, ensuring its continued practice and preservation.

The powerful tradition of Pansori served as the inspiration for the award-winning Korean film 'Seopyeonje.' It is definitely a film worth watching. The trailer is here.

1. Gone Pishin’

Birders use the term 'pishing' to describe the act of drawing birds from their hidden spots in the treetops using nothing but their own voices. Nicholas Lund, founder of The Birdist blog and a contributor to the Audubon Society’s website, notes that the best practitioners of this craft produce an effect similar to that seen in 'Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.'

Lund recalls, 'I’ve had large flocks of Pine Siskins completely surround me. I’ve seen warblers flitting around my feet. I’ve pished into a quiet copse and summoned birds like I was some sort of avian Aquaman. When pishing works, it’s an exhilarating feeling.'

The term 'pishing' is an onomatopoeia; it comes from the actual sound made during the act, a 'psssshhhhh'-like noise that mimics the vocalizations many bird species use to alert others to danger. Birders classify avian sounds into categories such as mating calls or short chirps for flight. Pishing imitates a bird’s 'scold' – a communal alarm that encourages other birds to gather and investigate the threat.

Scolds are especially useful for birders because they are generally understood across various bird species. A well-timed scold can attract a wide range of avian types. Here’s a video showing pishing in action.