“Maybe we have more in common than we ever thought.”
~Ingo Titze
“Interviews on Voice Matters,” Nov. 24, 2015

In a recent interview with Dr. Ingo Titze, Director of the National Center for Voice and Speech, we discussed a wide array of subjects.  My favorite part of the interview revealed an idea worthy of it’s own post.

What is the greatest value of science, especially as it pertains to the voice?

Dr. Titze explains:

Liz: What are your dreams for the future of vocology?

Dr. Titze: Well the first thing that I see happening is that the science, even though it’s designed to present facts and give information, I think it’s greater value is bringing together people from different camps of voice training that were very suspicious of each other and hardly talked to each other before.  Because now they can both say, “well, science helps me figure out what I do, but it also helps me figure out what the other person does.  And maybe we have more in common than we ever thought.“

Thank you, Dr. Titze, for helping pioneer the field of Vocology.  The world is a better place because of your work and spirit.  And maybe we will find, over time, we all have more in common than we ever thought – both as voice professionals and human beings.

Below is a full version of the interview, and below that, a listing of the subjects covered in chronological order.  I hope you gain inspiration and insight from Dr. Titze’s story and his vision for the future of voice science.

In this interview:

• Early life – singing at home
• Early career in science and singing
• Voice lessons lead to voice science
• Harvey Fletcher (Bell Laboratories), mentor
• Bill Strong (MIT), “real” mentor
• Connection between the ear and larynx
• First research project in voice
• Creating a model of voice production, a lifelong dream
• Pavarobatti
• Dissertation topic
• Current voice simulator project
• Predicting vocal sound – the future of voice training
• Texting?  A paralinguistic bypass
• Exercising the full range of the voice
• Voice Range Profile
• Semi-occluded vocal tract techniques (SOVT)
• Straw phonation
• Favorite vocal exercises – pitch glides with SOVT, lip trills
• 90% of acoustic information never escapes the mouth
• Use of SOVT exercises for stretching to highest pitches
• The word Vocology – where it came from
• Voice habilitation, defined
• Favorite voice recovery story
• Reflections on Renee Fleming interview (at PAVA conference 2015)
• Breaking down barriers between teaching studios
• Distribution of vocology information
• Creating communication between voice professionals of all disciplines
• Science as a tool for communication
• William J. Gould, his vision for unity across disciplines
• Future of vocology – imaging
• Advice for young voice pros – SING and have fun!