That butt of many jokes and film scenes is being examined by the BBC with the help of Manchester Science Festival and the University of Salford.
Trailing the Electrifying the Voice event on BBC Breakfast and the Today Programme, Professor Trevor Cox explained some of the secrets that make the human voice the most amazing ‘instrument’ of all.
Trevor, who is professor of acoustic engineering at the University of Salford, leads a live-streaming first to test whether a soprano really can shatter glass with the power of their voice.
Together with BBC Tomorrow’s World, Prof Cox will also investigate other workings of the human voice, including how microphones have changed the way people sing and why operatic voice makes your hairs stand on end.
Electrifying the Voice is part of Manchester Science Festival (October 19-29) run by the Manchester Museum of Science & Industry.
It is also tying in with the BBC’s #OperaPassion festival – a full day of digital events on the BBC aimed at bringing opera as an art form to a wider audience.
Six leading companies including The Royal Opera House, English National Opera and the Glyndebourne will perform live online on October 19.
Prof Cox will also investigate other workings of the human voice, including how microphones have changed the way people sing and why operatic voice makes your hairs stand on end, as part of BBC science coverage on digital channel Tomorrow’s World.
In a TV advert in the 1970s, jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald was shown shattering a wine glass with her voice. This was an effect achieved by amplifying the sound through speakers.
But can a naked human voice have the same power?
Prof Cox explains: “Singing at a particular tone and volume will vibrate molecules in the glass but whether they will shatter the glass, we shall have to wait and see.”
– Electrifying the Voice takes place at Chetham’s Library, Thursday 19 October, mixing scientific analysis with musical interludes with live-streaming on http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts.
