I don't like my voice! Why do I hate how my voice sounds?

We’ve all been there. We come across a video of ourselves. We listen to a voice memo we sent to a friend. We rewatch a presentation we gave. Whatever the situation may be, we all know what immediately comes after. ?

“Wait, is that actually what I sound like?” 

“There’s no way that’s me speaking!” 

“Wow, why didn’t you tell me my voice is that annoying.” 

Raise your hand if this sounds all too familiar (we’re assuming the majority of you have your hands up). The truth is, most people tend to feel super awkward when hearing their own voice, especially for the first time. 

But why is that? What is it about hearing our own voice that’s so cringe-worthy? Why do we think we sound different than we actually do? It’s all about sound waves, people. Allow us to explain.

There are two different ways in which we hear sounds: externally and internally. When we listen to someone else speak or listen to music, for example, the sound waves travel externally through the air to our ear, through the eardrum, and to the cochlea, which then translates those waves to the brain. But the way we hear our own voice is a bit different in that the sound waves travel to our ears both externally and internally. When we speak, our vocal cords send sound waves through our bones, which bounce off our skull and tissue, making our voice sound lower than it actually is. 

Our voice is such a huge part of our identity and self-expression. So it’s only natural that we may feel embarrassed, awkward, or downright shocked when we hear ourselves and realize our expectations don’t match reality. The good news? There are two things you can do to help deal with this:

1. Accept that this happens to literally everyone and it’s not a big deal.
2. Discover Voicemod’s new Custom Pitch!

Introducing Custom Pitch, the most powerful pitch-shifting technology ever to grace Voicemod’s audio labs. Crafted over several years by the most dedicated, talented audio engineers of our generation, our new Custom Pitch lets you alter your pitch for better, crisper, and more detailed audio quality. 

Why would you want to use Custom Pitch, you ask? Why wouldn´t you want to use Custom Pitch? Our voice is a huge part of our identity and self-expression. And at Voicemod, we believe that you should feel as confident as possible with your sonic identity, in each and every interaction you have online. Our Custom Pitch feature is completely free and available to anyone who wants to enhance their voice, whether it be in meetings, job interviews, live streams, or group chats.

Take a look at what Alex Bordanova, Voicemod’s Chief Audio and Technology Office, has to say about this exciting development:

“Audio experiences are a vast space to conquer. We are used to consuming audio via a single way of communication, like movies, video games, or music. But now, in the age of content creation, we’re starting to figure out how people can create these experiences on their own. 

Voicemod has really been pushing the boundaries to empower our users to enhance their audio experiences. Throughout this challenging journey, we spotted the need to improve our voice toolkit through the most immersive, natural technology ever. Our pitch-shifting technology will allow our users to access and create the best voices with better quality and intelligibility.”

Want to try this new feature for yourself? You got it! Our Custom Pitch is as easy as using a single slider. Here’s what you’ll do: 

1. Open the Voicemod desktop app. If you haven’t downloaded it yet, click here for a complete walk-through on how to download and set up Voicemod.
2. Once you’re in the app, go to Voicebox, located at the top of the left panel.
3. Search “Custom Pitch” in the search bar.
4. Select this voice effect and play around with the sliders until you get the result you want. IMPORTANT: Make sure to enable the “Voice Changer” and “Hear Myself” toggle at the bottom so that you can hear how awesome you sound!

Pro Tip: Once you have the desired pitch, add a keybind for quick and easy access to this voice effect whenever you want. 

There you have it: Why we tend to cringe at the sound of our own voice and how you can enhance the way you sound. We could go on and on about how cool our pitch-shifting technology is, but we would rather have you experience it for yourself. Download Voicemod for free if you haven’t already, play around with the Custom Pitch voice effect, and discover all that your voice is capable of.