Is Operatic Voice Inherently Beautiful? A Reply to Johan Sundberg

The data obtained in the acoustical and physiological studies on the singing voice have been quite useful in understanding the relationship between a given musical genre and the vocal sound produced by the technique employed in that genre. However, in some of these studies, we see that authors have argued that a universally valid causal relationship exists between the perception of a sound as 'good' or 'beautiful' and the acoustic properties of that sound. This claim is fraught with epistemological problems. This study will address these problems, which are products of the positivist approach found in most experimental aesthetic studies. Within this framework, we will critically analyze an experimental study by Johan Sundberg in which these problems are clearly observed. In that work, he argued that there is a linear and causal relationship between the phenomenon known as the singer's formant, an acoustic component of the vocal sound produced by the technique used in opera singing, and the aesthetic value of the vocal production. In this study, it will be argued that the subjectivity of aesthetic experience invalidates from the outset the alleged causal relationship between the acoustic properties of a given sound and its aesthetic value. Studies in this field should take into account the impact of individuals' long-term exposure to and experience with a particular singing style, particularly through training, on their aesthetic expectations of what constitutes an ideal voice. The role of this prototypical voice in the evaluations made by those on the evaluation panels should not be overlooked.