Advancing the Science and Art of Voice and Speech
The National Center for Voice & Speech (NCVS) is a source for research-backed insights into vocal communication for performers, clinicians, educators, and researchers.
ICVPB 2026
The next ICVPB conference will be October 7-8, 2026 in Salt Lake City. We hope you will join us.
The Mission of NCVS
Dissemination
We share and highlight information about the science of voice and speech production.
Training and Outreach
We provide post-graduate level training in voice and speech research and outreach to practitioners.
Preservation
We feature and celebrate the history and contributions of individuals in the field of voice and speech research.
Science that Resonates
NCVS Notes is our weekly email newsletter that brings you into the field of voice and speech research. The newsletter highlights new research, amplifies foundational studies, and curates the most impactful analysis being done in the field.
Exclusive articles from researchers in the field
In-depth analysis of new findings and their real-world impact
Practical insights for singers, actors, therapists, and scientists
A science-based perspective on voice and speech
What You'll Find Here
Expert Tutorials & Training
Discover voice tutorials to support the book, Principles of Voice Production.
100 Classic Articles
Explore decades of pioneering voice and speech research.
Hall of Fame
Recognizing those who have shaped the field of voice science.
NCVS Insights
Stay ahead with the latest studies, articles, and expert contributions.
Books
Explore publications from researchers across the field and through the years.
Events
From workshops to our bi-annual events, we help the field stay on top of the latest science and research.
100 Years of Voice and Speech
The field of voice and speech science has developed over the past century into a rich, interdisciplinary domain—bridging medicine, acoustics, linguistics, vocal performance, and biomechanics. From early anatomical studies to the emergence of high-speed imaging and computational modeling, researchers have sought to understand the mechanics, resilience, and expressive power of the human voice.
At the National Center for Voice and Speech (NCVS), we honor the legacy of those pioneers by preserving and sharing the stories, research, and breakthroughs that shaped this evolving field. The past 100 years have brought remarkable advancements—from the first laryngeal visualization techniques to modern voice therapy practices and voice synthesis technologies.
Today, NCVS serves as a living archive—a curated history of the people, ideas, and innovations that brought voice and speech science to where it is today. As the field continues to grow, we remain committed to amplifying its impact and ensuring its history informs its future.
Whether you’re a researcher, clinician, performer, or student, we invite you to explore the voices behind the science—and the science behind the voice.
Latest Books
Sing and Shout for Health
Sing and Shout for Health explores the remarkable impact of vocalization on human physiology, health, and well-being. Edited by renowned physicist Ingo R. Titze and vocologist Elizabeth C. Johnson, this groundbreaking book delves into scientific discoveries that reveal how singing, shouting, and other forms of vocalization influence the body at molecular, physiological, and neurological levels.
Voice is Free After SOVT
Voice is FREE after SOVT distinguishes itself as the first book dedicated to Semi-Occluded Vocal Tract methods and is inclusive with scientific explanation and application for singer, teacher and therapist alike. It incorporates a large bibliography of the evolution of these methods and an enormous amount of current peer reviewed literature in the area of voice.
Vocology
The Science and Practice of Voice Habilitation is the first major textbook written in the field of Vocology. It addresses the fundamental postulates and exercises underlying voice habilitation, the art and science of taking a voice beyond normal conversational skills. It introduces voice measurement and assessment (vocometrics), motor learning principles, the carrier-modulation hierarchy, and the union if breathing, valving, and voicing.
NCVS Insights
Exploring Neuromuscular Changes in the Larynx: Insights from Rat Ultrasonic Vocalizations
The study of rat ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) provides a unique window into understanding the neuromuscular changes in the human larynx that occur with aging. Rats communicate with each other using USVs to convey positive and negative affective states in a variety of communication situations, such as juvenile play, mating, and alerting one another to threats (Brudzynski, 2013).
Anatomy of a Spectrogram
This video provides a brief explanation of how spectrograms are constructed as a collection of individual spectra from consecutive points in time across a speech waveform. The difference between “narrow-band” and “wide-band” spectrograms is also explained based on choice analysis window duration. Three-dimensional animations of waveforms, spectra, and spectrograms are used throughout the video to demonstrate spectrographic representations of sound.
What is Airflow Vibrato?
Vocal vibrato has a number of manifestations. Typically vibrato is first thought of as a variation in fundamental frequency (fo), and secondarily as a variation in intensity and sound quality. Other variations that accompany these three types of vibrato include movement of throat structures (changes in larynx height, alterations in arytenoid adduction, pharyngeal wall movement, tongue movement, etc.), and especially muscle contraction variations that accompany all mentioned vibrato types.
Phonation Threshold Pressure in Inspiratory vs. Expiratory Phonation
Inspiratory or reverse phonation refers to the production of voice when air is inhaled from the mouth and nostrils into the lungs. This way of phonation occurs naturally during laughter, sighs, and crying [1]. It has also been used to achieve special vocal effects by singers, shamans, and ventriloquists, and is common in the vocalizations of other mammals and birds. Furthermore, it is a useful treatment exercise in voice therapy for several voice disorders [2]. However, despite its relevance, few physical studies of inspiratory phonation have been conducted, and its underlying physics still needs further clarification.
The Impact of Visual and Audiovisual Inputs on Voice Perception and Production: Exploring the Role of Immersive Virtual Reality in Clinical Practice
Sensory feedback is crucial for regulating pitch, loudness and other aspects of voice and speech perception and production. (1) Auditory input is traditionally considered the primary signal in speech communication. One of many examples leading to this reasonable conclusion are studies showing that deaf infants exhibit delayed articulatory precision in babbling and phonological deficits during puberty.
Artificial intelligence methodologies to enhance visualisation and subsequent analysis of vocal fold dynamics
For clinical assessment of the voice production process, evaluation of the acoustic voice signal as well as the laryngeal dynamics (i.e., the vocal fold oscillations), producing the source signal in the larynx, is highly important.
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Contact
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Clearfield, UT 84015