In-Car Acoustics

Talk about sing-a-long-a traffic jam, or even crooning whilst you cruise, Vauxhall Motors has conducted a series of scientific studies to reveal that the best place to hone your vocal chords and improve your singing voice in the car.

Teaming up with Dr Stuart Colam of Arup Acoustics, designers of The Bridgewater Hall and Wales Millennium Centre and discovered that the interior of a car is acoustically one of the best places for budding singers. Stuart assessed the acoustics in a range of cars to find out how certain variables such as size could affect the sound of a voice. You can see Dr Colam discussing the project in the video, but here are his top tips if you want to sing properly in your car;

• Close all the windows so that the low frequency resonance due to the width of the car adds 'warmth' to your voice
• Direct your voice forwards toward the dashboard and windscreen. The strong early sound reflections make your voice sound powerful (known as 'support'), which will increase your confidence
• If you have a convertible, keep it closed otherwise your voice will sound overly 'bright' (that explains my voice)
• Cloth covered seats absorb more of the voice than leather seats, meaning that you will be able to hear yourself more clearly and correct any voice imperfections
• To enhance a male voice, select a larger vehicle that has a longer low frequency sound decay, which will emphasise the vowel sounds of a male voice

The report concludes that;