My physics textbook says that people like to sing in the shower, because they like the amplified sound. Is this claim true, or is this claim more of an opinion of the textbook authors?
The question is NOT “why do people like to sing in the shower?”. The question is “Is there a reason why people like to sing in the shower?” If there is a reason, then what is the reason? Big difference in the wording, because the former assumes that people DO like to sing in the shower, while the latter makes no such assumption.
I don’t know, my wife and I aren’t really shower singers but I’ve noticed recently that both of our children (4 and 6) give it the full monty in the shower. Real, “la-la -dee-dee-dee” tuneless nonsense. We’ve never taught them this so I reckon it must be a human instinct.
Perhaps it confers some selection advantage? perhaps it scares bears?
I believe humans naturally exhale when we get immersed in water. We either gasp if the water is cold, or sigh if the water is hot. Pay attention next time you get into the hot tub. Singing in the shower plays off this natural instinct to exhale/inhale when we’re wet.
[joke]
First son: This study says that 60% of people sing in the shower, the other 40% masturbate. Do you know what they sing?
Second Son: No
First son: I didn’t think so…
[/joke]
usually you hear your voice much different from how others hear you. if you record your voice and play it then people are often surprised that they sound like the way they do. in a shower you have echo which gives you a much different sense of your sound than usual, people might find that pleasing, some people even do it without the water.
people do hum and sing when not otherwise concentrating on something. taking a shower or bath doesn’t take lots on concentration. so it could be recreational.
This. Small tiled spaces give you reverb without a recording studio. One dorm I was in as a student, I used to play guitar in the bathroom because of what it made it sound like. I’ve sometimes done that in my own, less public bathroom too.
I’m sorry for the hijack, but I can’t get past this. As far as I can tell, both questions assume that people like to sing in the shower. The difference is that the former question (“Why do people like to sing in the shower?”) assumes that there is a reason for the behavior, while the latter question (“Is there a reason why people like to sing in the shower?”) asks if there is a reason.
To not assume that people like to sing in the shower, wouldn’t you need to ask “Do people like to sing in the shower?” or “Is there a reason why people might like to sing in the shower?”?
Close enough. It isn’t amplitude, but resonance. Every enclosed space (eg organ pipe) has a characteristic frequency. When that frequency or some multiple of it (specifically, its overtones) is sung, that pitch (frequency) will resonate much more “cleanly” and audibly – from positive wave interaction – compared to singing elsewhere. You will also sing more in tune since your feedback is much more apparent.
Next time you’re in the shower, try singing slowly, to the best of your ability, an upward scale, each note at the same volume. One note all of a sudden will get louder and easier to hold onto. Check above and below that note to confirm the phenomenon.
You have now found the fundamental frequency of your shower.
There are stories in Hollywood studio lore about certain bathrooms being used – secondarily – as echo chambers to augment audio recordings in the distant past. This was long before digital processing, of course.
I guess you had to be careful not to flush while the recording was in progress.
