The Body as Sound: Unpacking Vocal Embodiment through Auditory Biofeedback

Multi-sensory experiences underpin embodiment, whether with the body itself or technological extensions of it. Vocalists experience intensely personal embodiment, as vocalisation has few outwardly visible effects and kinaesthetic sensations occur largely within the body, rather than through external touch. We explored this embodiment using a probe which sonified laryngeal muscular movements and provided novel auditory feedback to two vocalists over a month-long period. Somatic and micro-phenomenological approaches revealed that the vocalists understand their physiology through its sound, rather than awareness of the muscular actions themselves. The feedback shaped the vocalists’ perceptions of their practice and revealed a desire for reassurance about exploration of one’s body when the body-as-sound understanding was disrupted. Vocalists experienced uncertainty and doubt without affirmation of perceived correctness. This research also suggests that technology is viewed as infallible and highlights expectations that exist about its ability to dictate success, even when we desire or intend to explore.