This is a short translation from the latest issue of The Television Weekly with Aiba on the cover. I only did the part where they actually brought a sample of Aiba's voice to an acoustic research institute to have it analysed, since the results were really interesting. Enjoy!

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Aiba - The Television Weekly - 02/11-17/2012 (partial)

Emergency investigation!
Why is the Aiba-VOICE so pleasant?

Aiba-kun has quite a few narration gigs in both television and film. Why is his voice so appealing right now? We've requested an expert to analyse it for us in order to unravel this secret!

A scientific explanation to the appeal of Aiba-VOICE!

With his narration in "21nin no wa" (NHK E-tere), the film "Nihon Retto" and more, Aiba-kun has been receiving much positive reception for his voice. Slightly high and husky, the quality of his voice is very distinctive. In order to unravel the mystery behind that popularity, we brought a voice sample to Japan Acoustic Laboratory, which specialises in the field of voiceprinting, and asked them for an analysis. Suzuki Matsumi-san, the president of the institute, praised it highly as "a voice that is warm and extremely easy to listen to". After looking into the reasons behind that, they've uncovered numerous factors for it! And in addition, they also analysed Aiba-kun's unique "breathless giggle". A huge secret also lies within that!?


Ai-VOICE 01
The frequency of Aiba-kun's voice was the "easiest to hear for humans"!

When the characteristics Aiba-kun's voice was analysed, much of the notes fell in the 4~6kHz frequency range. This frequency range is known as the zone that is "easiest for humans to hear", and also indicates that the person is fully able to vocalize from the diaphragm. And, it is the complete absence from the 2.8~3.8kHz register - unusual for males - that produces his slightly high-pitched, characteristic voice. A distinctive voice that is easy to listen to. That is where the appeal behind Aiba-kun's narrating comes from.


Ai-VOICE 02
A voice that is more suited for English than Japanese!?

Aiba-kun's consonants, particularly his "s" pronunciations, are extremely lovely. Numerically speaking, the pitch of his voice rises to the 10kHz vicinity whenever he makes "s" sounds. This makes the sounds from the "sa" row [T/N: from the table of Japanese syllables] sound even more eloquent and clean. But since sounds in the 10kHz vicinity is not typically used in the Japanese language, it would sound even lovelier if he was to speak in English or similar languages.


Ai-VOICE 03
A two-fold difference in his vocal modulation!

Upon evaluating his narration, the average frequency of his vocal range was 110Hz, indicating he normally speaks in a lower voice, but when he speaks with emotion it jumps to 205Hz, almost double the frequency. When you consider the fact that an average male's difference in range is +30% degrees on average, you can see how Aiba-kun has acquired a command of the high and low tones in his voice. The significant modulation in his voice is where the rich expressiveness comes from.


Bonus investigation
That unique "breathless giggle" is composed of "e", "he", and "ha"

Aiba-kun's unique laugh, the "breathless giggle", can often be heard on variety shows and such. Upon analysing, it was confirmed to be composed of "e", "he", and "ha" sounds! Not only that, it took only 0.24 seconds for his giggle to go from "e" to "ha" and jump two full octaves in scale, making it very difficult for the average male to replicate!