At my current home in Beijing, I must use my slighter, softer voice not so much for style as for practicality.
A year ago, I was about to go to sleep one night when I heard my neighbors talking through the wall that divides our flats. I was shocked because I heard everything quite clearly. I was also embarrassed because I realized that my neighbors had likely heard every noise I had made up until that point in time. 🙁
Even though the Chinese are pretty tolerant of annoyances, I must be quiet when I sing, no matter what time of day, although I find it encouraging that I sometimes hear a clarinet or keyboard or guitar coming from one of my neighbors’ homes.