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The Voice
Our voice is critical in our daily lives. Every day we use our voice, from whispering, talking,
cheering, gossiping, yelling, laughing and singing. It is important for us to understand our voice on all
aspects to utilize it to its full potential. Our voice is not limited to our vocal chords, but includes many
aspects of our body. For instance, bone structures such as our spine, ribs, sternum, and pelvis can
improve our voice quality. In order for our vocal chords to move and vibrate though, air is needed.
Through our respiration system, inhaling and exhaling are important components. This air is controlled
through our phonation and use of diction. By shaping the inside of our mouth, and understanding its
structure we can improve the sound quality as well. Above all, we must understand that our vocal
chords are limited and to take care of them just as we would on any part of our body. This packet will
cover all of the above in detail using various sources.
Please read carefully, underline, highlight, put notes on the side, do what you must in order to
help you comprehend the material. ON YOUR MIDTERM THERE WILL BE A SECTION ON THIS.
THE VOICE:
FRAMEWORK
By Framework, I mean the support system for the breathing apparatus, which includes the
bones of the pelvis, the spine, the ribs, and the sternum. These bones do more than "hold
up" and protect the organs of breathing (the lungs). By being moved by the muscles of the
torso, especially the diaphragm and the intercostal muscles, these bones and cartilages are
essential to the process of drawing air into the body.
Start by exploring the spine - knowing its anatomy helps greatly in visualizing what is going
on in breath, and is essential before exploring the ribs. The sternum is the breastbone that
joins the ribs in the front, and the pelvis is the "bowl of bown" where the abdominal muscles
attach. Once you understand how the anatomy of the framework, you can move on to
explore the process of breathing, Respiration.
Skeleton:
THE SPINE
The Spine has five major sections

Cervical - the top seven vertebrae which make up the neck
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Thoracic - the twelve vertebrae connected to the ribs
Lumbar - the heaviest five vertebrae which support the torso
Sacrum - a large, dish-like bone, made up of the sacral vertebrae, which have fused
solidly together to make up the connection of the spine to the pelvis
Coccyx - the vestigial tailbone is made up of 3 to 4 fused vertebrae
THE RIBS
The ribs protect the vital organs of the torso, particularly the heart and lungs, by wrapping
around from the thoracic vertebrae of the spine in the back to the sternum in the front.
There are three types of ribs:
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
Seven ribs which connect directly to the sternum (1-7)
Three ribs which connect to the costal cartilages of the rib
above (8-10)
Two "floating" ribs which connect only at the back (11&12)

THE STERNUM
The sternum has three parts: the manubrium, the body and
the xiphoid process.
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the manubrium - is connected to the collarbones and
can be felt at the top of the chest. It also is connected to
the first rib
the body of the sternum - the main breastbone which
shields the organs of the torso, and is connected directly
to ribs 2 - 7, and indirectly to ribs 8 - 10.
the xiphoid process - a thin, blade-like portion, at the
bottom
The side view in the image above allows you to see the notches
where the costal cartilages connect the ribs to the body of the
sternum. You may be able to feel these bumps, where the bone
and cartilage connect, by running a finger up and down the edge of your sternum.
The cartilaginous connection allows the ribcase a degree of flexibility. In the old "ribreserve" theory of singing and speaking, the ribs were held "up", and all the breathing was
done abdominally. This lead to very stiffly held ribcages, and sternii that were rigidly held in
place. In more recent developments of voice training, students are encouraged to keep the
sternum "soft", allowing the sternal joints to be as flexible, and relaxed as possible.
The image at the right shows the sternum of an eleven year old - the bone of the sternum
has yet to "ossify" completely. You can see how the bone develops from the centres of
ossification and spreads outwards. These centres develop before the child is born, but don't
completely ossify until the mid-teens. The sternal cartilages begin to ossify as the adult
reaches older age as blood flow is very minimal.
THE PELVIS
Made famous by none other than Elvis, the pelvis serves as an attachment for the
abdominal muscles that help control breathing. This bowl-like structure is actually made of
several fused bones. You can feel some of them just by pressing your fingers against the
"hip bones", which are really your iliac crests, the top of the ilium bone. The bones are
paired on either side of the sacrum (check it out in the page on the spine).In the front is the
pubic bone (just under the pubic hair) and the pubic symphysis where the two sides meet.
In the back, at the bottom is the ischium, which you may recognize from the iscial
tuberosity, the bones you feel when you sit up, sometimes called the "sitting bones". The
actual hip socket happens at the joint of the three major bones, and creates a "ball and
socket" type joint with the greater trochanter of
the thigh bone or femur.
This is the female pelvis, and features a wider, rounder shape than the male pelvis below.
This is needed for childbirth. You can also see how the iliac crests (the sides) flare out wider
than they do in the male pelvis. In the centre are the bottom two lumbar vertebrae, and in
the front you can see the pubic symphesis which is really a ligament. Hormonal changes at
childbirth relax this ligament, allowing it to stretch.
The male pelvic bones are actually thicker and heavier than the female bones. The outlet
(the space in the bottom) is narrower and smaller, with the sacrum more curved.
Vocal exercises can incorporate the “framework”. For instance, raising our arms up to the
ceiling, slowly “diving forward” so we touch our toes, and slowly coming up so each
vertebrae moves (acknowledging each one) relaxes our spinal chord. In doing so, this eases
our pelvic muscles, sternum and rib cage. When we shrug our shoulders we also are moving
and relaxing the muscles around our rib cage, sternum, and back by relaxing the shoulder
muscles. There are countless others that even athletic players do, or that are in P.E./Gym
classes that are beneficial towards singing.
RESPIRATION
Breath can be thought of as two simple processes:
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the chest expands, air is drawn in
the chest compresses, air gets pushed out
inhalation - exhalation
The Greek word psyche, meaning 'soul', has the same root as psychein, meaning 'to
breathe'; and the Greek word pneuma, meaning 'spirit', also means 'wind'. Furthermore, the
Latin words animus, meaning 'spirit', and anima, meaning 'soul', come from the Greek
anemos, which is another word for 'wind'. Similar connections also exist in Arabic and
German and they remind us that in many cultures the notions of psyche, spirit and soul
have been related to the idea of the movement of air.
This connection between air and soul is also contained in the fact that the human voice as
the audible expression of the psyche can only be created through the emission of air from
the body.
Our exploration of Respiration centres on its use for voice and speech. We won't spend any
time exploring how the gas exchanges take place, for instance, and for that you might look
elsewhere. We will look at the structures involved, (the anatomy), the physics of breathing just how we do what we do, and its application to the work of the performer.
Many theories exist about how an actor should apply breath to the process of performance.
Singing actors in particular often struggle with integrating the process of breathing they
learn for singing, that may be rather sophisticated, with some other breathing technique for
speaking. What is most important, in my eyes, is an awareness of what is going on, and
through that awareness one can integrate all the uses one has for breath. The material
presented here can only help you to appreciate what you feel during each breath cycle - and
I recommend that you explore the ideas in your own body as you look at the pictures and
read the text supplied here.
Anatomy
THE LUNGS
The lungs are made of a soft, elastic, spongy tissue (it is pink in colour - the image above is
grey in order to help you visualize the branches, which are in different colours). It is easy to
imagine their structure much like the inverse of a tree. Air enters the lungs via the "trunk",
the trachea. The trachea branches in two, to form the bronchi . Each bronchus continues to
branch out (each branch is a different colour in the image above) until, at the end of each
bronchiole, we reach a cluster of alveoli (like grapes on the bough). Alveoli are small sacs
where the gas-exchange of CO2 and O2 takes place. There is an intricate web of blood
vessels which wrap around each sac, allowing the transfer of gases to take place through
the extremely thin walls of the alveoli. The total surface area of the alveoli is very, very
large - roughly the size of a tennis court.
The lungs are not equal in size. The right lung is shorter, because the liver sits high, tucked
under the ribcase, but it is broader than the left. The left lung is smaller because of the
space taken up by the heart (see diaphragm for an image of this). Each lung is separated
into lobes branching off the main bronchus; the right lung has three lobes, while the left has
only two lobes. As the bronchi branch out, the total area of the two new branches is larger
than its parent bronchus, making it extremely easy for the air to rush into the lungs.
Each lung is encased in a sack of tissue called the pleura. The lung is "stuck" to this sack by
a small amount of liquid, which creates surface tension. It creates a very smooth surface so
that as the lungs expand and contract they can ride over the heart and surrounding
elements. Since each lung is in a separate pleural sac, if the chest wall gets punctured, only
one lung will collapse. The lungs are "stuck" to the inside of the thorax, also by surface
tension. As the ribcase and diaphragm move, the lungs are stretched, drawing air into the
lung, or the lungs are compressed, pushing the air out.
There are two types of breaths:
Involuntary Breathing:
the unconscious breath, for instance when you're sleeping;
Voluntary Breathing:
the breath you choose to "take", when you regulate your breathing
Lung Volumes
There are a number of useful terms related to the volume of the lungs at various stages of
the respiratory cycle, and related to the measurement of the air that can be inhaled/exhaled
and the air that cannot be exhaled.
Tidal volume:
The quantity of air used in a regular inhalation and exhalation cycle
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Men: rest 750 cc, light work 1670 cc, heavy work 2030 cc
Women: rest 285 - 393 cc
Average Tidal Volume at Rest: 500 cc
Inspiratory & Expiratory Reserve Volume:
the maximum that can be inhaled or exhaled beyond normal tidal volume

approx. 1500 cc to 2500 cc (males).
Residual Volume:
the quantity of air that remains in the lungs and airways, even after a maximum exhalation

approx. 1000 - 1500 cc (males).
N.B.: We cannot speak on residual air.
Dead Air, CO2, and Yawning:
the last air to leave the alveoli, and the first to be drawn back in is CO2 laden. When
breathing very shallowly, the accumulation of CO2 makes us yawn 
approx. 150 cc in airways.
THE DIAPHRAGM
The diaphragm, viewed from above at left with the front of
the body on top, is a sheet of muscle and tendon the
divides that torso in two. Above is the thorax with the
lungs and heart, below is the abdomen, featuring the
intestines, stomach, liver, kidneys... It is dome shaped,
slightly higher on the right side and it curves up toward the
centre.
The diaphragm features a boomerang shaped central
tendon which is connected all around by muscular fibers
which originate on the lumbar spine,the bottom edge of the
ribcase and sternum. The central tendon, or aponeurosis, is very strong. The diaphragm has
three "holes", one each for the aorta, the esophagus and the vena cava. In the image
above, the vena cava is blue, the aorta is red and the esophagus is yellow (in the middle).
The image above features the ribs, sternum and costal cartilages in black with the
diaphragm in deep red and the heart in bright red. On the left, we see the position of the
heart and diaphragm at the peak of inhalation; on the right we see the relaxed diaphragm
just finishing the respiration cycle. As you can see, the heart, which is attached to the
diaphragm via its pericardium (a membranous sac that envelops the heart), moves up and
down with the diaphragm. Also noticeable is the double dome effect of the diaphragm,
where the diaphragm is higher on the right side than the left, allowing the liver to be tucked
up under the bottom edge of the right ribcase, while the left is lower, allowing more room
for the heart.
THE INTERCOSTAL MUSCLES
These muscles are found between the ribs, and there are two kinds: the internal and
external intercostals. The internal intercostal muscles (in the inside of the ribcase) extend
from the front of the ribs, and go around back, past the bend in the ribs. The external
intercostal muscles (on the outside of the ribcase) wrap around from the back of the rib
almost to the end of the bony part of the rib in front.
The image above is seen from the inside. The yellowish bones are the sternum in the centre
and the ribs and clavicle (at the very top). Between the ribs can be seen the internal
intercostals. In the front of the ribcase, looking from the bottom of each muscle (i.e., the
top of each rib), the muscles go diagonally INWARD. At the bottom of the sternum can be
seen the tranversus thoracis muscle which originates there and inserts onto the inner
surfaces of the second to the sixth costal cartilages. You can really feel these muscles when
you cough, as you press your sternum in hard. At the bottom of the images can be seen the
edge of the diaphragm.
The external intercostals (not shown), take the opposite path, that is they go downward and
OUTWARD when viewed from the back. It is important to understand that having the
muscles on diagonals increases the amount of work they can do - a longer muscle can
become shorter on contraction than can a shorter, vertical muscle, as it contracts along the
full length of the muscle fibers.
SUPPORT
THE ABDOMINALS
Often mistakenly called the diaphragm by singers and by some teachers, the abdominal
muscles are linked with the breath when they are used to "support the breath" or when they
stretch as the belly distends due to that action of the diaphragm. The abdominal muscles
are a number of muscles including the
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external obliques,
internal obliques,
transversus abdominis and
rectus abdominis
They correspond to the front part of the abdomen (the part below the diaphragm down to
the inlet of the pelvis); the back (posterior) part is dealt with in the lower back page.
The Aponeurosis
The centre line of the abdominals in front, going from the xiphoid process (see sternum)
down to the pubic bone, passes through your navel. In individuals with athletic builds, this
line - the linea alba can be seen and felt clearly. It is the centre of the abdominal
aponeurosis which is a sheet of tendon that the muscles of the front of the abdomen are
attached to one another and the skeleton. From the linea alba, the aponeurosis splits into
two layers, one deep, the other superficial, making what I like to imagine is a "muscle
sandwich" of the rectus abdominis. This is called its "sheath". Beyond the rectus abdominis,
there is another band of aponeurosis, the linea semilunaris, which separates the rectus
abdominis from the external and internal obliques. As there are two layers to these muscles,
the aponeurosis sheaths these as well by dividing into three here, and attaches at the ribs.
At the bottom of the abdomen, the aponeurosis forms the inguinal ligament which joins the
hip crest to the pubic bone.
All the images on this page are "clickable": they are links to larger images that will
pop up in another window. Close the window to continue reading here.
The Muscles:
Rectus Abdominis
Starting from the linea alba and working out, we first come to the
rectus abdominis. [Shown in the image above with black vertical
arrows. This is the left side of the body.] Starting from the pubic bone,
these muscles connect with the fifth, sixth and seventh ribs and xiphoid
process. They are divided into compartments by strips of tendon that
creates what body builders inaccurately call a "six pack", as there are 8
or possible 10 segments, or 4 to 5 pairs. These pairs can, if trained to
do so, contract individually.
Transversus Abdominis
The deepest muscles of the abdominal muscles, the transversus abdominis go horizontally
from front to back. [In the image above, these muscles are shown with black horizontal
arrows, representing the right side of the body. The rectus abdominis has been removed, as
have the external obliques.] Some of the muscle fibers interdigitate (fit together like clasped
fingers) with the diaphragm and the transversus thoracis (see internal intercostals) Unlike
the other abdominal muscles, the transversus abdominis are not postural muscles. They are
very important in respiration, and are probably instrumental in forced exhalation.
Internal Obliques
Sandwiched in the middle between the external obliques and the
transversus abdominis, the internal obliques begin from the side of the
hip crest and the inguinal ligament, and connect with the linea
semilunaris.[Shown with black arrows here, the transversus muscles
have been removed.] Their direction is down and out, or the opposite
of the external obliques. Can be used to compress the abdomen for
exhalation.
External Obliques
the opposite of the internal obliques, they course downward and inward,
largest and strongest abdominal muscles. They are on the surface and
begin at ribs 5 to 12 and connect to the linea semilunaris. [In this image
you can see them represented by black arrows. Also note the
aponeurosis covering the rectus abdominalis.]
The muscles work posturally by contracting and may flex the spine (rectus
abdominis, obliques working both sides at once) or twist the spine (individual
obliques or opposite internal/external obliques working together). By compressing
the abdomen, these muscles create higher pressures in the abdomen and thorax,
essential for "voiding" various things from the body. In other words, one can feel
these muscles in defecation, urination, vomiting, childbirth, and most interestingly
here, forced expiration. Also, by relaxing these muscles, one can allow the distention
of the belly to be more free - making the action of the diaphragm more easily felt.
MUSCLES OF THE LOWER-BACK
The muscles of the lower back are often overlooked by those studying voice and/or speech
for the performer. While some of these muscles, the iliacus and the psoas major & minor,
are primarily flexors of the lower limb (i.e. thigh and pelvis), the quadratus lumborum
serves as the equivalent muscle of exhalation to the abdominals found in front. However,
the psoas does interdigitate with the muscles of the diaphragm which arise from the lumbar
vertebra, and I believe that it is wise to work on the psoas and increase its flexibility so that
the diaphragm is not affected by it.
Quadratus Lumborum
Connected to the crest of the pelvis in back (just outside the sacrum), the muscles course
upwards, attaching to the transverse processes of the lumbar vertebra and to the twelfth rib
and are quadrilateral in shape. They act to flex the lumbar spine toward the side that is
working. In terms of respiration, the quadratus lumborum can be felt to stretch most easily
when the abdominals in front are contracted and one "breathes into the lower back",
allowing the diaphragm to push the viscera of the abdomen against these muscles. On
contraction, they serve as muscles of exhalation. They may also hold the lowest part of the
ribs in place during inhalation, allowing the diaphragm to drop down more effectively. Back
to Respiration More on Anatomy The Physics of Breathing Application to the Performer
The Physics of Breathing
You may remember from your highschool physics classes that "nature hates a vacuum".
This principle drives the action of the breath.
Receiving various signals from the nervous system, the diaphragmatic muscles contract and
the diaphragm moves DOWNWARD. As the diaphragm depresses, it creates a vacuum in the
lungs and air rushes in to fill it.
As the diaphragm relaxes, it pushes the molecules closer together, increasing the internal
pressure in the lungs. The air flows from the lungs into the lower pressure outside the body.
Or in other words...
Inhalation
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
diaphragm contracts and drops
lung volume gets larger, creating a negative pressure difference
air rushes in
Exhalation
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
diaphragm relaxes and rises
lung volume decreases, creating a positive pressure difference
air rushes out
The Application of Breath to the Work of the Performer
Initially, every person approaches the study of breathing in her or his own way, often
without much awareness at all. Part of the process of studying voice and speech is
developing an acute awareness of the actions involved in breathing and exploring them in
depth. A teacher is essential to gaining confidence and trust of your own breath, and to
guide you towards a greater understanding of the potential that breath carries for the
performer.
In the early part of this century, there was one overwhelming strategy regarding breath for
the performer in the European tradition: Rib Reserve. This technique has largely fallen out
of fashion today and involved lifting the ribs and maintaining their position while using the
diaphragm and abdominals "as a bellows". The rib "reserve" was there for "emergencies",
when one could rely on an extra helping; unfortunately, in learning how to artificially hold
the ribs up, many who used it got stuck with them there and could never let them back
down. This lead to very stiff actors with artificially distended upper chests in many cases.
Today, there are two main schools of teaching about the breath, though there are many,
many different approaches, often based on the work of a master teacher of voice, speech or
singing. The two basic ideas involve either:
1. "supporting" the breath by compressing the abdomen during phonation (i.e., on the
exhalation), or
2. its opposite, relaxing the abdominals as much as possible during inhalation and
phonation, allowing the diaphragm to work on the inhalation, and riding its relaxation
on the out going breath (i.e., phonation).
Support works by contracting the abdominal muscles, creating higher pressure in the
abdomen and thorax, allowing the diaphragm's relaxation (and upward rise) to be more
carefully controlled. It is important to remember that there is less control in relaxing a
muscle than there is in contracting it, so support gives performers a means of controlling
their phonation. There is a variant on the "support" form where people distend their lower
belly, creating "reverse support"; this is currently thought of as inefficient by voice
scientists, but it does work for many singers.
All of these styles of working with breath for phonation are "natural", in that they occur in
the body at different times, depending on need. The extent to which action of the ribs is
encouraged varies within most techniques, though it is evident that most teachers
recommend that the upper torso, especially the shoulder girdle, be as relaxed as possible
even during the most extreme vocal demands. Ultimately, one wants access to all the
'breath resources' available without jeopardizing the ability to phonate freely, that is without
unnecessary tension.
When we do exercises such as “ho-ho-ho” and “sh, sh, shh”, we are activating ALL these
regions of our breathing physiology. When we “sigh” and “vocal sigh” we are relaxing the
respiration process to use singing correctly.
PHONATION
So far on our journey we have grasped the importance of the support structure for the
voice, and looked at breathing. This next step of the journey initiates "sound" for the voice.
The breath stream rises up the trachea from the lungs and runs into a constriction. This is
the "voice box" where the vocal chords - now called folds - are set in motion by the breath
stream and they create a buzz. If the vocal folds could operate without any of the
resonating areas above it (i.e. without your head!), the sound made by the vibrating folds
would be similar to a "raspberry" made with the lips, or perhaps a duck call.
Remember that Vibration = Sound. The vocal folds "chop" the air stream up into a series
of rapid "puffs". How rapid? If you were to sing an A above middle C (A440) -- not very high
for a woman, your vocal folds would vibrate at 440 cycles per second (also called Hertz, or
Hz). It is important to realize that it is the puffs of air that create the sound, not the impact
of the folds coming together. It is more similar to waving your hand in front of your ear,
which creates waves of air pressure or turbulence, than clapping your hands together.
It is important to remember that speech is not only made of phonated sound. In fact there
are many sound sources in speech.
Sound Sources:
1. the vibrating vocal folds, (a pure, spoken "ah", for instance)
2. turbulence caused by constriction, ("shush"ing someone)
3. blocked air flow (glottal stops & unreleased plosive consonants [ k, p, t ]).
4.
In this latter case, our minds interpret the silence, or absence of sound, as a sound
unit.
Phonation occurs in the larynx ( pronounced La - rinks, not Lar - nicks). Understanding its
complex anatomy and physiology is quite an undertaking. Part of the problem is that the
information you glean may be hard to use as a voice user. The muscles of the larynx work
"involuntarily", meaning that we have little control over them directly. Control of the
laryngeal muscles is done through a biofeed back process involving sensing and monitoring
the vibration of the vocal folds through the sound and feeling it creates. Learning to make
adjustments to those actions is a complex and slow process, one that takes a lifetime to
master. Any knowledge about the structures that create those sounds and feelings can only
help you to appreciate and analyse what is being felt and heard.
One of the most difficult exercise we do is the buzzing of the lips. It tickles, spit gets
everywhere, and everyone feels goofy doing it. However, you are actually relaxing your lips
that can help promote proper vocal techniques. Buzzing the lips is beneficial towards air
flow as it is controlling the stream of air that goes to the vocal chords, to the mouth, and
utilized in moving the lips freely.
RESONATION
The buzz created by the vocal folds resonates (vibrates) the air column and this in turn
causes the structures above and around the larynx to vibrate/resonate as well.
Remember from Phonation that the vocal folds vibrate and chop the air stream into little
puffs of air. The rate or frequency at which these puffs come out is very fast - from 32
cycles per second or Hertz (Hz) for a very low bass to 3136 Hz for a very high soprano. We
speak somewhere between 98 Hz and 262 Hz. This rate is called the fundamental
frequency.
Almost anything can vibrate, and will vibrate at a natural frequency, that is at a rate that is
most conducive to its vibrating. A good example of natural frequency can be seen on a
backyard swing: no matter how hard you push the swing, the rate of frequency of swinging
is the always same, no matter how far you travel each time. Another familiar example is the
tuning fork. It vibrates most powerfully and the longest at its natural frequency. In the
same way, the various structures and tissues of the body, resonate more easily at certain
pitches.

You can feel this by tilting your head back and saying, in a low voice, "Awwwww".
Put a hand on your chest and feel it rumble. Now tilt your head forward, place a
hand on your head and say, "Heeeeeeeeeee" in a high voice. Feel the vibrations in
your skull?
The parts of the body that can vibrate in harmony with the voice are often called
Resonators.
The Air Column
Extending from your larynx to your lips, the air column vibrates at a natural frequency - in
much the same way that the pipes of an organ do. As you shorten the organ pipe, and thus
the air column, the pitch gets higher.

Try blowing across a bottle and then adding water and blowing again - observe how
the pitch rises.
In speech, the rate of vibration of the vocal folds creates the fundamental frequency, or
pitch of the the sound. The frequency or frequencies at which the air column vibrates
determines the quality of the tone.
In fact, the air column from the larynx to the lips functions very much like a uniform tube,
without much variation in width. In an average adult, the tube is approximately 17.5 cm
long in adult males and 14.7 cm long in adult females. Apparently the approx. 90° bend
seems to make no difference acoustically.
The sound created by the vocal folds isn't a pure tone - it is complex. It is made up of the
fundamental frequency (the rate at which the folds vibrate) and a number of partials, which
are harmonics of the fundamental frequency, vibrating 2 times, 3 times, 4 times, etc... as
fast as the fundamental. Our voices are made up of a spectrum of the fundamental and
these "overtones".
Formants
Physics tell us that our tube, which functions as if it is closed at one end (since the larynx
closes it off at the bottom), naturally resonates at the odd numbered multiples of the
fundamental. That is, if the fundamental is 100 Hz, the partials will resonates at 300Hz,
500Hz, 700Hz, etc... These "standing-waves" of sound are also known as formants, and are
labelled F0 for the fundamental frequency, F1 for the first formant, F2 for the second
formant, F3, etc. In shaping speech, the first three formants are most important. In a way,
it is as if each vowel is a "chord" -- like playing three notes together on the piano, where
the bottom note stays the same and the notes above change.
Remember, we saw that :
"the rate of vibration of the vocal folds creates the fundamental frequency, or pitch of the
the sound. The frequency or frequencies at which the air column vibrates determines the
quality of the tone."
What we recognize as "vowels" are actually changes in the quality of the tone. Our tongues
allow us to change the shape of the "tube", specifically changing the cross-sectional "width"
by sliding forward or back.



Move your tongue forward into an [i] /"EE" (as in "reed") position: feel how your
mouth is narrowed by your tongue just behind your teeth?
Try shortening it by pulling back into an [u]/"oo" (as in "mood"): the tongue is pulled
back here. (Notice how the degree of lip-rounding also affects the sound?)
Try going back and forth from "EE" to "oo", keeping the same pitch throughout. As
you tongue slides back towards the "oo" you may hear how part of the sound drops
in pitch, even though your F0, fundamental frequency remained the same.
Lip-rounding essentially lengthens the tube, modify the first, F 1 formant. (The middle of our
tongues primarily shape the F2 formant, and our tongue tips shape the F 3 formant.
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You can hear you that by saying "uh" and "er", lifting and lowering your tongue tip.
The use of harmonics can be emphasized and focussed to make a beautiful form of singing,
called Overtone Singing. There are many styles of this, including the chanting of Tibetan
Monks, Throat Singing & Khoomei and a Western-ized style. Exploring these vocal style can
really expand a performer's range in terms of the sound qualities available.
Resonators
The following areas vibrate "sympathetically" with the air column. The way in which each
area vibrates acts as a cue to the quality of the sound created, giving tactile motor feedback
to the brain, which works in conjunction with the hearing mechanisms.
What is perceived or described by voice teachers as "placement" of the voice, generally
describes how the vibration of the air column interacts with these structures to accentuate
or diminish the size of the second and third formants ( F2 and F3 ). The term "placement"
indicates where one feels the augmented vibration due to the change the relationship of the
formants to areas of the body.
The following is a list of Resonators and the pitches or vocal qualities that most easily
activate them
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Chest and Lower Body - low pitches and open sounds ("AW")
Throat - mid-range, easy speaking tone
Mouth - upper mid-range, mid-vowels
Nasal - close, front vowels, especially when followed by a nasal consonant
Facial - high range, front vowels
Sinus - given that there are so many sinuses, many different quality sounds activate
them
Bones of the skull - falsetto, very high range, closed vowels.
ARTICULATION
So far on our journey we have learned how the airstream is created (respiration), how it
sets the vocal folds into action, creating a buzz (phonation), and that buzz is modified by
the airspace above the larynx (resonation). Now we will explore how the air and vibration
passing through the vocal tract are shaped by the articulators into speech sounds.
There are two major types of articulators:
Moveable articulators
are structures that can move and allow us to shape the sound, i.e. the jaw, the lips
and other facial muscles, the tongue, the soft palate, and the pharynx;
Fixed articulators
are those that cannot be moved by muscles, namely the hard palate and the teeth.
Anatomy of Articulation
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Jaw (on this page)
Facial Muscles
Tongue
o intrinsic muscles
o extrinsic muscles
Pharyngeal Constrictors
Palates
o Hard Palate
o Soft Palate
The Jaw
Jaw bone or Mandible, viewed here from the front, hangs off the skull
suspended by a sling formed of muscles attached to the ramus of each
side of the bone. The ramus is the vertical part of the mandible. The
Masseter muscle, forms the sling on the outside of the ramus; the
lateral and medial pterygoid muscles on the inside. The masseter can
be felt by placing a hand just in front of you ear and then clenching
your jaw. To feel the pterygoids, you must place your fingers inside
your mouth - be careful not to bite your fingers as you contract your
jaw muscles!
From the side, one can see the shape of the ramus a bit more clearly
(this is the inside of the right half of the mandible). The lateral
pterygoid will attach to the inside to the condyle, the bump at the top
back of the mandible and to the skull just under the cheekbone. Its
contraction pulls the jaw forward. The medial pterygoid muscle
attaches to the bottom corner of th mandible and connects to the skull up behind the upper
molars at back of the mouth.
From above, you can see how thick the condyle of the mandible is. This
hooks into the capsule of the jaw hinge and works in a very subtle
manner to rotate and drop as the jaw opens. The narrowness of the
ramus allows plenty of space for the masseter on the outside and the
pterygoids on the inside.
CARE OF THE VOICE
Caring for your voice is a lifelong process, that requires vigilance to protect a very personal
part of yourself from becoming seriously injured. Often called "Vocal Hygiene", caring for
your voice means learning to pay attention to the signals that your voice gives you so that
you take the necessary steps to avoid getting injured in the first place. It also requires that
you think ahead, learning to change certain behaviours which might lead to an injured
voice.
Your vocal folds require moisture to work effectively. Anything that dries them out, from
various drugs to any number of drying environments, should be avoided. There is a famous
saying among singers "pee pale". To pee pale one must drink enough water that you pass a
lot of water when you urinate. This means that you have more than enough water for your
system to handle, which guarantees that your vocal folds will be well "irrigated". How much
water is that? Six to eight glasses per day - it is a lot! Most people actually go around
slightly dehydrated all the time. With the popularity of bottled waters on the rise, this has
changed significantly in recent years, but you don't have to drink expensive water to be
healthy. Make sure your water source is good, and get guzzling.
Beware the following "drying" irritants:
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caffeine
chocolate
alcohol
antihistamines
diuretics
cocaine (those that will admit to using it)
vitamin C (especially in large doses)
cigarette smoke
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marijuana smoke (often unfiltered, it can do more damage. If you "must" smoke pot,
use a bong.)
You may be able to continue to use some of these items by drinking lots of water to
compensate for their drying effects. Before a performance, or strenuous voice use, avoid
them altogether. Of course, smoking is highly dangerous both to the health of voice (your
lungs and larynx and mouth and throat) and of your body (including your heart). Quitting
smoking is strenuously recommended by all voice teachers, though we understand how hard
it can be. If you are having trouble quitting smoking, seek advice, especially from a doctor,
as they can now prescribe gums and patches to help you fight the need to smoke. As for the
caffeine, some people have recommended in the past that voice users "avoid brown drinks",
which would be a suggestion to avoid coffee, tea, hot chocolate, cola and rootbeer because
they tend to have caffeine in them. However, many non-brown drinks now have caffeine
added to them, so you should be careful in choosing a "clear" drink over a brown one. By
the way, decaffeinated coffee may have some caffeine in it (e.g. Starbuck's House Blend
still has 3% of the original caffeine in it: it is NOT caffeine free.)
Some irritants are problems because they cause the creation of copious thick mucous. The
best way to deal with mucous is to be hyperhydrated so that the mucous remains thin, and
can drain away.
Things to watch out for:
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nuts
dairy products
hormones
allergens & pollutants
dust
The next group of things to watch out for tend to create upset stomach, which can cause
gastric reflux. In this situation, the acids in the stomach rise up the oesophagus to irritate
the tissues of the vocal folds.
Watch out for:
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spicy foods
fad diets
The last group of irritants each has its own story:
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aspirin & ibuprophen: make it easier to have a haemorage on the vocal fold
birth control pills: occasionally affect the vocal folds much in the same way that
PMVS does in some women
fatigue: when your body is tired, your voice is also. Pay attention to these cues!
Environments
Many people injure their voices by working too hard - by trying to compete against the
sounds of loud machinery, loud music or crowd noise. If that is the case, try to use
amplification equipment if it is appropriate. As stated before, you want to avoid drying
environments. Some industrial spaces, frequently rented for rehearsal space at low cost, are
actually toxic - not just to your voice but to your whole body. They may also have been
used for industries that carry lots of allergens. I once worked in an abandoned fur trade
building, and half the cast was allergic to the giant dust bunnies roaming the halls.
Avoid or use caution in spaces which are:
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noisy
smokey
outdoors
cold
dry
dusty
industrial
Voice Care: Remedies
Obviously you want to rehydrate your voice as best you can. Work in a humidified
environment, if possible. Drink lots of water. Inhale steam - there are now portable steam
inhalers available on the market, though the old technique still works well (and is great for
your skin):
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boil a pot of water on the stove
once boiling, remove the pot from the stove top
place your head over the steam
place a towel over your head and the pot
breathe deeply
I recommend that you do not use a throat spray to stop the pain. Chloroseptic has a spray
product out that numbs the feeling, which can lead to your doing even more damage to
your voice. If you're in that much pain, you should be able to get an understudy. The show
must go on doesn't mean "the show must go on at your expense!"
Lozenges:
This is a list of lozenges that have been recommended to me by a number of colleagues and
friends over the years.
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Olbas
Fisherman's Friends
Meloids (can be found in Canada at Shopper's Drug Mart. Online, they are available
from Canadian Pharmacy Choice.)
Megazones
Slippery Elm
Larydol (homeopathic)
Zinc lozenges (put under tongue for sore throat, one per day)
Red Indians Ginseng throat drops
Avoid lozenges with analgesics
Teas & Drinks
Most of these just make you feel better. Warmth helps sooth the pain, lemon is an
astringent - so only use it when you feel like you have tons of mucous.
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Lemon & hot water
Herbal Teas
Ginger & Ginger Tea
Traditional Medicinals ® "throat tea"
Pure Ginseng Tea
The following are herbal/naturopathic medicines that I know little about. I pass them on for
interest sake, though I have never tried them and can't say that I recommend them as a
result. My colleagues Diane Pitblado and David Smukler passed them on to me.
Throat Remedy:
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Collimsonia herbal tincture
Cough Remedy:
1.
2.
3.
4.
1 tsp. lobelia leaves
boil in 1 c. water, let simmer
add touch of honey
can use in spritz bottle to get to back of throat
Immune System Boosters
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Echinecia
Golden Seal (Decongestant & Expectorant)
Ephedra
Fenningreek
Essential Oils
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Eucalyptus
Lavender
Steam Inhalations
Olbas tincture
Eucalyptus Essential Oil
Frankincense Essential Oil
Guide Questions:
1. What “bones” are important towards our voice? (hint, there are 4 minimum)
2. Describe the respiration system and how it is crucial towards singing:
3. One of the toughest parts of learning how to sing properly is to understand the diaphragm.
Explain how it works, and what other muscles in our torso (front and back) can help? Have you
ever felt your diaphragm work?
4. There are numerous ways that our voice can become injured, tired, sore, even sick. Name at
least 3 that you experience every day that effect your voice. What can you do to change this?
5. Describe the difference between phonation and articulation.