How the voice works part 1.
How the voice works part 1 - a little bit about anatomy.
This article is an over view of what can be a very in-depth subject.
Basically there are four main things we use to create sound are:
· Our lungs- we need a constant flow of air from the lungs which is pushed out by the diaphragm. The diaphragm is a muscular sheet that curves up towards the rib cage. When we breathe in, this muscle flattens and the lungs follow it, filling the vacuum left behind and air is sucked into the lungs. We breath out as the diaphragm relaxes back into place, pushing the air out and up through the trachea or wind pipe.
· Our vocal cords- these folds of tissue stretched across the larynx or voice box open and close due to the pressure of air coming from the lungs. This causes pulsating (oscillating) ripples in the flow of air. This vibration speeds up and slows down, creating higher and lower frequency 'waves' of sound. The vocal cords vibrate very fast - 100 times a second during normal speech, 440 times a second when singing an A above middle C and over 1,000 times a second for very high notes.
· Resonators- the sound created by the vocal cords is really no more than a buzz. What is needed is amplification and this comes from what we call resonators. The chest cavity, oral cavity, nasal cavity, sinus cavity are just a few parts of your anatomy that act as resonators. Think of it being a bit like shouting into a cave. The sound echoes and becomes louder as it bounces around the cave walls. This is much the same principle.
· Articulators- to add variation to the sounds we are creating for speech and song, we also have articulators. The sound being formed travels along what's known as the 'vocal tract'. We use our lips, tongue, teeth, jaws and other 'articulators' to alter the course of the sound as it finds its way out of the head. This adds variation the final sound for example: try making a 'g' sound without the back of your tongue moving up to the palate at the back of your mouth. It sounds like 'uh' instead right? Now try making a 'm' sound with your lips apart. It comes out as 'n' right? That's the nasal sound without the 'm' caused by the hum provided by the lips. There are lots of examples of this, too many to mention here.
More in part 2.
Ian James Helm and EasySingingLessons.Net offer vocal coaching and singing lessons in the North West of England.
They can be contacted via http://www.easysinginglessons.net
Feel free to email questions and enquiries to ian@easysinginglessons.net
This article is an over view of what can be a very in-depth subject.
Basically there are four main things we use to create sound are:
· Our lungs- we need a constant flow of air from the lungs which is pushed out by the diaphragm. The diaphragm is a muscular sheet that curves up towards the rib cage. When we breathe in, this muscle flattens and the lungs follow it, filling the vacuum left behind and air is sucked into the lungs. We breath out as the diaphragm relaxes back into place, pushing the air out and up through the trachea or wind pipe.
· Our vocal cords- these folds of tissue stretched across the larynx or voice box open and close due to the pressure of air coming from the lungs. This causes pulsating (oscillating) ripples in the flow of air. This vibration speeds up and slows down, creating higher and lower frequency 'waves' of sound. The vocal cords vibrate very fast - 100 times a second during normal speech, 440 times a second when singing an A above middle C and over 1,000 times a second for very high notes.
· Resonators- the sound created by the vocal cords is really no more than a buzz. What is needed is amplification and this comes from what we call resonators. The chest cavity, oral cavity, nasal cavity, sinus cavity are just a few parts of your anatomy that act as resonators. Think of it being a bit like shouting into a cave. The sound echoes and becomes louder as it bounces around the cave walls. This is much the same principle.
· Articulators- to add variation to the sounds we are creating for speech and song, we also have articulators. The sound being formed travels along what's known as the 'vocal tract'. We use our lips, tongue, teeth, jaws and other 'articulators' to alter the course of the sound as it finds its way out of the head. This adds variation the final sound for example: try making a 'g' sound without the back of your tongue moving up to the palate at the back of your mouth. It sounds like 'uh' instead right? Now try making a 'm' sound with your lips apart. It comes out as 'n' right? That's the nasal sound without the 'm' caused by the hum provided by the lips. There are lots of examples of this, too many to mention here.
More in part 2.
Ian James Helm and EasySingingLessons.Net offer vocal coaching and singing lessons in the North West of England.
They can be contacted via http://www.easysinginglessons.net
Feel free to email questions and enquiries to ian@easysinginglessons.net
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