Vocal Information

The Vocal System
Keeping your voice healthy begins with an understanding of how the voice works. The voice is produced by the combined efforts of many body systems, and all of the systems must work together to produce a strong, healthy-sounding voice. The three essential elements of the vocal system are described below.

1. Power Supply: The Respiratory System
The lungs, ribs, diaphragm muscle, chest muscles, and the abdominal and back muscles all act together to provide the supply of air needed to produce the voice. This is what singers often refer to as support or the diaphragm.

2. Oscillator: The Larynx
The larynx, or voice box, is the structure in the mid-neck that contains the vocal folds (vocal cords). There are about 30 muscles within and around the larynx that function together to move and adjust the vocal folds. When the vocal folds close during speaking or singing, air from the lungs passes between them causing them to vibrate and produce a sound.

3. Resonator: Throat, Mouth, Nasal Cavities (Supraglottic Vocal Tract)
The sound produced by the vocal folds is only a buzz, although it has variable pitch. The rest of the vocal tract refines the sound through resonance to give each individual a unique "vocal fingerprint". Resonance refers to the shaping of sound waves within a chamber to produce a particular sound output. Singers often discuss "voice placement", and this refers to manipulation of resonance with the tongue, jaw, and palate to achieve different tone colors or to alter projection.