Human Voice Physiology

• The human voice is produced when air passes through the vocal cords.

Voice and its Physiology

• During vocal emission, the brain acts in two complementary ways: directing the organs involved in phonation and correcting them through sensory systems like the ear.
• The vocal technique aims to propagate and amplify vocal cord vibrations without tension through the organism's cavities.
• These vibrations create internal sound sensations that are identified as technical elements.
• Sound waves must reach the mouth freely to vibrate the air and reach the listener.
• Vocal emission should be a conscious act, requiring discernment of specific sensations.
• Preparing the voice involves muscular movements causing physical sensations of cavity opening and internal vibrations.
• Identifying these sensations is crucial for qualitative sound emission, relying on motor memory for comparison and feedback.

Larynx

• The larynx has adapted for human communication but is not fully adapted for sustained conversation or singing.
• This leads to difficulties such as aphonia, hoarseness, and nodules.
• The larynx has two voluntary movements: yawning (descending and opening) and swallowing (ascending and closing with the epiglottis).
• Other less identifiable laryngeal movements include dilation and constriction, obstruction of the air column via the vocal cords (apnea and phonation), and tension of the vocal cords for tone emission, tuning, and register changes.
• Yawning lowers the larynx by 3-5 cm, opening the vocal cords, while swallowing raises and closes it with the epiglottis.
• The most suitable laryngeal position for singing is like yawning, allowing greater opening and freedom of vibration in the vocal cords.

Resonance Cavities

• Laryngeal sound is enriched in resonance cavities like the pharyngeal, buccal, nasal, and labial cavities.

Lungs

• Respiration is fundamental to vocal emission.
• Resting respiration is a reflex without effort.
• The diaphragm contracts, the thorax widens, and the ribcage lowers, expanding the lungs and drawing in air.
• Expiration involves relaxing these mechanisms.

Respiration, Relaxation, and Vocalization in Spoken and Sung Voice

• Speech vocal technique needs prior breathing exercises and includes articulation for clarity, diction for emphasis, and pronunciation, along with correct posture and agility of speech organs.
• Speech vocal technique comprises the correct emission of words and interpretation of text.
• Singing involves measured voice emission with expression and dynamic range, projected outward using vocal and respiratory resources with correct technique and placement.
• The aim is optimized vocal performance without straining the throat.
• The physical foundation is common to both techniques, but differs in rhythm, intonation and maintenance of sounds.
• Healthy vocal organs in good condition are essential for singing.
• Singing teachers begin by teaching breath control and vocalizations for voice classification by tone.
• The normal range for a trained voice is approximately two octaves (exceptionally up to 3), but the useable range is less.
• Steps to vocal education: classification, breathing, emission, plus learning placement and voice control.
• Breathing is mostly involuntary, but can be made deliberate, and is vital for good health.
• Human respiratory function involves three independent systems, that often happen at the same time: abdominal, costal-abdominal, and pectoral breathing.
• In singing: dorsal-costal, gravitational, and support related breathing can additionally be differentiated.
• Abdominal breathing involves expansion and contraction of the base of the lungs.
• Costo-abdominal breathing involves expansion of the thorax and abdomen.
• Pectoral breathing relies on movement of ribs and sternum, which should be avoided.
• Dorso-costal breathing uses support of the hands on the kidneys to feel breathing movement.
• Gravitational breathing observes quick, unconscious breathing among singers in theater and performance settings.

Classification and Extension of Voice

• Classifying a voice is an ongoing challenge.
• Vocal analysis includes range in the low register, vocal color, and transition location in same range according to vocal characteristics and intensities.
• Note the nature of the low register.
• Madeleine Mansion notes that voice is best classified by timbre (not extent).
• Speak of high and low pitches as points of agility and vibration.

Vocal Types

• The extension is of distinct vocal types and their passing zones.

Male Voices

• Bass: the lowest vocal repertory, should possess standard range of 2-2.5 octaves.
• Baritone: may overlap with Bass, but differs in vocal power in the low register.
• It must extend two and a half octaves.
• Lyric Baritone (youth): like a Baritone, a bit less strong in the grave register.
• Tenor: the highest male voice, its variants and qualities are distinguished by the area of register bridges. a) Dramatic Tenor: range is standard. b) Lyric Tenor: also called "spinto," might be called a "tenor of temperament" c) Light Lyric Tenor: their capacity in the high register marks them, requires a supported falsetto to give them reach and flexibility.
• Countertenor: the highest male adult voice; based on technique, technique, training, and stylistic ideas, they fall into classes of: a) Those that execute their whole vocal development in falsetto, isolating the chest registers; they are often baritones who sing an octave higher. b) Those that execute just a part of their vocal development in falsetto, combining and enriching chest resonance. c) natural altos

Voices in Opera

• Haute-contre: a very high tenor in French opera (17th-18th centuries), usually sings natural (chest) voice but falls into falsetto for high registers.

Female Voices

• The vocal development should be identical to any female voice.
• Voices extend normally in two and a half octaves regularly, or more for voices that have not been mistreated.
• Contralto: should have two and half octaves in its range.
• Mezzo-soprano: two registers, of a tenor and soprano, called "soprano-mezzetenor"
• Soprano: the classic extension is diagrammed

Children Voices

• White voices: encompasses the voices of children of both sexes, from four or five until their hormonal change hits.
• The boy's voice loses highs and gains a voice in lower registers.
• Girls' voices register little variation.
• Education: should be the same as for adult voices (respiration, mouth, resonator work), but considering the stage of muscular development.
• Observe whether children possess high or clear high voices called sopranists, while others manifest as altos.
• Voices may change under hormonal influx, or depending on laryngeal structure.
• When starting an infant's vocal journey, fragility is to be respected, as can be damaged through forcing.
• One has to try to keep these voices inside the lines of the pentagram, in the sol key.
• One has to avoid said voices from forcing their emission.
• It is possible that the children demonstrate some difficulty with the fixing.
• If said difficulty isn't congenital, it will be possible to get one's satisfaction

About Choirs

• Choral singing is a great enrichment to cultural capital.
• Difficulties begin with choral institutions in neglecting the technical training of choir members.
• Breath, color, placing is to be practices every rehersal for 20 or 30 minutes.
• The location for practice has to be taken into consideration.
• the vocal makeup has to be taken into account in the choir balance.
• If the choir consists of technically adept artists, their presentation can bring catharsis.

Voice in Childhood and Adolescence

• During adolescence, children's voices change due to hormonal fluxes: the larynx grows, as affect to the vocal chords.
• The whole apparatus is enlarged, so the voice turns uncontrollable while the body is getting used to itself and they lower an octave, but the change's length vary.
• For girls, the vocal chords change length, but not like male voices do.
• In adolescence, girls simply gain more power volume, moving slightly toward the lower registers.
• Educating the voice can begin even before that change occurs but must proceed with lots of caution.
• There is an interconnection between the glandular workings and the life of vocal apparatus, mainly to the hypophysis.
• Glandular activity over voice is seen since birth and reaches its height during puberty.
• The larynx is subjected to successive anatomical and physiological change under influence of hormonal releases that have to do with sexuality.
• The inner construction of a newborn larynx has a anterior-posterior diameter.
• Emission via cry begins due to chorioplacentary hormones, which are a vestige of gestation and embarassment.
• After a month, this hormone influence disappears and they find their normal hormone reactions.
• The tone of the voice doesn't show differences between sexes; all children utilize the head register, which is 700 cycles up.
• Until the coming of puberty, the laryngeal morphology grows perceptibly because of growth hormones; the hormones lie in wait for the time to strike.
• When the individual gets to puberty, the vocal chords undergo noticeable change.
• In men, the adams apple protrudes.
• 14- and 15-year-olds undergo voice change over 6-12 months.
• Women in their 13s and 14s have subtle voice change.
• Until the age of 45, the larynx and vocal function enjoy their peak of functionality, but are ready to fail because of hormonal shifts.

Voice Care

• Correct use of your voice requires knowledge of its machinery and resources, awareness of habit, and self-correction.
• Often teachers misuse the voice as they are heard.
• Vocal care prevents "dysphonias" (altering voice's qualities).
• "Dysphonias" can be organic or functional.

Classifying Dysphonias

• Aphonia: total temporary loss and is provoked by a number of factors.
• Dysphonia: voice's alteration, and can be produced by lesions in the phonation organs: produced by edemas, illness, arthritis, malign growths, or a lesion in the vocal cords.
• Functional Dysphonias: alterations of the voice with no lesion on organs of voice and happen with abuse.
• Psycogenic Disphonias: originate in terror, neurosis.
• Traumagenic dysphonias: caused by trauma and need medical intervention.
• Audiologic disphonias: come as consequence of auditory deficit.

Vocal Health

• Vocal health comprises some habit to keep, and given the rise of voice issues in the last few years, one should follow these rules.
• It has vocal care is a physical condition, an act of training, which requires that the phonoatary process be addressed with a posture and relaxation, avoiding noises, toxic and temperature fluctuation's that are bad for the vocal tract.
• In addition, avoid pressure on the voice, do warmups, breathe correctly, get vitamins and water, decongest sinuses, not smoke or use oppresive clothing or drink either very cold or very hot liquids, sleep well, and see a doctor if you detect problems.

The Musical Language Teacher's Voice

• Teachers are models for students; they should value vocal technique and health.
• Voice upkeep and health are extremely important, especially in the early ears because what educators do vocally establishes the foundation for their pupil's progress.
• The voice teacher must deliver the language with clarity and intonation to prevent vocal difficulties.
• These are some guidelines: place and speak clearly, breathe relaxed, maintain pleasant tone, and control sounds.
• Vocal education must take a knowledge, theoretical and practical, to their students, and also teach them vocal habits and care, including breathing always through the nose, warming up the mouth, the student is to be made aware of his environment, to maintain one's health and to be aware of too much tension.

Vocal Health for Teaching

• Teachers can ensure a health vocal practice in and out the classroom

In The Classroom

• Breathe through your nose
• Vocalize under technical guidelines
• Keep the class from overheating
• avoid raising your voice
• warm up to get student to warm up too
• hydrate one's self
• keep an adequate and relaxing stance.

Outside the Classroom

• Avoid alcoholism as well as very hot and cold beverages
• Avoid being inside over-burdened environments
• Dont use their voice abusively
• Sleep well
• Avoid eating weighty foods
• Avoid strong changes in speaking patterns
• Take care for your bodily placement.

Emission Guidelines

• Correct emission involves all the muscles.
• Breath fills the lungs, goes through vocals that vibrates in the joints from the movement.
• The sound produced will be weak, so need to be enhanced in the resonating chamber.
• An individual must pursue breathing from the diagram

Articulation for Singing

• The enunciation of vocals as well as as consonants has to be pure
• So, speaking about a emission, it can only be with a control
• Sound can be given in a number of ways.
• Through an instrument, to make sounds
• The sound of mouth closed.
• One is asked either to take note of or make use of such methods of resonation to enhance the sound.

IMPOSITION

• With a sound in the larynx has to be a resonating box to use.
• The column of air has to be going through the nose.
• The mouth has to be opened up without exagerration.
• That the tongue be kept in place.
• The head should be straight without any tension.
• The muscles must be flexed.
• Resonance of head: it is more briliant.
• Help in head imposition is to exercise with certain consonants.
• Head register needs to be used on all lengths of note.
• Chest resonance: the lower notes need a deeper chest.
• To utilize, augment the width of throat and vaulting of mouth.

Technical Considerations

• Both resonance have what are called notes of pass.

Conclusions

• The physiology of the voice explains the functioning of vocal and breathing, which, with help, can mitigate bad effects.
• To perform and orate, we must control the speaker, adapting that techniquey and will maintain vocal hygiene.
• Development of intonation and hearing is important, not just for the musical sensitization, entrainment and tone.
• As to connect and communicate music, one has to select the impeccable, general reproduction, which should become as a language, to regard and which is the breathing, emitting etcetera.