Human voice

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The human voice consists of sound made by a human using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, screaming. The vocal folds, in combination with the lips, the tongue, the lower jaw, and the palate, are capable of producing highly intricate arrays of sound.

The tone of voice may be modulated to suggest emotions such as anger, surprise, or happiness.

Singers use the human voice as an instrument for creating music.

1 Voice types and the cords themselves
2 Voice registers
3 Voice disorders
4 Footnotes
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Voice types and the cords themselves

Main article: Vocal folds

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Men and women have different vocal cord sizes; adult male voices are usually lower-pitched and have larger cords. The male vocal cords (which would be measured vertically in the opposite diagram), are between 17 mm and 25 mm in length.<ref name="Musicguides">Page 15, Yehudi Menuhin Music Guides - Voice, Edited by Sir Keith Falkner, ISBN 0-356-09099-X</ref>

Matching the female body, which on the whole has less muscle than the male, females have smaller cords. The female vocal cords are between 12.5 mm and 17.5 mm in length.<ref name="Musicguides"/>

As seen in the illustration, the cords are located just above the trachea (the windpipe which travels from the lungs). Food and drink does not pass through the cords but is instead taken through the esophagus, an unlinked tube. Both tubes are separated by the tongue and an automatic gag reflex. When food goes down through the cords and trachea it causes choking.

Cords in both sexes are ligaments within the larynx. They are attached at the back (side nearest the spinal cord) to the arytenoid cartilages, and at the front (side under the chin) to the thyroid cartilage. Their outer edges, as shown in the illustration, are attached to muscle in the larynx while their inner edges or "margins" are free (the hole). They are constructed from epithelium, but they have a few muscle fibres on them, namely the vocalis muscle which tightens the front part of the ligament near to the thyroid cartilage. They are flat triangular bands and are pearly white in colour—whiter in females than they are in males. Above both sides of the vocal cord (the hole and the ligament itself) is the vestibular fold or false vocal cord, which has a small sac between its two folds (not illustrated).<ref name="Musicguides"/>

The difference in vocal cord size between men and women means that they have differently pitched voices. Additionally, genetics also causes variances amongst the same sex, with men and women's voices being categorised into types. For example, among men, there are baritones and tenors, and sopranos and altos among women. There are different methods for categorizing voices, such as the fach in German opera, and vocal weight in British opera.

[edit] Voice registers

Main article: voice registers

The human voice is capable in most cases of being a complex instrument. Humans have vocal folds which can loosen or tighten or change their thickness and over which breath can be transferred at varying pressures. The shape of chest and neck, the position of the tongue, and the tightness of otherwise unrelated muscles can be altered. Any one of these actions results in a change in pitch, volume, timbre, or tone of the sound produced.

One important categorization that can be applied to the sounds singers make relates to the register or the "voice" that is used. Singers refer to these registers according to the part of the body in which the sound most generally resonates, and which have correspondingly different tonal qualities. There are widely differing opinions and theories about what a register is, how they are produced and how many there are. The following definitions refer to the different ranges of the voice.

[edit] Speaking Voice (Chest)

Main articles: speech, chest register, and belt (music)

The chest voice is the register typically used in everyday speech. The first recorded mention of this register was around the 13th century, when it was distinguished from the throat and the head voice (pectoris, guttoris, capitis -- at this time it is likely head voice referred to the falsetto register, see falsetto article) by the writers Johannes de Garlandia and Jerome of Moravia.<ref name="groveONE">THE NEW GROVE Dictionary of MUSIC & MUSICIANS. Edited by Stanley Sadie, Volume 6. Edmund to Fryklund. ISBN 1-56159-174-2, Copyright Macmillan 1980.</ref>

The speaking voice is named as "the chest voice" in the Speech Level Singing method. It is so called because it can produce the sensation of the sound coming from the upper chest. This is because lower frequency sounds have longer wavelengths, and resonate mostly in the larger cavity of the chest. A person uses the chest voice when singing in the majority of his or her lower range.

It was discovered via stroboscope that during ordinary phonation, or speaking in a man the vocal folds contact with each other completely during each vibration closing the gap between them fully, if just for a small length of time. This closure cuts off the escaping air. When the air pressure in the trachea rises as a result of this closure, the folds are blown apart, while the vocal processes of the arytenoid cartilages remain in apposition. This creates an oval shaped gap between the folds and some air escapes, lowering the pressure inside the trachea. Rhythmic repetition of this movement a certain number of times a second creates a pitched note. This is how the chest voice is created.<ref name="groveONE"/>

The tonal qualities of the chest voice are usually described as being rich or full, but can also be belted or forced to make it sound powerful by shouting or screaming.

When talking about a singer's vocal range, usually only the chest voice is counted. When a singer or person shouts or screams, this is in the chest voice; however, use of overly strong chest voice in the higher registers in an attempt to hit higher notes in the chest can lead to forcing. Forcing can lead consequently to vocal deterioration.<ref name="oxfordDictOperaOne">The OXFORD DICTIONARY OF OPERA. JOHN WARRACK AND EWAN WEST, ISBN 0-19-869164-5</ref>

[edit] Falsetto

Main article: falsetto

Falsetto begins in an area where there is a vocal break in men and women, sometimes referred to as the passagio in classical opera. Falsetto is in an note range referred to as the upper register in classical techniques. The falsetto register typically goes higher (as far as C6 in some men) than head register, a register which is explained in the head register section.

In women, the falsetto voice refers to the whistle register.

The physiological difference between head voice and falsetto is the amount of vocal chords that vibrate. Only the thin edges seem to be used during the falsetto; the internal mass of the vocal muscles seem to be motionless. In time, this falsetto—typically pale and fragile—strengthens itself. <ref>Of Vocal Registers by Gilles Denizot [1]</ref>

Generally when singers describe their range they exclude the falsetto voice. A classical male singer who routinely sings using the falsetto is called a countertenor. Countertenors tend to count this range. If a singer makes frequent use of their falsetto it may be counted as part of their vocal range.

[edit] Head register

Main article: head register

The head register is similar to falsetto, but usually sounds 'tighter' and less airy. It is sometimes heard when a woman shouts or is highly excited, and is used less commonly by men, unless they are deliberately accessing the range. To the untrained ear it can be difficult to distinguish between someone singing in falsetto or head voice.

Head voice is different from falsetto in that it is possible to connect it to the chest voice. That is, the singer's head voice and chest voice can be linked and sound bridged; in transition the voice can be trained to not cut out or make any audible changes in harmonics. Usually this involves clever use of delineation or other vocal tricks. The head register is accessible and can be developed and strengthened through proper training. Freddie Mercury is often cited as not having had any formal vocal training, yet his head voice was very well-developed.

The tonal qualities of the head voice are usually described as being sweet, balladic, lilting, lyrical, or pure. It is often used in choir singing in adult men. However, with proper training, one can develop a more chest-like sounding head voice.

[edit] The Mix/Blend

The mix voice, also known as the "blend," is a term used in the Speech Level Singing method to describe the range of notes which marks a combination of notes in the chest and head registers. The technique is used in both popular music and opera by women, and also by men in R&B. Use of the mix is less popular in rock and opera amongst men and is eschewed for Belting.

In Bel Canto opera it is referred to as the "Middle voice" in women.

Some other singing methods and a significant number of critics of Speech Level Singing say the blend between Chest and head is actually a blend between chest and the falsetto register and that the head register does not exist.

In a number of untrained individuals the mix voice is usually a distinct change or break (referred to as a passaggio or a ponticello) as opposed to a more gradual blending.<ref name="oxfordDictOperaOne">The Oxford Dictionary of Opera. John Warrack and Ewan West ISBN 0-19-869164-5</ref>

There are several ways to negotiate the mix. Clever vocal tricks utilising delineation can be used, the choice of vowels used in the words of the lyrics can often assist, and if the lyrics have an awkward vowel sound the vocalist can be trained, or train themselves to alter the vowel. Other methods include bringing the head voice down very low, and bringing the chest voice up higher than usual. In any case muscle adjustment coordinations, need to be learnt with training and practice. Singers trained to sing like this can choose whether to sing notes in their mix or blend range in the head or chest voice.

[edit] Voice disorders

There are many disorders which affect the human voice; these include speech impediments, and growths and lesions on the vocal cords. Talking for long periods of time causes vocal loading which is stress inflicted on the speech organs. When vocal damage is done, often a ENT specialist must be seen.