How to Sing Higher- The Vocal Folds and Pitch

Changing pitch involves changing the rate at which the glottal wave repeats as a result of the ever-shifting changes in the length and tension of the vocal folds.

Contraction of the body of the vocal fold correlates with lower pitch. When the thyroarytenoid (TA) muscle contracts, it pulls the back or posterior portion of the folds closer to the front or anterior portion, bunching the folds up.

When the thyroarytenoid (TA) muscle is contracted it is more tense; however, the mucosa overlying the vocal folds becomes floppier, so the mucosa vibrates more slowly. The shorter, thicker fold structure combined with the slower vibration of the mucosa results in a lower pitch.

In the upper register, when we sing higher pitches, the vocal folds vibrate faster as they become  longer, thinner, and tauter. This happens when the cricothyroid (CT) muscle contracts, tilting the thyroid cartilage down and forward on the cricothyroid ligament, causing it to move away from the arytenoid cartilages in the back of the larynx, lengthening and stretching the vocal folds.

Less TA contraction means the vocal folds are not bulged out toward the midline and the contact between the folds begins higher on the fold.

You can demonstrate the correlation between vocal fold length and pitch by blowing up a balloon and then stretching the lips of the opening longer and more taut (you will hear a higher pitch made by the escaping air) and then shorter and less taut (you will hear a lower pitch made by the escaping air).

HOW PITCH IS CONTROLLED

Pitch is controlled by:

1. Thyroarytenoid (TA) muscles (paired): The thyroarytenoid muscles provide the main mass of the vocal folds. When they contract, they draw the arytenoid cartilages forward, shortening, relaxing, and thickening the vocal folds, closing the glottis by bulging inward as they shorten.

The vocalis is the deep inner fibers of the TA (thyroarytenoid) muscle that tenses and relaxes the vocal folds.

2. Cricothyroid (CT) muscles (paired): The cricothyroid muscles are attached to the cricoid and thyroid cartilages. When the CT muscles are stimulated by the superior laryngeal nerve, they contract and tilt the thyroid cartilage forward through the flexible cricothyroid joint, increasing the distance between the thyroid and arytenoid cartilages and stretching and tensing the vocal folds.

The cricoid cartilage also moves upward.  The thyroid cartilage movement is referred to as the laryngeal tilt. When this stretching and tensing of the folds occurs, pitch is raised; therefore the CT muscles are known as the primary determinant of pitch in singing in the upper register.

3. Ligaments (paired): The vocal ligaments are two strong bands enclosed within the vocal folds, consisting of yellow elastic tissue.  The ligament is the intermediate and deep layers of the lamina propria and is composed of collagen and elastin fibers.

They act something like a purse string, modifying the fold’s elasticity and tension, becoming the tension-bearing element in the vocal folds at high pitches.

The ligaments are attached to the angle of the thyroid cartilage in the front of the larynx and to the arytenoid cartilage in the back of the larynx.  They limit vocal fold elongation and pull the vocal folds into place as the arytenoid cartilages move. 

Singing Higher

As longitudinal tension increases, the glottis tends to develop a gap in the middle. To counteract this tendency, the lateral cricoarytenoids (LCA) are contracted, drawing the arytenoid cartilages and vocal folds toward the center, a process known as medial compression.

When the vocal folds lengthen and the tension on them increases as pitch rises, the edges of the folds become thinner and the opposing surfaces of the folds brought into contact become smaller, decreasing the vibrating element of the vocal folds.

As the pitch continues to ascend, the limits of muscular strength of the thyroarytenoid (TA) muscles reaches an end. To sing increasingly higher pitches, the singer must adopt a new vocal fold vibratory pattern. In other words, the singer must change registers, and they must do so smoothly and unobtrusively.

This requires coordination that is seldom innate and must almost always be developed with training.

This is why beginning singers experience voice breaks or cracks in registration when singing from the lowest pitches to the highest pitches; beginning singers are bound to experience these challenges due to lack of coordination and skill. Register breaks can and must be eliminated with effective vocal technique.

A smooth and coordinated transition from the lower to the upper register occurs when the thyroarytenoid (TA) muscles progressively relax as the cricothyroid (CT) muscles become more active.

Coordination of these antagonistic muscles, along with skillful resonance adjustments, creates a smooth transition through the primo passaggio and into the upper register.

The coordination of TA and CT activity, along with resonance adjustments, are a large part of the Eight Steps of Vocal Development. In Step Five of The Eight Steps of Vocal Development, the singer begins to learn this essential skill of transitioning smoothly through the registers.

Maintaining a static vocal fold length while increasing breath pressure can raise pitch to some extent; as the folds stiffen more, pitch tends to rise. This is what happens when a singer stays in mode 1 or chest/modal voice as they sing higher pitches.

However, it is an unhealthy way to sing because it requires excessive subglottal pressure. 

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