SING LIKE A STAR BLOG

What is a Register?

Everyone has experienced the difference, in their own voice, between singing high pitches and singing low pitches.  Most people have also experienced the challenge of voice breaks or cracks.

How are registers determined?  What is a register, exactly?

A register in the human voice is a particular series of tones, produced in the same manner (by the same vibratory pattern of the vocal folds), and having the same basic quality.

The American College Dictionary
Definitions of Registers by prominent pedagogues:

Registers originate in laryngeal function.  They occur because the vocal folds are capable of producing several different vibratory patterns.  Each of these vibratory patterns appears within a particular range of pitches and produces certain characteristic sounds.  From these statements, it can be deduced that each register has three constituted elements:  a certain vibratory pattern of the vocal folds, a certain series of pitches,...

INADEQUATE VOCAL FOLD CLOSURE

Inadequate vocal fold closure produces a breathy voice due to excessive airflow through the glottis. Breathy singing could be an indication of various issues such as a lack of vocal development, inefficient onset, vocal fold swelling (edema), aberrations including cysts such as nodules or polyps, poor vocal training, and the stylistic use of a flip to falsetto.

Breathy singing is typical of an Undeveloped category singer throughout their range, an Unbalanced-Pulled Lower singer in the upper register before training, and the low notes of the Unbalanced-Light Lower singer.

To counteract inadequate fold closure, in the first five steps of the Eight Steps of Vocal Development we use adducted onset exercises to encourage better vocal fold closure. These exercises are also known as coup-de-glotte; they are a temporary tool. We discard the use of the coup-de-glotte in Step Six and beyond.

Other ways to counteract breathy singing include voiced-stop consonants...

When we sing, the vocal folds must be brought together to the midline of the glottis to initiate phonation. This is known as approximation or adduction.

It works like this: the vocal folds are adducted or drawn together from the posterior (back) end of the larynx due to the approximation and rotation of the arytenoid cartilages as the lateral cricoarytenoid (LCA) and interarytenoid (IA) muscles contract.

The gliding and swiveling/rotating action of the arytenoid cartilages brings the attached vocal folds toward one another at the midline, allowing the inner edges of the folds to meet and leaving a slit along the middle for air to travel through.

After they are brought to midline, the folds begin to vibrate open and closed in response to air flowing up through the trachea from below the glottis (subglottally).

When we swallow, the folds remain closed so that food is more effectively directed toward the esophagus or food tube.

When we inhale, the folds are open.

When we phonate (make...

TENSION ADJUSTMENTS OF THE VOCAL FOLDS

Tension in the vocal folds occurs through both a lengthwise stretching known as longitudinal tension and by adductive tension that draws the folds toward one another at the posterior (back) end of the larynx.

Longitudinal tension of the vocal folds is achieved through contraction of the cricothyroid (CT) muscles that stretch and lengthen the folds by tilting the thyroid cartilage forward, bringing the thyroid and cricoid cartilages closer together.

Adductive tension is a result of the contraction of the interarytenoid (IA) muscles and the lateral cricoarytenoid (LCA) muscles as the arytenoid cartilages rotate and move toward one another, closing the posterior gap in the glottis and creating vocal fold resistance to subglottal air pressure. This is medial compression.

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Closing the Gap: The Intrinsic Muscles

The vocal folds are open or abducted for inhalation. When we take a deep breath, the vocal folds are fully abducted. When we speak or sing, the folds should adduct or come together at the onset of phonation; they subsequently vibrate open and closed during phonation.

The glottis or space between the vocal folds is closed by the intrinsic muscles. All the intrinsic muscles other than the transverse interarytenoid are paired muscles- there are two of each. The intrinsic muscles are:

• The paired thyroarytenoid (TA) and vocalis (the medial part of the TA) muscles.
• The paired cricothyroid (CT) muscles that tilt the thyroid cartilage forward and lengthen the folds for high notes.
• The paired lateral cricoarytenoid (LCA) and interarytenoid (IA) muscles and the unpaired transverse interarytenoid muscle; these muscles help bring the vocal folds to the midline to initiate phonation by approximating the arytenoid cartilages.

The intrinsic...

The intrinsic muscles are those within and around the larynx. The intrinsic muscles that contribute to vocal production include:

1. The TA or thyroarytenoid muscles comprise the main body of the vocal fold. They contract to shorten and thicken the vocal folds and are predominantly active in the lower register or chest voice.

The terms TA and vocalis are often used interchangeably, though they are different muscle bundles. The vocalis is the medial (inside) portion of the fold body (the part closest to the ligament) and is comprised of slow-twitch muscle fibers. The thyroarytenoid (TA) portion is comprised of fast-twitch muscle fibers.

The thyroarytenoid (TA) muscle adducts, shortens, and thickens the vocal folds, rounding their edges as the body of the folds contracts. When TA activity shortens the folds, the first two outer layers of the fold (the epithelium and superficial lamina propria (mucosa) and the intermediate and deep lamina propria (ligament) become slacker. The...

To innervate is to supply or stimulate. In the human body, nerves originate in the brain and branch out to the spinal cord, connecting to the muscles of the body. Signals from the nerves activate and control our muscles, and also give us feedback. This two-way process is called innervation. 

Two nerves innervate the larynx: the recurrent laryngeal nerve and the superior laryngeal nerve, both branching out of the vagus nerve. The recurrent laryngeal nerve wraps around the aorta, the main artery leading out of the heart, and then comes back up and attaches to the larynx.

STRUCTURE OF THE VOCAL FOLDS

Men have larger vocal folds and a correspondingly larger and more prominent larynx than women and children do. The length of the vocal folds is about 16 mm or .62 inch for an adult male and about 10 mm or .39 inch for an adult female.

The male larynx is more prominent due to the 90-degree angle of formation; the female larynx has a softer 120-degree angle and is...

THE VOCAL FOLDS

The phonation component of the voice system is comprised of the vocal folds, made up of muscle, ligament, and mucosa, and of the larynx (pronounced LAIR-INX, not LAIR-NIX), a housing structure surrounding the vocal folds made of cartilage and muscle.

Vocal Folds or Vocal Cords?

The vocal folds, often referred to as vocal cords, sometimes incorrectly spelled as vocal chords, are the small vibrating element housed within the larynx, located directly behind the thyroid cartilage, otherwise known as a man’s Adams Apple. The vocal folds stretch horizontally across the larynx from front to back, attached to the thyroid cartilage in front and the arytenoid cartilages at the back.  When we inhale, they open in a V-shape with the wide part of the V at the back.

The vocal folds were originally called vocal cords because it was thought that they vibrated much like strings on a violin. This has been shown to be untrue. The term cords is inaccurate; the vocal...

Appoggio vs. Valving

Valving, or vocal fold adduction, is the key to a well-produced vocal tone. You can have all the support in the world, but if the vocal folds are not firmly adducted at the onset of sound, it’s all for naught. Vocal fold closure must be equal to subglottal air pressure. Excessive glottal closure is called hyper-adduction. Insufficient glottal closure is called hypo-adduction.

It’s all about balance. If air pressure and glottal closure are too high (hyper-adduction) the resulting sound is overdriven and raspy. If air pressure and vocal fold adduction are too low (hypo-adduction), the sound will be anemic and breathy. If the balance of air pressure and glottal closure are just right the sound is clear and strong but not forced.

Higher and louder pitches require increased subglottal (below the glottis) breath pressure. Increasing breath pressure is not the same as increasing airflow; increased breath pressure must be balanced with adequate fold...

Correct breathing for singing is one of the most controversial and hotly debated topics in vocal pedagogy circles.  Some teachers spend weeks to months doing nothing but breathing exercises before allowing a student to sing. 

Others do not address the topic at all, claiming the body will naturally supply the right amount of support, and that it is dangerous to intentionally engage the powerful muscles of the core since doing so increases breath pressure.

When we interview students and ask them what they think they need to improve most about their singing they often list “breathing” as their most significant challenge.

While breath management is not the alpha and omega of singing, it is certainly the alpha. In other words, becoming a great breather will not make anyone a great singer; however, a foundation of correct breathing will make all the other steps of vocal development more effective.

Breath management is vitally important to:

• Create adequate and...