See the Vocal Cords in Action

Even though we speak throughout every day, most of us aren’t aware of how our voice actually makes sound.  Knowing how vocal sound is created gives us a great insight into singing, and can be very useful to make sure we are creating sound healthfully.

Our voice makes sound in the same way all sound is made – through vibration.  We have two vocal cords, also called vocal folds, that vibrate when the breath passes them during exhalation.  These two membranes can stretch out to become long and thin and make high sounds, or shrink to become short and thick and make low sounds.  They can relax and separate from each other to allow normal breathing, zip up against each other to vibrate and make a sound, and vibrate a little farther away from each other to create a sound with breathiness (think Norah Jones).

Everyone interested in singing should know this in order to avoid certain vocal “traps” such as trying to engage additional muscles outside of the two vocal folds to make sound.  For example, you do not need to use the throat or tongue muscles to create sound, those muscles should be completely relaxed.  Only these two little vocal folds create sound, with the aid of the breath passing through them to make them vibrate, so any other muscles getting involved just creates unnecessary tension.

This image lays out the location of the vocal cords in the body:

Location of the vocal folds, also known as vocal cords, in the body.

In the video, Miriam van Mersbergen, Ph.D., Assistant Professor at Northern Illinois University and a professionally trained singer, speaks with John Consalvi, MA, CEO of Lingua Health about the Vocal Cords.  Miriam shares a video of her Vocal Cords in action with John and discusses how the structures and movement of the cords affect the pitch and quality of the voice.

At Music Junction, we think it’s important to be transparent with students about what we are doing in their voice lessons.  We want voice students to understand the whole picture of how their voice works, and how it can be enhanced.  We explain not just the how, but the why, of the vocal exercises we recommend. 

The Music Junction focus is on laying down a strong, thorough, vocal foundation with students, making sure they can access all the different abilities of the human voice.  As a voice student becomes more advanced, they can start to choose which sounds, resonances, and textures they want to combine to make their unique sound.  With our help developing a wide range of vocal possibilities, the student has a large palate to choose from. 

Understanding what vocal folds are and how they work is one integral part of having a comprehensive understanding of your voice.

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Music Junction offers private one-on-one music lessons with talented and caring music teachers at our music school in Burbank, CA. Study your choice of piano, voice, guitar, ukulele, violin, drums, woodwinds, strings. Virtual lessons are also available.