How the Voice Works

When you're learning to sing, it helps to know what makes your instrument tick

Anyone who works with the voice, teaching singing to children for example, or who is a professional voice user (not just actors and singers, but teachers as well) can benefit from clear understanding of how voice works.

This may seem an odd statement with which to begin an article on voice training as most people who teach singing or who work with the voice believe that they already have a working knowledge of 'the basics'. However, many teachers simply do not have the key physiological information that could transform their approach to teaching singing as well as provide a better understanding of what is causing their pupil's problems.

The first place to start is to ask this question: what is the larynx for? If you place your hands around your neck and feel what is commonly know as your 'voice box', I would like you to think for a moment and ask yourself, why do we have a larynx? This important question is fundamental to anyone working with the voice.

The power of the larynx

If you think the larynx exists in order to provide us with a voice, then you are in very good company as many voice teachers also think like you. However, you would be wrong. The primary anatomical function of the larynx is not to sing or to speak; it is a valve that determines inflow and outflow of breath, and a constrictor that protects the lungs from inhaling anything that isn't air. This function is vital- life saving; the only thing that should enter the lungs is air. The larynx is very sensitive to potential threats to the airway and will shut down and protect it immediately, spontaneously and efficiently. This response is instinctive and very strong. Think about what happens when you are eating and something goes down the 'wrong way'. When you breathe normally the rate of airflow is about ten miles per hour. When we cough, this can increase to up to five hundred miles per hour. Something that powerful has to be pretty important and nothing is as important as breathing.

True and false

This instinctive response can also kick in when we least want it such as when we are singing or speaking, especially at higher pitches or loud volumes. When this happens, structures called the false vocal folds close over the true vocal folds. The true vocal folds are when we make sound. The false folds are what allows us to make a strong closure such as when we swallow, cough or strain.

This is necessary in these functions but is completely inappropriate in singing or speaking. However, it is possible to override it by silent laughing. Laughing is a device that actively pulls the false vocal folds into an open position, overriding the constrictive posture. This takes practice to locate and to maintain while singing or speaking but it is the most essential skill in voice training. This response is of course true of children too who learn this easily. Laughing prior to singing practice, silently or otherwise, can have a directly beneficial effect on voices, releasing tension and creating an optimum position for healthly singing.

Another vital component of good singing practice is engaging the crico-thyroid mechanism of the larynx. This is done most easily by whining, complaining or crying, making the thyroid carilage of the larynx tilt forward slightly. This action of the thyroid is essentially the difference between singing and speaking. Ideally, it shouldn't be as strong as a sob; a complaining, whining sound is best. Techincally, this allows for access to the higher notes in the range, encourages vibrato, if desired and releases pressure on the larynx. For children, this is also very important.  Some tilting of the thyroid is essential for healthy voice production, even in children. There are very simple exercises that can encourage this that are fun, easy and effective.

Safe singing

Children should never be forced to very high levels of volume or notes that cause them to get hoarse or breathy. As a general rule, the vocal objective in all classes and practice is clear tone; that is, tone without any breathiness or air in it. Clear tone indicates healthy voice use and should be encouraged in all children, throughout the range in all styles of singing, loud or quiet. Persistently breathly tone that doesn't improve with coaching may indicate a more serious vocal problem that should be examined by a laryngologist.

Children can and do lose their voices but encouraging good function through playing with whining and crying, holding a silent laughing position and maintaining clear tone will develop good practice that will serve them well for as long as they enjoy singing.

Words: Anne-Marie Speed, Professor of Voice, Musical Theatre Course, Royal Academy of Music