The voice enables humans to sing and speak, through which they express themselves. It generates emotions, is an individual characteristic of each person and can differentiate minute nuances.
What is the voice?
The voice enables a person to sing and speak, through which he expresses himself. It generates emotions, is an individual characteristic of each person, and can differentiate minute nuances. The voice is like a complex work of art in which only the interaction of individual elements leads to the overall picture. First, the larynx produces a voice (primary voice), which only acquires volume and becomes audible to others when it is altered in the mouth, throat and sinuses (head voice). This is where resonance chambers are located that act like loudspeakers. If we speak at a high volume, the whole body is involved. The resonance chambers provide amplification of the sound. The timbre of the voice is produced by the anatomy of the resonance chambers, tongue size, lip shape and tooth position. When speaking, the head voice transforms into sounds of vowels and consonants through movements of the tongue, lower lip and palate. If the larynx is small, the vocal folds are also narrow and the voice high. If the larynx is large, the voice pitch becomes lower. The human vocal range is normally 1.3 to 2.5 octaves. Trained people have a vocal range of three octaves or more. The frequency range is approximately between 80 Hz and 12 kHz. When speaking, the pitches vary frequently, creating a vocal melody that can be used to read emotions.
Function and task
Every person has a distinctive voice. It is more than the sound produced by the vocal folds, because speaking, sounds and singing create emotions and influence the listener. Speech begins with the baby’s first cry. It expresses a state of mind, can convey depression, uncertainty, sadness, joy and affection. The voice shows our current state of mind and is specifically used as an instrument in many professions. Politicians, presenters, and especially singers and actors use the voice to portray characteristics and to accentuate content. The voice is characterized by rhythm, tempo and speech dynamics. It can sound natural and pleasant or be perceived as annoying to painful. The pitch determines whether the tone sounds pleasant or unpleasant to the listener. To produce speech, structures in the head, throat, chest and abdomen must be coordinated. Only when the diaphragm, trachea, lungs and thorax work together with the larynx, glottis, pharynx, oral cavity and nasal cavities does the voice emerge with its own unique sound. The most important voice-forming organ is the larynx. It consists of a skeleton with flexibly connected pieces of cartilage as well as inner and outer muscles and the lining mucosa. The outer muscles anchor the larynx in the neck, while the inner muscles connect the cartilage pieces together. As the muscles push the cartilages against each other, different constellations are constantly created, producing a new position, tension and shape of the vocal folds. The larynx itself is also moved up and down, stretching and compressing like an accordion. In the process, the angles between the cartilages always change. The tissue structures lining the larynx are also very complex. The moisture of the laryngeal mucosa influences the vibrations of the vocal folds and thus the voice. The vocal folds consist of three layers of connective tissue, each with different mechanical properties. The most important muscle in voice production is the diaphragm, which curves the chest upward during inhalation. When we exhale, many muscles are activated to help produce sound. A total of nine muscle groups participate in breathing.
Diseases and ailments
Every spoken word, every sound is preceded by a complex anatomical process. So it is easy to understand that even minor impairments can have an impact on the voice. Often, voice problems are due to nerve changes that control the muscles of the vocal apparatus. Injuries and surgeries can affect the voice. Inflammation of the larynx can lead to complete voice failure. Asthma makes it difficult to exhale and thus affects the voice. In asthma, the sufferer may try to compensate for the restricted breathing, putting excessive strain on the laryngeal muscles.Heavy use leads to pain, dysfunction and exhaustion, but can also produce anatomical changes such as nodules on the vocal folds. The cerebral cortex is responsible for the vocalization itself. This is where the stimulus originates, which is sent via the nerve pathways to all the muscles of the voice. To protect the voice from damage, it should not be overstrained. Targeted therapeutic training can be used to counter voice damage caused by overuse. Techniques of voice conservation, which are intended to relieve the muscles of the throat and larynx, can also be learned. Training is also the appropriate therapy for organic changes in the larynx, such as vocal folds. Drugs such as antihistamines can impair vocal function because they dry out the larynx. Hoarseness and coughing fits are the result. Polyps and cysts on the vocal folds are also more common and must be surgically removed. Singers in particular, but also speakers and people who use their voice intensively in their jobs, need to keep the vocal apparatus moist and avoid exposure to smoke and pollutants in the air. However, those who use their voice properly need not fear symptoms of fatigue. Thanks to ever-improving diagnostic procedures, laryngeal operations are often avoidable. If they are nevertheless necessary, they are much easier to perform thanks to new technologies such as laser technology.
