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When it comes to producing speech for the voice, every Organ and Muscle needs to work together to succesfully produce the sound that we make, while sizes vary in all of the Organs and Muscles. They are all as vital as one another to make an audible sound come out of our mouths. Below you'll find a list of the physiological components that make the voice work.
The Upper Respiratory System
The Upper Respiratory System
The Nasal Cavity:
The Nasal Cavity:
The Nasal Cavity is above the roof of the mouth and is where the air from our nose is stored in which it is humidified and warmed. It affects our speech due to wether the Nasal Cavity is open or closed.
The Palate:
The Palate:
The roof of your mouth (Also known as the Palate) is made of the hard and soft palate, One being made of bone and the other muscle. When we speak, the soft palate is raised to block off the nasal airways so we can pronounce specific letters such as s,g,k,b while sounds like m and n are made with the nasal airways opened.
The Tongue:
The Tongue:
When it comes to talking. The tongue is the organ that helps with pronunciation with the majority of sounds we can make, for example. You can't pronounce the letter 'T or D' without the tongue being on the roof of your mouth (The Palate). When the air produces sound, the tongues many muscles help by moving the tongue so the air can be used with the tongue to pronounce a specific letter or word.
The Mouth:
The Mouth:
Also known as the Oral Cavity. The Mouth is one of the main organs that brings in air to the lungs. It is also essential when it comes to speaking. It's where the voice is projected, without lips as well most dialect would be almost impossible. It also helps with continuous speech alongside this. An example is how you can't say the letters 'V or F' without mostly closing your mouth. Thanks to all the internal Organs and muscles working the way they should we are able to speak with good and well formed words and breath properly.
The Pharynx:
The Pharynx:
The Pharynx is the connection between the mouth and nasal cavity which also connects to the Larynx, Making sure air that we've breathed in is safely transferred from wherever we have inhaled it from, to the Larynx and therefore the lungs.
The Larynx
The Larynx
The Larynx:
The Larynx:
Without the Larynx (Also known as the Voice Box), the air we breathe in wouldn’t be able to reach our lungs, It is a vital organ not only in the way humans talk, But also in how we live in general. This is also where you can locate the vocal folds in the body. The Larynx is a tube-shaped organ which has been recorded to be almost two inches long (According to MacMillan). There are around nine parts to the larynx alone. One of these being the the Thyroid. The Thyroid is the protective part of the Larynx which covers over to make a shield, forming what most people know as 'The Adams Apple'. Without it our Larynx wouldn't be shielded and easily damaged.
The Vocal Folds:
The Vocal Folds:
The Vocal folds are two pieces of tissue that are directly below our tongues and therefore our mouths. When we breathe out air to speak, A specific part of the vocal folds called the mucosa vibrate and move to make and accommodate for our speech. A good way to show how the folds vibration affects our speech is by talking in front of a fan. Our voice turns into a more robotic-like tone. This is because the folds are moving to accommodate our lungs but also being affected by the air coming from the fan.
The Epiglottis:
The Epiglottis:
The Epiglottis is a small but probably the most protective part of the Larynx we have. I know it sounds dramatic but the Epiglottis is the main muscle that separates our breath control and food intake. It's a small bit of tissue which sits below our tongue and directs food to the gullet. Sometimes drank liquids can get through into our lungs which is where the phrase 'gone down your windpipe' comes from. Which is also why we start coughing alot. When something goes down our wind pipe when it shouldn't our body reacts to coughing it back up.
The Glottis:
The Glottis:
The Glottis is the name for the open vocal folds. This is when we are talking and not eating, Letting the folds open so air can pass in and out allowing humans to talk without risk of any food or drink going down the wrong pipe.
The Lower Respiratory System
The Lower Respiratory System
The Trachea:
The Trachea:
The Trachea (As some people call it the windpipe), is a tube that connects the Larynx to the lungs. Without it, there would be no possible airflow between the mouth, nose and lungs, which would end up making it impossible to breathe and speak.
The Bronchi:
The Bronchi:
The Bronchi connects to your trachea and will circulate the air that goes into your left and right lung. It is also used as a form of filter for the air going into our left and right lung respectively. The germs that are expelled out of our bodies are more commonly known as 'Mucus'
The Intercostal Muscles:
The Intercostal Muscles:
The Intercostal Muscles help push the air out of our lungs by pulling down on the ribcage, while the ribcage is effectively the shield for our vital organs. The Intercostal Muscles help it retract to get air out to produce speech.
The Rib Cage:
The Rib Cage:
While the Rib Cage may not be an Organ. It protects all of the vital ones in our body. Not just our respiratory system such as lungs, But all our vital organs also, The heart is a good example of this. When it comes to talking however the rib cage expands and holds our lungs when we breathe in, It's essentially the opposite of the Diaphragm. While the Diaphragm retracts and gets smaller. Our Rib Cage expands for our lungs.
Here is a 3D render made of the Ribcage Movement During Breathing.
By Will Lawson
Lungs:
Lungs:
Before any muscles work together you need to have air in your lungs, the more air you have in your lungs. The longer you can talk in one breath. Similarly depending on the depth of the breath determines how much power you can put behind your voice also. Without our lungs we wouldn’t be able to survive. The lungs are a crucial part to humans in both health and even the way we communicate to others.
Here is a video showing the lungs being filled with air then releasing.
By AnimatedBiomedical
Diaphragm:
Diaphragm:
The Diaphragm tends to act as a sort of piston for our lungs. I say this because when we take in air for our lungs, the diaphragm will retract, helping with air flow in our lungs. When we breathe out the diaphragm will expand. While doing this our ribcages in turn will also expand to make room for the air. This is the driving force behind the power in our voices, The more air in our lungs the more power that our voices have.
Here is a video example of how the Diaphragm retracts and expands during breathing.
By AnimatedBiomedical
Breathing
Breathing
When it comes to talking/singing, breath control is vital if you want your voice to be fully utilised in speech. Good breath control can lead to a better expansion of lungs and Overall steadier breathing. This can be solved by practise and more importantly breathing exercises. The more air your able to expel from your lungs and also the better pattern of breathing means the longer you'll be able to speak for.
Here is a site by HealthLine that recommends different breathing exercises
The exercise I use however is one that my Dad taught me. This technique has come in handy in many situations, for example. If I need to calm down and when I've not been able to carry enough power behind my voice while singing. This is called the 5-7 routine. Where you breathe in for five seconds, hold it for three then slowly breathe back out for seven. Like I said before this technique has always helped me when I needed it.
Step by Step:
Make Sure to Relax your muscles, More specifically the Neck and Shoulders.
Slowly breathe in for five seconds, preferably shutting your eye's as to try and cause focus
Once Breathed in hold in the breath for approximately three seconds.
Expel your breath slowly for seven seconds.
Articulation
Articulation
Articulation is where our respiratory system works with our Oral cavity, Tounge, Palates and Teeth to Co-Ordinate movements and produce specific sounds and words. Without proper Articulation humans wouldn't be able to make majority of the sounds that we do.
The Palate:
The Palate:
When it comes to Articulation, the Soft and Hard Palate is vital for specific letters. These sounds are made mainly when the tongue interacts with the Palate. The tongue colliding with the Palate is what makes sounds possible. Sounds like 'T' 'D' 'H' 'J' 'N' are made with the hard Palate however. the Soft Palate however isn't as well vitalised as the hard one is.
The Lips:
The Lips:
When it comes to Articulation, the Lips are vital in how alot of letters are produced, You might not have noticed when your talking but when we speak a lot of letters require both our upper and bottom lips. In some cases you'll find that your only required to use your bottom lips. These are letters such a 'F' and 'V', You'll find your upper set of teeth interacting with your bottom lip to produce the sound. With Letters such as 'B' 'M' 'P' and 'W'
The Tongue:
The Tongue:
When it comes to Articulation, the tongue helps with making very specific letters audible for you to speak. Most of these letters however are also common in English, such as 'L' and 'D', If you try and say these letters you'll notice your tongue is being used prominently for it, they are interacting with your hard palate to produce the letter. Without our tongue that would be impossible. As our tongue helps by interacting with specific parts of the Oral Cavity to pronounce these words.
The Teeth:
The Teeth:
When it comes to Articulation, the teeth themselves dont help with articulation. But the collision when it comes to the lips. They have to work together when making certain letters. These being 'V' and 'F'. While the lower teeth don't have much of an impact talking wise and are more used for food consumption the upper one's do affect our annunciations.
Tone
Tone
Volume:
Volume:
Volume is shown through the amount of air we get into our lungs. The more air means better control. When it comes to the tone of voice depending how you want to come across really depends on the volume and power behind it. For example: if you’re angry you’d naturally put more power behind you, however if you’re sad. You’ll be naturally quieter and won’t use as much energy. It’s why when we get angry it tires us out. We’re overstimulating our lungs to get the most out of them which isn’t healthy at a big rate. Another good example is when we’re sad. A lot of the time we’ll have a rapid breathing pattern. This is because of panic and our bodies natural response is to speed up the breathing.
Pace:
Pace:
Pace is usually shown through our speech. It is how fast we can project words and sentences. Even though we hear it through voice it’s more the air that the pace impacts. If you have a faster pace you’ll find yourself having fairly rapid breathing. Usually a faster rhythm, same vice versa. When you speak slower your lungs will have more time to accumulate air. A lot of the time pace is usually shown through emotions. It shows the tone that we are trying to portray. A lot of comedians use pace to help with their delivery. Some comedians will usually have a fairly fast talk pattern because for their kind of humour. While others will have pauses to make sure to get the right timing for the joke to work to full effect.
Pitch:
Pitch:
When it comes to pitch it’s more used in singing than talking, it’s made purely with the vibrations of the vocal cords. The more vibrations the higher the voice. A good example for this is a guitar. How different chords imply a different pitch. While this isn’t shown in talking and isn’t as relevant, It is with singing. In singing you have different vocal ranges Bass, Tenor, Alto and Soprano. You are assigned one based on your pitch as you sing, I am a tenor for example.
Vocal Warmup:
Vocal Warmup:
This Vocal Warmup is designed for Actors and Singers, I'll put the order of what to do in the list down below! Enjoy!
Check Posture
5-7 Breathing Exercise
1,2,3 Exercise
A,B,C Exercise
Vowel Warmup
Lip Roll
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