Can you change the thickness of your vocal folds?
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- čas přidán 29. 08. 2022
- A very brief introduction to how the thickness of the vocal folds affects the volume of the voice!
What I forgot to mention in this video is that some people definitely do have thicker true vocal folds than others - if a person’s voice has gone through a testosterone-induced change, their vocal folds are naturally going to be thicker. This means they can go to much lower pitches than someone who hasn’t gone through this change, and generally they can be louder, too.
There are also other things that effect the volume/strength/projection of the voice, including bringing out different harmonic overtones like we do when adding twang (narrowing the aryepiglottic sphincter).
As with all things in the body, every body is different and the range of variation is wide!
In my demonstration, which isn’t perfect, I’m also tilting my cricoid cartilage when I make the really loud sound which helps the vocal folds become even thicker.
Thanks so much for the question @norfickchick!
Interested in working with me? I work with people online from all over the world. Details are on my website: www.bectilley.com/
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Best explanation I found so far. Thanks teacher
Thanks, glad you found it helpful!
awesome explanation.
Hey, thanks! Glad you enjoyed it ^_^
Great explanation thank you :)
You're welcome, thanks for your comment!
This was informative! Thanks a lot,,but can you make tutorial video on that "tilt" thyroid muscle with vibrato? I am obsessed with that kind of vibrato or fast vibrato.
Thanks, so glad you enjoyed! I've actually struggled to find good education for myself on the subject of vibrato, so I wouldn't consider myself a good teacher to make a video about it. I'm aware of a few different ways to achieve vibrato - tilting the thyroid cartilage, or allowing little flutters of air, or pushing the air from the abdominal muscles, as well as just a subtle adjustment in pitch (though this last option would also be related to the interplay of the vocal fold muscles and the thyroid cartilage)... however this is just bits & pieces I've gleaned from various sources and my own play... this is a particular topic I don't feel super well-informed on, so I don't think I'd consider making a video about it.
My vibrato has always been the fast kind like this; my teachers analysed it as being the air-flutters kind, but it doesn't match my own physical sense of how it feels to produce it. It feels related to thyroid cartilage tilt and perhaps some shaking of muscles around the larynx. Not 100% sure!
@@bectilleyvoice thank you so much,,I thought you weren't active these days and won't reply cause this video's old and gold lolb🌸🌸 about thyroid cartilage you mentioned in the video,,I can only understand that it's on the front of the larynx,,but how does it feel when you tilt it? I mean does your muscle beneath your chin(the back side of chin or the front) get tightened? I could differentiate with the sound,just could see the difference in sound when you go from thick to thin and thin to thick but that tilt ,aarggh! I must be stupid haha,could you demonstrate with the chin muscles or maybe theoritically describe the sensation when you'd feel when tilting the thyroid cartilage? Thank you so much 🌸🌸
@@DipsonSitaula God, is 6 months ago really considered old these days? 🤣
This is the sort of thing that would be best to chat about and guide you through in an actual session!
If you're interested, you can book a Discovery Call and we could have a chat. bectilley.com/singing/get-started/
Hahahaha it's not like that's just in my mind, overthinker ya know,🤣 I researched so much and maybe I got it! 😁 Thank you so much by the way 🙏😊🌸🌸
@@DipsonSitaula Haha ok, well, if you ever want any specific guidance on it, you know where to find me!
Great video! Btw, I have deviated septum which I'm planning to correct. Do you think that affects the quality of my voice, in the sense that it sounds more nasal and I'm using thinner vocal folds?
Hi there! It's tricky to answer your question without actually having a conversation, hearing your voice, and hearing what you mean by "nasal" or "thinner vocal folds".
Your vocal folds are nowhere near your nose or septum so there should not be any direct impact on them. Using thicker or thinner folds is a choice we make in our larynx, as I outlined in the video, not a permanent setting :)
It's possible that adjusting the shape of your nose or nasal passages will affect the sound & sensation of your voice somewhat, as this is part of the filter your sound can pass through when you're singing - but only if/when your velum (soft palate) is in a mid or lowered position. If it is in a high position, touching the back wall of the pharynx, your sound is not affected by your nose as it is only coming through your mouth.
You can determine the position of your velum by holding a note on a vowel and pinching your nose closed and then letting it go repetitively. If pinching your nose changes the sound, it means your velum is in a mid or lowered position and so your air/sound is coming through your nose. If there is no change, you are singing with oral resonance only and the velum is closing off the "back door" to the nose. Again, this is not a permanent thing but something we can control both consciously and which will happen unconsciously - any time you say "m" "n" or "ng", this is a nasal sound.
What many people call a "nasal" sound is actually nothing to do with the nose - a bright and twangy sound. This sound is made by the narrowing of a space within the larynx. A "nasal" sound, when the air/sound is coming into the nose, is actually a more dull and dampened sound.
Let me know if this makes sense!
I forgot something - if you feel that your voice is nasal in the sense that your nose is partly blocked by your deviated septum, this would actually mean that your voice is *less* nasal - less air and sound going through the nose. A fully blocked nose like when we have a cold is not a nasal sound at all - it is oral resonance only. Does that make sense?
Also, I have a video about "nasality" here: czcams.com/video/_TUALDB3Ugs/video.html
@@bectilleyvoice Thanks, cool🙂I read about hyponasality vs hypernasality, where the first one could be caused by a deviated septum. I also thought that if my nose is blocked that would not make my voice nasal, but apparently hyponasality is something that exists? If you have any more info on that, I will be happy if you can share it🙂
@@SycAamore Right, yes, so "hypo" just means... not nasal, or less nasal than usual, where as "hyper" means more/too much. So pretty much what i said :) a blocked nose means less nasal resonance.
Hello, I have a technical question and I hope you can help me because it's driving me crazy:
I've heard vocal coaches say that a low larynx (associated with a rounder space etc..) stretches the vocal folds, making them thinner and making the sound lighter, while a high larynx makes the vocal folds shorter, thicker and the sound heavier/chestier. But in my experience I don't find that to be true: starting from a "neutral" shape (so the space is not on the "rounder, taller" side of the spectrum nor "wider, more horizontal") I feel that if I round the space or if I make it more horizontal, in both cases the vocal folds seem to vibrate with less mass, the sound is lighter and the resonace feels higher and more forward. The only difference is the timbre and the fact that the vocal folds adduct more easily with a higher larynx position, but it seems to me that both lowering and raising the larynx produces a decrease in vocal folds mass. Does that make any kind of sense at all physiologically?
Hi, thanks for your question! As far as I'm aware, larynx height is an adjustable setting which can be isolated from other settings such as the thickness of the TVFs. You can do a higher or lower larynx on a chest (thick) sound, on a head (thin) sound, mix and match it with any other vocal parameters.
In my experience, when people first learn lowered larynx, especially when doing it to an extreme, they do often tend to make the sound breathier. I do also find that significantly lowered larynx can easily bring with it tilting of the thyroid cartilage so a less “thick” sound, which may be what these people are talking about; this does stretch the vocal folds and make the sound thinner. But I can isolate these two parameters if I try, and keep my TVFs thick, on all except for my very lowest pitch.
I have never noticed high larynx creating a more thicker/heavier/chestier sound though. But as I said, it can be done either on thick or thin settings, chest or head, whatever else you’re doing you can add high larynx to it. High larynx is generally a helpful setting to add to belting / using the thick folds / chest voice up high, it makes everything feel much easier.
I can’t really speak to what you’re doing/experiencing without actually hearing and seeing it, but let me know if this was helpful at all or if you have further questions :)
@@bectilleyvoicethanks for the answer
@@gleamingrake7689No worries! Did it make sense? Do you have any questions?
So does that exercise permanently change and thicken the vocal cords?
Good question! In my study I have not heard of any exercise permanently changing the thickness of the vocal fold (thyroarytenoid) muscle, I'm not sure if it works in this way as it would with, say, your bicep, where working it does build the mass of the muscle over time. That's a pretty nitty-gritty question which I'm going to take to Instagram to ask the more experienced voice science people I'm connected to! Thanks for helping me learn more! I'll come back to you with the answers I receive!
What I do know is, through exercises, we can develop skill, agility, control & ease in both the thickening of the vocal folds (via activation of the thyroarytenoid, amongst other muscles, and other mechanisms such as tilting the cricothyroid cartilage) to achieve louder, thicker sounds; as well as in thinning the folds (via release in the thyroarytenoid muscle, and engagement of other muscles like the cricothyroid muscles to tilt the thyroird cartilage and stretch the vocal folds longer and thinner) to achieve sweeter, smoother, quieter sounds.
So in my understanding, it's less about building up the muscle, and more about improving our ability to engage or relax different muscles at different times for vocal flexibility & agility & access to a range of sounds :) This is more about the brain-muscle-ear connection, increasing our interoception (awareness of the sensations of things happening inside our body) and strengthening the neural pathways for those activities :)
The other thing to ask in response to your question is - what's the curiosity behind your question? Is it that you're curious about these anatomical specificities, or are you wondering about something that pertains to your own singing ability? Would love to answer any further questions you have :)
Can you help me extend my bass notes
Hi! Well, that depends. I would need to hear you sing to determine if there is something that is limiting your low range currently, and recommend a particular technique to help. Without hearing you sing, I can simply say that what often helps the most with low notes is being as relaxed as possible, and the more you sing in any area of your range, the more you move your voice around and play with sounds in that area, the easier and stronger you will find that area gets :) Hope that helps, otherwise you can book in with me at www.bectilley.com and we can have a chat!
can you tell me how many hours a day please
Hi there, I'm not sure what you are asking, could you please rephrase your question? :)
If you watch the video, I explain how we can control the thickness of our vocal fold muscle, this is not a permanent change but more like just something we do in any given moment.
If you can make your voice louder and quieter, congratulations, you can probably already do this :)
Having more nuanced control over this kind of thing (or any other vocal technique) for specific tonal outcomes, of course, takes practice.
If anyone is practicing for “hours” a day I would guess they are aiming to become a professional opera singer, or working musical theatre, etc.
If you simply want to improve your control over thyroid cartilage tilt - this can be done in 5 minutes, a couple times a day.
The way that our bodies and brains learn best is “little and often” rather than heaps all at once.
A few minutes a few times a day on most days per week is going to be better than 3 hours once a week :)
Let me know if that’s what you were looking for with your question!
Wait is vocal cord get thicker as we sing louder? And thinner as we sing softer?
Pretty much, yep! There are some other factors and interactions that can contribute to volume, but in very simple terms (as much as we can explain in a short video or CZcams comment), that's correct.
in other words use it more or lose it.
I'm not sure if I follow, what is the "it" you are referring to? I don't think that a "use it or lose it" is really relevant to what I'm talking about here, but if you'd like to clarify what you got from the video i can clarify further :)
LGBTQ in the background, hhmm? Nice way of promoting things in plane sight
Hi! The only thing I am "promoting" is the sense in my clients who come to work with me (or watch my videos) that they will be accepted and welcome in my studio.
You shut up. She can’t post and put anything she want.
Spell correctly before you attack others!!!
Please tell me how to stretch the CT muscle .. should I push up the back of my throat ?
Hello! Please don't try to "push up the back of your throat", that sounds physically impossible and probably uncomfortable! 😅
The CT muscle is on the front of the larynx. To create the sound I was demonstrating here, the CT muscle needs to contract, not stretch. If you're asking about how to do this, that's not something I can explain in a comment.
If you'd like to learn the cues & exercises to help with this skill from me, either in a 1:1 session or through my online video lesson library, you can visit bectilley.com/singing/get-started/ to book a Discovery Call, and I can advise you on the best way for you to learn this :)
@@bectilleyvoice should I just sing in “Nay” word for mix voice?. I believe I’m tenor
Hi @@Gregory_Radu77 , I don't know how to answer this question, what are you hoping to achieve? Please book in for a Discovery Call with me, and I can give you more relevant advice, CZcams comments are not a great place to get good vocal instruction :)
@@bectilleyvoice alright … I don’t plan to achieve anything .. I just love singing that’s why
@@Gregory_Radu77Loving singing is enough of a reason to want to improve at it, so you can enjoy it more and have more fun with more sounds and finding things easier oevr time! :) Clearly you are interested in improving, or you wouldn't be watching videos like this and asking questions.
Hi. My voice comes raspy when I try to use louder voice but with precautions to not damage, but still become low and low and raspy. How can I use it without this happen.
Hello! I'm not sure what you mean by "with precautions to not damage", what precautions are you using? It's very hard to give specific vocal advice in a CZcams comment, so if you'd like to get my support, please look into booking a Discovery Call at www.bectilley.com :)
@@bectilleyvoice not going to high or to low as in the middle of the laryngiti.
Again, pretty impossible to give any feedback or understand what you are referring to from a comment here,@@IvanChaim9, but you might be talking about trying to keep the larynx in a mid position and not letting it lift or lower? Which I understand is taught in Speech Level Singing but is not something I would recommend. I wouldn't think this would be why your voice is becoming raspy though. I can help yuo if yoy want to book in a session :)
@@bectilleyvoice ok 👍
but I am not a singer, I just work in my speaking voice I am trying to give it a style.
By "I am not a singer" do you mean you are working on your speaking voice?
@@IvanChaim9