How Does the Voice Work?
There are several systems and phenomena occurring for speech to be produced:
Lungs
If you’ve worked with me or another SLP, you likely know how vital the breath is in supporting voice. Without breath, there is no voice, or at least not an effective healthy voice. However, don’t be mistaken — the diaphragm plays a key role in effective breath use at rest and during speech, paired with coordination of the abdominal muscles, chest muscles, and rib cage. The breath, of course, comes from the lungs. When you exhale, breath comes up from your lungs, through your windpipe (trachea).
Vocal Folds
Vocal folds are made up of three layers: vocal ligament, vocalis muscle, and a mucous membrane. These folds are elastic in nature, which helps them do their job. The trachea, more specifically the larynx (voice box), is where the vocal folds are housed. Aerodynamics play a key role in the movement of the vocal folds. Air pressure builds up below the larynx until it forces the vocal folds apart and sets them into motion. This vibration leads to sound waves being produced. The term “vocal folds” used to be universally called “vocal cords.” More recently, “cords” has become reserved for singers who use their voice as an instrument.
Resonance and Pitch
The voice is shaped by your vocal tract as it reaches your mouth and nose. The orientation of your tongue, teeth, lips, and the shape of your throat will change how the sound “bounces” or “resonates.” This results in the voice taking on different characteristics as it produces sounds called speech. Pitch is controlled by the stretching and relaxation of the vocal folds. When stretched tight, they vibrate faster which creates a high pitch; when looser, they vibrate slower, resulting in a lower pitch.
(The Voice Foundation, 2024)
- 110 cycles per second or Hz = lower pitch
- 180 to 220 cycles per second = medium pitch
- 300 cycles per second = higher pitch
- Higher voice: increase in frequency of vocal fold vibration
- Louder voice: increase in amplitude of vocal fold vibration
Am I Harming my Voice?
Vocal Hygiene
There are likely automatic behaviours you do that are negatively impacting your voice. This may include:
- Speaking over background noise
- Speaking too long
- Poor posture (hunched over, making it harder to optimize breath)
- Smoking
- Consuming products that dry you out, such as alcohol and caffeine
- Not resting your voice when sick with laryngitis or an upper respiratory illness
- Harsh crying
Replacement Strategies
Here are some examples of how a negative vocal habit can be replaced: (UMMC Health Care, 2025)
Glottal / Vocal Fry
Vocal fry occurs when your vocal folds vibrate slowly and produce a very low, creaky sound. Compared to typical voicing, here the vocal folds are shortened and brought together then “popped” back open. This action leads to a frying or sizzling sound — hence the name. To be clear, vocal fry isn’t harmful to your vocal folds or throat, but it could impact the impression you make. Current research supports differing perceptions of this vocal quality. Some see it as trendy and unique, while others perceive it as unprofessional, and as reducing trustworthiness and competence, particularly among young women.
It’s important to consider your audience when using any kind of vocal quality. Vocal fry may be more appropriate for social, relaxed settings compared to professional ones. It all depends on the kind of impact you want to make. Vocal fry only at the ends of your sentences may signify that you’re running out of breath when speaking. We never want to speak to the end of our breath but rather feel we have a bit left. With reduced breath support, the vocal folds will often vibrate slower, resulting in a lower, gravelly voice.
Possible Signs of a Voice Problem
You may notice your voice quality change when you’re sick or after attending and singing along to a concert, but often these changes are not concerning. There are, however, instances where the voice characteristics may occur more consistently and severely. You may be experiencing a voice problem if you often experience:
- Losing your voice by the end of the day
- Inconsistent vocal quality across the day
- Hoarse, strained, raspy or quivering voice
- Too low or too high pitch
- Whispery or breathy voice
- Frequent laryngitis
- Strained or strangled vocal quality
- Abnormal volume use
- Weak voice
- Increased effort with speaking
- Excessive muscle tension or discomfort around the throat, chest, shoulders, or neck that may worsen when speaking
- Feeling chronically fatigued when speaking
- Feeling out of breath when speaking
- Needing to clear the throat excessively
- Feeling of a lump in the throat
If you resonate with several of the above, it may be beneficial to seek guidance from a Speech-Language Pathologist, ENT, and/or your MD.
Confidence and Credibility Through Voicing
What’s great about the voice is that it can be altered and changed in various ways. Your voice can be an avenue to express your intentions, a range of emotions, meanings, and experiences.
Vocal Warm-up
- Tongue Twisters and saying “PaTaKa” at different rates
- Pitch glides: Shift throughout your comfortable pitch range from high to low, low to high, and variations of these
- Sirens: Say “wee-woo” at the same pitch, then change the pitch for “wee” and “woo” (one high, one low)
- Yawn-sigh: Yawn then let out a long sigh on the exhale
Breath
This is the foundational skill of communication, especially in consideration of your voice. Without effective quality and quantity of breath in speech, you are more likely to speak faster, enunciate less, reduce volume at the end of sentences, reduce emphasis and intonation, and may experience tension in the chest or throat. You may also feel increased emotions of nervousness, panic, and anxiety. As discussed earlier, the diaphragm is the main breathing muscle. Reflect on how you breathe in speech — does it look like:
- Inhaling through your mouth
- Expanding your abdomen (specifically the diaphragm) as you inhale, followed by minor movement of the lungs, chest, and shoulders
- Exhaling as you speak
- Taking a fresh inhale around every 8–10 words
Prosody
Prosody refers to patterns of stress and intonation. Optimize the use of emphasis to engage your listener more. Increase your pitch up then down as you stretch out your emphasized word. Shift the emphasis to a different word in the sentence — you’ll notice that although these are the exact same words, the message and intention of the sentence change depending on where the emphasis is:
- I want a new car
- I want a new car
- I want a new car
- I want a new car
Intonation across your sentence can be used to express emotion. It is imperative that your tone and intonation support what you say rather than contrast it, as this will confuse the listener. For example, if you said “I didn’t get the job” with a happy, upbeat tone, you’d be expressing that it’s a great thing that you didn’t get the job.
Conclusion
If the information and challenges in this article resonate with you, voice therapy may be your next step. See a Speech Therapist at Well Said to begin your journey in learning how to use your voice as a tool to excel in life, rather than it being a hindrance.
