How the Human Voice Works

The human voice. Much like fingerprints, our voices are unique and help to identify us. Some of us pick up accents and speech patterns and sound very similar to family members. To this day, my sisters and I pretend to be each other to try to fool my parents on the phone. But they can always tell us apart.

That’s because the human voice is so unique. But why do we all sound different? Today, we’ll be taking a tour of the amazing systems that make up the human voice: the respiratory system, the phonatory system, and the resonatory system. While these three category labels were taken from The Temple Head & Neck Institute, most vocal experts give a similar list.

Respiratory System

This is the powerhouse of the voice because it’s where volume originates from. According to Temple, this system includes the lungs, ribcage, chest muscles, diaphragm, and windpipe. In other words, it’s all the parts that work together to help you breathe in and breathe out. Many professional speakers and singers learn to breathe deeply, from the diaphragm, to help control the steadiness, strength, and volume of their voices. Try this exercise from The Cleveland Clinic to practice diaphragm breathing. 

Phonatory System

This system includes the larynx, the glottis (the opening between the vocal folds), and the vocal folds. When you are swallowing or making vocal sounds, the glottis closes. However, it opens to allow breath through. That’s why it’s really difficult to talk while inhaling. Go ahead, give it a try.

So after you take a full breath courtesy of the respiratory system, the glottis closes to prepare to make sound. As air pushes against the bottom of the folds, they open up and vibrate, starting from the bottom to the top. As the breath pressure dies down, they also close again from the bottom to the top. This vibration is what helps to produce sound. It’s not like a guitar string, though. It’s more like an incredibly rapid cycle of opening and closing.

How slowly or rapidly your vocal folds open and close is tied to the pitch of your voice. The Voice Foundation says that most men have vocal folds which open and close (cycle) about 110 times per second. On the other hand, most women have vocal folds which vibrate closer to 180-220 times per second. This leads to a higher pitch.

Resonatory System

Finally, we have the resonatory system which is responsible for the uniqueness of each human voice. This system includes the throat, nasal passage, sinuses, and mouth. These parts work together to help each person articulate words differently.

Some people produce sound deeper in the back of the throat. Say “Argh” like a pirate might. Feel the rumble in the back of your throat? Others produce sound more in the front of the face. Say the word “Chicago,” but try to center the sound in your nose. Now try to say it but move the sound deeper into the back of your throat. Does the placement of that sound change the way you articulate it? Most definitely! Aside from just the placement of the sound, you can move your tongue and lips in different ways to pronounce words differently.

So that’s why we all have unique voices. The force or weakness of the air we use, the speed of vocal fold vibration, and the individual ways of placing and articulating sound all lead to infinite possibilities for producing sound.

So the next time you hear the voice of a loved one, or turn up a song when your favorite singer comes on, remember what you’ve learned about the human voice. It’s an amazing system because of the intricate biology of so many parts working together. But it’s also amazing because the human voice is ultimately the tool that we use to shape and change the world through the power of speech.

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