By Blandine Calais-Germain

Understanding sound: murmur, vibration and resonance

When issuing a voice sound We produce, at the same time, three large types of actions: murmur, vibration and resonance.

And these actions correspond to three areas of the body that act simultaneously.

The blow

The voice requires placing pressurized air below the vocal cords. This corresponds to the respiratory (expiratory) part of our vocal instrument.

This breath It is evidently produced with the lungs, housed in the ribs. But they do not act alone: ​​they are associated with the entire abdomen and the muscles that surround it: the abdominals all around, the perineum muscles below and the famous diaphragm above.

This set It constitutes a fundamental «department» in the voice: if it generates too much pressure, our voice will wear out very quickly. And if you do not produce enough, your voice will appear weak and will not be able to develop its timbre. It is, therefore, necessary that this «breath» produces the right pressure at every moment – ​​neither more nor less – so that the vocal emission is as desired.

It is a process governed by everything that generates the murmur, but it can be seen widely influenced by other forces present in the body.

The vibration

Through vibration we transform said air into pressure wavewhich causes a first sound. This occurs between the vocal cords, in the area of ​​the neck called the larynx. For this a small place, the glottisit will open or close in relation to the air pressure.

It is about very fast actions and that they change at full speed (often in a vocal sound there are several hundred vibrations per second). The tighter the pressure, the better the glottis can fine-tune its action.

It is important that, here, the vibration is as free as possible. As in the murmur area, this location can be influenced by body forces external to the glottis. That laryngeal sound It’s barely audible. It needs some transformations.

The resonance

The obtained wave then passes through soundboards that filter the preceding sound and enrich it. This occurs in the regions of the pharynx (behind the throat), mouth and nose.

The vocal sound then exists in its complete form. The more precise and rich the sound coming from the larynx, depending on the precision of the pressure that sustains it, the better it can be displayed in the resonators. Resonance is governed by the pharynx/mouth/nose regions. And, as with breath and vibration, other forces present in the body can influence it.

The voice, related to many parts of the body

It is often said that the a singer’s instrument It is «your own body.» This indicates that your vocal instrument is included within a broader ensemble.

And it is true that this instrument is constantly related to other parts of the body or, more precisely, with other functional parts: the locomotive body, the postural body and the respiratory body They interact with the «vocal body.»

These four «bodies» often merge into each other. Let’s look at them one by one.

The locomotor body

It is the body linked to movementwhich we put into play to walk, go up and down stairs, dance, lift, push… It mixes, in part, with the respiratory and vocal bodies. Sometimes he is little involved in the vocal act. Or it may, on the contrary, be very involved and react to the actions of the respiratory and vocal bodies, or even provoke the action of these two.

In many classical choral The singers sing almost motionless, while in gospel choirs it is common to let the body move to the rhythm of the song and even clap.

There is a frequently asked question: Is it advisable to run, do yoga or Pilates to improve your voice? The answer is that a good body coordination and regular exercise are often important for improving the voice.

Movement activates Also the general circulation and that of the larynx, so it will be better hydrated.

The postural body

It is made up of the same parts as the locomotor body but we do not use them in the same way. It corresponds to the moments when we are uprightstanding or sitting. It is not linked to large movements but to the vertical position.

It is the person’s body who speaks, who sings, who recites or who shouts standing up: the teacher giving a class, the lawyer, the actor, the market seller who advertises his merchandise, the choir singer or the choir director, etc.

in the voice our postural body is influenced due to the fact that an exhalation occurs and that it is lengthened. This has different consequences: a tendency to bend the knees, to flex the trunk, to project the neck and head forward or also the shoulders and arms.

The postural body can accompany these trends or, on the contrary, resist them: when singing a long phrase, we can follow the exhalation by letting the standing position round a little or, on the contrary, seek to preserve the balance of the spine, which will help the rib cage to remain open during the exhalation so that it lasts longer.

The postural body can also drag the vocal body: If we let the back curve suddenly, the box will exhale and a certain vocal sound will emerge.

In certain vocal techniques, As in classical singing, this postural body must be ultra-precise. Because? Because the balance of the larynx depends on the position of the neck for the precision of the notes, or because the precision of the resonances depends on the balance of the pharynx.

In other contexts, For other types of sounds, it is necessary to completely release the posture, as in emotional sounds, some psychophysical therapies or certain actions in the theater.

The respiratory body

It is the part of the body linked to breathing: the lungs, the airways. But it is also everything that allows us to mobilize these viscera: the diaphragm, the abdominal cavity, the rib cage, the cervical spine, almost all the bones of the skull and, likewise, the muscles that act on these parts of the body.

Spontaneously, in the course of vocal action, this respiratory body moves during the air flows: we open it naturally during inhalation (as when we take a breath before uttering a voice) and we close it during exhalation (when vocalizing).

Immobilized during suspensions: apneas, for example, when a chorister, ready to sing, awaits the conductor’s entrance.

And yet this respiratory body can act in the reverse direction of breathing. For example, it may move during apneas or open during exhalation. In these cases we transform either the respiratory gesture or the pressure games, and this will sometimes have an impact on the voice.

Our voice is therefore inseparable from our body in motion. Perfecting one will often perfect the other. [Mangiro: Insertar artículo relacionado]