English Language 1 Vocal Folds Handout

The VOCAL FOLDS, which are in the larynx (sometimes called the voice box, and located in the
throat), function differently for different sounds. The main differences involve whether they are
together or apart and whether or not they are vibrating. For VOICED sounds, the vocal folds are
close together and vibrating; for VOICELESS sounds, the vocal folds are usually apart and
stationary. There are several other terms for the vocal folds that you may encounter in linguistic
writings: VOCAL BANDS, VOCAL CORDS.
Vocal folds and vibratory movement
Chest voice is characterized by the great amplitude of the vibratory movements of the vocal folds.
The distance between the folds can reach about 3 mm. The vocal folds are thick and have the
appearance of lips.
The vocal folds vibrate over their whole length, from the inner surface of the thyroid cartilage to the
arytenoid vocal process. This produces a great vibrating mass with weak effective tension. The
duration of closure increases when the frequency is lowered. The closure phase lasts longer than the
opening phase.
Normal voice is the result of the vocal folds vibrating in a particular way. For this to happen, as
soon as the speaker has inhaled, the aretynoid cartilages draw the folds (and themselves) together
but not so tightly that they cannot be forced open by the pressure exerted by air which is then
expelled from the lungs. The vocal folds have depth. The aretynoids cause them to close in depth,
like a pair of curtains with the edges touching all the way from top to bottom. When the egressive
pulmonic airstream reaches the bottom, it is strong enough to start pushing the folds apart from the
bottom edge and, gradually, it pushes them apart in depth as it reaches the top of the obstruction. It
is acting against the force being exerted by the aretynoids in doing this remember, they are trying
to hold the folds together, touching each
other. You can follow these stages in Figure 1:

English Language 1 Vocal Folds Handout

When the air finally escapes out of the top, it is rather like when we push and push against a
resistant object (trying to push a broken down car, for example, or open a stuck door). When the
object finally gives, we momentarily move forward at faster than normal speed. The airstream does
this, too, and the effect is to leave behind it a momentary drop in pressure in the fully re-opened
glottis. This means that the effort being made by the aretynoids is now strong enough to enable the
folds to close again. Elastic recoil brings the bottom edges back together (that is where the pressure
drop is first felt) and then the effect passes up the folds to the top, bringing them back together in
depth. This is a complex process which we have simplified the pressure drop means there is also a
small suction effect (known as the Bernoulli effect) that reinforces the drawing back together of the
surfaces but this essentially describes the process of the production of normal voice. These final
stages are depicted in the last three images in Figure 1.
What we have described is just one cycle of vibratory activity. If we count these cycles (using a
speech analysis program such as WASP or Praat, for example), we find that they repeat on average
100120 times per second for adult male voices and 200240 times per second for adult female
voices. In children, it can be as many as 300 times per second. We hear this as pitch when we listen
to speech and deliberately varying the rate of vibration of our vocal folds makes our voices go up
and down inpitch, adding intonation. The faster the rate of vibration, the higher the pitch of the
voice. In physical terms, we talk about the frequency with which the cycle repeats and this
measurement is expressed in Hertz (Hz). One Hz is one cycle per second.
An average male voice, therefore, has what we call a fundamental frequency (Fx) of 100120 Hz
(that is, 100120 cycles per second), while the fundamental frequency of an average female is
about an octave higher at 200240 Hz. This movement is too fast to see with the naked eye, but it
is possible to film it using a stroboscopic (intermittent) light source.
The cycle produces a rather triangular looking waveform, called the larynx waveform (Lx) the
shape of which can be seen in Figure 2. The gentler angle in the opening phase is indicative of the
exertion required to push the folds apart (meaning the movement is slower, occupying more time),
while the sharper angle on the closing phase is indicative of the much quicker drawing back
together when the sudden drop in pressure occurs and no resistance is offered
Figure 2 The larynx waveform for normal voice.

English Language 1 Vocal Folds Handout

Models of Vocal Fold Oscillation
What is oscillation?
Oscillation is a repeated back-and-forth movement. Many common objects will oscillate for a short
period of time if set into vibration by being struck; bells, crystal glasses, etc. What makes vocal
fold oscillation more interesting than a simple oscillator - such as a clock's pendulum - is the
question of how the back-and-forth movement can be sustained over time. This phenomenon is
called flow-induced oscillation. A steady stream of air passing by a wall or surface can cause that
surface to vibrate; this can be seen in the way airplane wings vibrate in flight, and in the rattling of
air ducts in heating systems.
As is the case for most scientific phenomena, vocal fold vibration was initially explained with a
somewhat simple - and as we will see, incomplete - model. As more and more has become known
about human phonation, subsequent models have evolved in complexity. One of the first simple
explanations of vocal fold vibration relied on basic physical laws, particularly the Bernoulli effect,
the same effect that describes the 'lift' on an airplane wing. Over the past few decades, scientists
have increasingly had the benefit of computer systems to create complex models to mimic vocal
fold oscillation.
Myoelastic Aerodynamic Theory of Phonation

Early voice researchers in the 1950's and 1960's explained vocal fold oscillation with the
myoelastic-aerodynamic theory. According to these theories, Bernoulli forces (negative pressure)
cause the vocal folds to be sucked together, creating a closed airspace below the glottis. Continued
air pressure from the lungs builds up underneath the closed folds. Once this pressure becomes high
enough, the folds are blown outward, thus opening the glottis and releasing a single 'puff' of air.
The lateral movement of the vocal folds continues until the natural elasticity of the tissue takes over,
and the vocal folds move back to their original, closed position. Then, the cycle begins again. Each
cycle produces a single small puff of air; the sound of the human voice is nothing more than tens or
hundreds of these small puffs of air being released every second and filtered by the vocal tract.
Let's further examine the myoelastic-aerodynamic theory. Myo- means muscle; the vocal folds,
after all, are mostly comprised of muscle tissue. The -elastic suffix serves to remind us that the
vocal fold is elastic and that we have active control over its elastic properties. Aerodynamic means
that the theory deals with the motion of air and other gaseous fluids, and with the forces active on
bodies in motion (such as the vocal folds) in relation to such fluids.

English Language 1 Vocal Folds Handout

A depiction of this simple system is shown below:

A simple rectangular block represents one vocal fold. A spring is useful for portraying the tissue
stiffness or restoring force in the vocal fold. Finally, we've added a damping constant to represent
the viscosity (energy absorption) of the tissue. The damping constant is similar to the shock
absorber on a car or a tubular damper on a screen door.
So, how well does this simple model explain how the vocal folds sustain oscillation? Not well at all,
researchers have found. Bernoulli forces alone cannot account for continual energy conversion from
airstream to tissue. Soon, oscillation would damp out.
The One-Mass Model
A crucial component must be added to our simple model. An acoustic tube (to represent the vocal
tract) is now attached to our model. Why is the acoustic tube needed? For the vocal folds to sustain
oscillation, we know there must be a negative pressure within the glottis. But, pressure from the
lungs cannot be negative; it is always positive. So, how does the air pressure at the level of the
glottis become negative? Make a mental image of the the air from the lungs moving unidirectionally upward. When the glottis is closing, the airflow begins to decrease, but the air that is
above the glottis does not "know" this, so it continues to move with its same speed (because of
inertia). This creates a region just above the vocal folds where the air pressure decreases, because
air is not coming from the bottom through the glottis as fast as it is leaving above. When the vocal
folds are opening, fluid pressure against the walls is greater than when the vocal folds are close
together. Thus, it is the asymmetry of driving force (air) that sustains oscillation.

English Language 1 Vocal Folds Handout

Although our one-mass model is a closer representation of actual vocal fold oscillation than the
myoelastic-aerodynamic model, some refinements will make the model even more like human
phonation.
An increased use of videostroboscopy in clinics and research labs has allowed vocologists to
observe many sets of vocal folds in slow motion. These observations have shown that vocal folds
rarely move in a uniform block as depicted in our one-mass model. Rather, the vocal folds move in
a wave-like motion from bottom to top, with the bottom edge leading the way. A more sophisticated
version of the model can mimic the motion.
The Three-Mass Model
So, let's continue building our model. In order to model the shape of the vocal folds more
accurately, we add two small masses (depicted as m1 and m2), one on top of the other, to represent
the cover of the vocal fold. A large mass (depicted as m) represents the thyroarytenoid muscle.
Although independent of one another in movement, all three masses are connected by springs and
damping constants. Here is how the model looks and moves now:

English Language 1 Vocal Folds Handout

Note that at some points in the cycle, the bottom of the vocal folds are farther apart than the upper
part of the folds. We call this a convergent shape because the airflow is converging. On the other
hand, the airflow diverges when the lowermost parts of the vocal folds are closer together; this is a
divergent glottal shape. Average air pressures within the glottis tend to be larger in the convergent
glottal configuration than in the divergent shape, resulting in the asymmetry of air pressures needed
to sustain oscillation.
As technical capabilities in computer software and hardware increase and as improved imaging
techniques allow researchers to study vocal folds in motion, models are increasingly becoming
more realistic. Dr. Ingo Titze and his colleagues at The University of Iowa routinely use 16-mass
models in their studies.
Source: http://www.ncvs.org/ncvs/tutorials/voiceprod/tutorial/model.html (check for animated versions
of pictures
See also Tutorial on VOT in plosives, with audio files of contrasts, from University College
London
http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/johnm/siphtra/plostut2/plostut2.htm