56
breathcontrol.Withoutthese,yourvoicemay soundweak,andyour
delivery may bechoppy.
The largest part of the lungs is not at the top of the chest; this
area merely appears larger because of the shoulder bones. Rather,
the lungs arewidest just above the diaphragm.Attached to the lower
ribs, the diaphragm separates the chest from the abdominal cavity.
If you fill only the top portion of your lungs when you inhale,
you will soon be out of breath. Your voice will lack power, and you
will tire easily. To breathe properly, you need to sit or stand straight
and hold your shoulders back. Make a conscious effort to avoid ex-
panding only the upper partof your chest whenyou inhaleto speak.
Fill the lower part of your lungs first. When this part fills, the lower
partofyour rib cagewill expand sideways. At the same time, the dia-
phragm will move down, gently displacing the stomach and the in-
testines, so that you feel the pressure of your belt or other clothing
HOW SPEECH IS PRODUCED
The basis of all vocal sounds is the column
of air that you send up from your lungs. The
lungs act as bellows that push air through the
windpipeintothelarynx,or voicebox,whichis
inthe middle of your throat. Insideyour voice
box, on opposite sides, are two tiny folds of
muscle called vocal cords. These are the main
sound producers. These folds of muscle open
andclosetheairpassagethroughthelarynx to
let air in and out as well as to keep unwanted
objects out of the lungs. In normal breathing
no soundis producedas air passesover thevo-
cal cords. But whena person wishes to speak,
muscles tighten the vocal cords, and these vi-
brateas air fromthelungs is forcedpast them.
This results in sound.
Thetighterthevocalcords arestretched, the
faster they vibrate and the higher the tones of
thesounds produced. On the other hand, the
more relaxed the cords, the lower the tones.
After leavingthelarynx, thesoundwaveenters
the upper part of the throat, called the phar-
ynx. Then it passes into the mouth and nasal
cavity. There overtones areadded that modify,
amplify, and reinforce the fundamental tone.
The roof of the mouth as well as the tongue,
teeth, lips, and jaw combine to break up the
vibrating waves of sound, which come out in
the form of understandable speech.
The human voice is a marvel, unequaled
in versatility by any man-made instrument.
It has the ability to express feelings and emo-
tionsrangingfromtender,gentlelovetoharsh,
violent hatred. When properly developed and
trained, thevoicecancoverarangeofasmuch
asthreeoctaves andcandeliver not onlybeau-
tiful musicalsounds but also heart-stirring pat-
terns of speech.
182
Voice Quality
