Dear Collegue …

Welcome to the latest edition of the Vocal Process ezine. As part of our commitment to sharing information with vocal practitioners, we have three new resources available free on the web site. And for those of you who are about to embark on Core Training or who have recently completed the course, this edition contains the first of our short features on the larynx. We also have news on forthcoming courses and early booking discounts, and the result of our New Year Prize Draw.

Teaching Resources

Giving the student broader knowledge about the structures of the larynx can be effective on many levels of their training and understanding. To help you and your students learn more we have made available three of our teaching aids - Jeremy’s ‘moveable larynx’, a wordsearch game and a special chart detailing the application of different vocal figures.

Build Your Own Tilting Larynx

Jeremy has updated his ‘build your larynx’ model that has long been the starting point for Vocal Process courses including Core Training. Follow the step-by-step instructions and you can build a moveable larynx of your own.

Laryngeal Structures Wordsearch

The wordsearch contains the names of the laryngeal cartilages. Again a possible starting point for discussing the structure of the larynx in the classroom – or a fun way to kill ten minutes at the end of a long rehearsal!

Chart for Applying Vocal Figures and Vocal Sets

The chart for applying vocal figures was created as an end-point of the three-day course delivered in January 2002 to the Voice and Laryngectomy Special Interest Group in Northern Ireland. The ‘application’ column describes various uses of each vocal figure in the field of Speech and Language Therapy, identified by the tutors and the participants on course. The ‘triggers’ column shows auditory and kinaesthetic cues for finding the different positions of each vocal figure.

Forthcoming courses

Core Training Early Booking Discount

Our flagship course, Core Training, takes place at Goldsmiths College in London on 16-18 April 2004. This in-depth training weekend is for teachers and performers seeking greater vocal and stylistic flexibility. There is an early booking discount for this course, so book now to save £40.00 off the standard fee.

Introduction to Computer Voice Training with Jeremy Fisher

On 13 March 2004 Jeremy will be running an Introduction to Computer Voice Training. The day is aimed at those already familiar with our vocabulary and looking to clarify understanding and personal practice. The course programme includes individual attention for all participants, with an introduction to spectrographic and formant analysis of your voice, and work on vowel formation and placement.

"It is particularly good for monitoring excess breath, vibrato, onsets and vowel articulation."
Penelope Mackay, singing professor, Guildhall School of Music and Drama

Practical Phonetics with Matthew Reeve

Singing teachers and choral trainers are sometimes unclear about the placement of consonants and their impact on vocal production. This course on 3 April 2004 aims to clarify how and where the sounds of speech are made, and offers insights into speech patterns that might interfere with clarity in singing. It will give you a working knowledge of phonetics, improve your auditory skills, and give you tools for trouble-shooting problems of articulation and enunciation.

Feature - The Structures of the Larynx
by Matthew Reeve

After attending a course, participants are often excited about discovering how the larynx moves. As the months roll by this information can sometimes become muddled. So here to refresh your memory is the first of our features on the structures of the larynx - bone and cartilage.

Starting from the lowest cartilage in the larynx, sitting at the top of the trachea or windpipe is the cricoid cartilage. The word cricoid means 'like a ring', and it looks like a signet ring lying on its side, with the narrow part at the front and the widest part at the back. Above and partly surrounding the cricoid cartilage is the thyroid cartilage. The word 'thyroid' means shield, and like a shield, the thyroid cartilage is open at the back. This is the largest structure in the larynx, and is what gives the familiar bump of the 'Adam's Apple' on men. The cricoid and thyroid cartilages are attached to each other on each side by a tiny joint. This means they can effectively change their position in relation to each other.

The cartilages mentioned so far can be usually located by gently feeling the front of the neck. This sometimes takes a bit of practise, especially on a female larynx, which is generally smaller and flatter than the male larynx. The other smaller cartilages are positioned deeper in the structure and so cannot be located through touch.

At the back of the larynx is a pair of small three-sided pyramids called the arytenoid cartilages. These sit on the top back edge of cricoid cartilage, pointing forwards. The foremost point of the base of each arytenoid cartilage is called the vocal process, and it is to this point that the rear of each vocal fold is attached. The vocal folds then run forwards to meet at a spot in the inside centre of the thyroid cartilage.

On the top of the larynx is the epiglottis, also a cartilage, though more bendy and pliable than the other cartilages. Think of the epiglottis as being a lid on the larynx. The epiglottis attaches to the inner surface of the thyroid cartilage just above the point where the vocal folds are fixed. Muscles attaching to the epiglottis enable it to be pulled down to seal and protect the more delicate internal structures of the larynx when we swallow.

There are two other tiny sets of cartilages found in the larynx. These are the cuneiform cartilages and corniculate cartilages. The cuneiform cartilages are embedded in tissue that joins the epiglottis to the arytenoids cartilages. You can usually see them quite clearly as bulges when you see pictures taken by an endoscope. The corniculate cartilages sit on the upper-most point of the arytenoids cartilages.

And finally, the entire larynx is suspended from the hyoid bone. This bone is horseshoe shaped, lying flat with the open end at the back, and is the only bone in the body that isn't directly connected to another bone. It is possible to locate the hyoid bone from outside by feeling just below the base of your tongue.

Part two of our feature, The Functions of the Larynx, will be appearing in the next ezine.

If you have further questions on the larynx, why not use our Your Questions Answered service?

Congratulations

"Oh wicked!" That was the reaction of Martina McSwiggan, student of music technology at Westminster University, on learning she had won the Vocal Process New Year Prize Draw. Martina was selected at random from the web site visitors who logged on to My Vocal Process before 11 January 2004. She has now received her signed copy of Successful Singing Auditions.

In the meanwhile …

remember to monitor your effort levels!