Emily F. Malde 4

Emily F. Malde 4:
What is the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic laryngeal muscles?  What are their functions? The extrinsic muscles connect to the larynx from the outside and move the larynx as a whole, the intrinsic muscles connect the cartilages and are responsible for movement within the larynx.

Describe the cartilages of the larynx.  Include information about structure, size, function. The cricoid cartilage forms the base of the larynx and is round, like a ring with a taller back and a smaller front. The thyroid cartilage is shaped like a v at the front and has two pairs of horns--one on top and the other on the bottom, and this cartilage forms the front  of the larynx. The thyroid cartilage sits on top of the cricoid cartilage with the inferior horns attaching with joints, and can rock back and forth. The arytenoid cartilages are triangle-shaped and sit on top of the back of the cricoid cartilage. They swivel and slide with joints, and they have processes for attaching muscles and the vocal folds. The epiglottis is shaped like a teardrop pointing downward, and covers the trachea when we swallow.

What is cartilage? tough, elastic tissue that is shaped like bone but more flexible

What is ligament? fibrous, tough tissue that connects bone to bone, bone to cartilage, or cartilage to cartilage

What is muscle origin? the point of muscle attachment that stays mostly stable on contraction

What is muscle insertion? the point of muscle attachment that moves the most on contraction

What is dynamic equilibrium? opposing muscles working together-- one contracting while the other releases

What is muscle antagonism? opposing muscles working against each other, or both contracting, co-contraction

What are opposing muscles? muscles that work in opposite directions

What are paired muscles? occurring on both sides of the body, mirrored muscles

What is stabilized physiological tremor rate? the rate of vibration innate to the body that occurs when muscle antagonism is sustained

Describe the following muscles (location and function)
1.  posterior cricoarytenoid originate at back of cricoid cartilage, insert into muscular processes of arytenoids; contraction of PCA abducts the vocal folds, and is active for inhalation, inactive for phonation
2.  lateral cricoarytenoid originate at sides of cricoid cartilage, insert into muscular processes of arytenoids; contraction of LCA swivels arytenoids and adducts the front part of the vocal folds, active for phonation, inactive for inhalation
3.  transverse arytenoid connects the arytenoids straight across to close back portion of vocal folds for phonation upon contraction
4.  oblique arytenoid connects arytenoids crisscross to close back portion of vocal folds for phonation upon contraction

What are the two parts of the Thyroarytenoid muscle?  What are their functions? vocalis muscle--primary vibrating bodies of vocal fold, snuggles up to vocal ligaments and increases tension of vocal folds; external thyroarytenoid muscle--outside vocalis muscle, makes vocal folds shorter and thicker upon contraction because it brings the arytenoid cartilages closer to the thyroid cartilage

What are the two parts of the Cricothyroid muscle?  What are their functions?  What are their attachments? two bellies for each side, rocks the thyroid cartilage down and forward upon contraction, lengthening the vocal folds; origin is front sides of cricoid, insertion is bottom side of thyroid

How is pitch determined? by rate of vibration--determined by length, thickness, and tension of vocal folds

What happens as we descend in pitch? the external thyroarytenoid muscles work, shortening and thickening the folds

 Summarize the activities of the 3 laryngeal muscles responsible for pitch. 1-external thyroarytenoids contract, making vocal folds shorter, thicker, and looser, lowering the pitch 2-vocalis muscle adds tension to vocal folds, raising pitch, 3-cricothyroid muscles contract to make the folds longer, thinner, and tenser, raising pitch

Define register.  (What happens at the laryngeal level?) series of tones with same vocal production (same work going on with laryngeal muscles)

Name and describe the 4 registers of the voice.  (Please include the subdivisions of modal.) 1-glottal fry, 2-modal--chest, middle or mixed, and head voice, 3-falsetto/flute, 4-whistle

How does heavy vs light differ from loud vs soft? Heavy is thickened vocal folds, light is thin vocal folds, either of these can be loud or soft

In classical singing, we blend the actions of the TA and CT using dynamic equilibrium.

What are the 3 possible types of onset/offset.  Describe them. 1-glottal--vocal folds closed when airflow reaches them, forcing open glottis with a click in phonation, 2-aspirate--airflow reaches folds open, air escaping before phonation, 3-balanced--airflow from lungs meets glottis as it is closing, sets folds into vibration immediately

How do the vocal folds come into vibration? with subglottic pressure of air

What causes a breathy sound? if in larynx, when vocal folds are closed too loosely or the back space between arytenoids is left open

What causes a strident sound? when in larynx, carrying chest voice up into mixed or head voice--thyroarytenoid overwork, increased vocal fold tension

What causes a tight sound? excess pressure in glottal closure, tension in neck and throat

What does the larynx have to do with dynamics? speed of breath flow--slow release of air=softness, quick release of air=loud singing

How can intonation be fixed? resonance or ear training issues, but in larynx, register adjustments can cause intonation problems because of carrying low voice too high=flat, carrying high voice too low=sharp

What causes vibrato? the stabilized physiological tremor rate of the body--the natural effect of the laryngeal muscles working against each other

How can vibrato be controlled? Control indicates an unnatural state for vibrato, so controlled vibrato would be because of tensions or imbalance in breath flow. Natural vibrato can be cultivated by working on good breath flow and unnecessary tensions.

What are nodules and how can they be prevented? calluses on the epithelium of the vocal folds, caused by overuse or abuse--prevention is using healthy singing technique, and healthy overall voice use