What Affects Voice Quality?
The column of air you send up from your lungs when you are speaking is the foundation of the sounds you produce. It enters the voice box, called the larynx, where there are two folds of muscle tissue, called vocal cords. These are set vibrating by the air passing them. Their tone changes as muscles tighten or relax them, just as the tone of a violin string changes when it is tightened or loosened. When they are widely separated, ordinary quiet breathing is permitted. But when they are brought together, you are able to make the sounds you use in speaking. The sound from your vocal cords travels through the air in your throat to your mouth and sinus cavities. These help to amplify the sound coming from the vocal cords, just as the progressively widening tubes in many wind instruments do. The cavities are also resonators and are important factors in voice quality. Unlike a brass musical instrument, they can be modified through muscular contraction and relaxation, making them large or smal
