Vocal Tract = The entire area in which speech sounds are produced from the larynx (voice box) to the lips and nose.
Resonance = Strong vibrations felt in a part of the vocal tract throughout speech. The place of resonance can be changed by altering the muscle setting.
Muscle Setting = The way that muscles are held in a certain position throughout speech. This is also called Articulatory Settings or Oral Posture.
Voice Quality = The distinct sound created from a certain muscle setting and resonance that perpetuates throughout the speech of an individual. It influences the production of vowels and consonants. The word quality means attribute or characteristic rather than a measure of standard or excellence.
Resonance
You may feel that your voice vibrates more in a certain part of the vocal tract when you speak. These strong vibrations are called resonance. Different accents have different places of resonance. Watch Video Lesson
If this lesson really does not make sense to you and you cannot feel the place of resonance – don’t worry! You can change your voice quality by focusing on Muscle Setting instead. Keep reading for more information.
We do we have different voice qualities?
Our speech muscles like to be in a certain position to make it easier to produce the sounds we need for our native language. If you change your resonance/muscle setting when speaking English, you will sound more English and you will find it easier to create the vowels and consonants in English.
How to change your voice quality?
Either by consciously moving muscles to change the resonance, or by using metaphor (=thinking of a particular adjective that describes the quality, or by visualising your voice travelling to a particular part of your mouth).
Experiment
On the next few pages you will be exploring different muscle settings. If you have suffered from any kind of facial or neck injury, then please take care when experimenting with moving your speech muscles. Now go to the next page.
