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Modal voice
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<h2 id="physiological-process">Physiological process</h2> <p>In the modal register, the length, the tension, and the mass of the <a href="/facts/Vocal_folds/H1K7NPo2">vocal folds</a> are in a state of flux which causes the frequency of vibration of the vocal folds to vary.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> As <a href="/facts/Pitch_(music)/fQAK0JsC">pitch</a> rises, the vocal folds increase in length and in tension, and their edges become thinner. If a speaker or singer holds any of the three factors constant and interferes with the progressive state of change, the <a href="/facts/Larynx/0bhtXI3Q">laryngeal</a> function of the voice becomes static and eventually breaks occur, resulting in obvious changes in <a href="/facts/Timbre/lVXB949E">vocal quality</a>. </p><p>While some vocal pedagogists identify such breaks as register boundaries or transition areas between registers, other vocal pedagogists maintain that the breaks are a result of vocal problems caused by a static laryngeal adjustment that does not permit the necessary changes to take place within the modal register.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p> <p>On the lower pitches in the modal register, the <a href="/facts/Vocal_folds/H1K7NPo2">vocal folds</a> are thick and wedge-shaped. Because of the thickness, large portions of the opposing surfaces of the vocal folds are brought into contact, and the <a href="/facts/Glottis/ClsRRUkM">glottis</a> remains closed for a considerable time in each cycle. The glottis opens from the bottom first before it opens at the top, which imparts a fluid, wavelike motion to the cords. The modal voice has a broad harmonic spectrum, rich in <a href="/facts/Overtones/WHchDTSz">overtones</a>, because of the rolling motion of the cords. It is comparatively loud to the other vocal registers because of the vibratory energy present, but it is capable of dynamic variation.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p><p>For the lowest tones, only the <a href="/facts/Thyroarytenoid_muscles/vpXIHB8K">thyroarytenoid muscles</a> are active, but as the pitch rises, the <a href="/facts/Cricothyroids/BEzTMYI0">cricothyroids</a> enter the action, which begins to lengthen the folds. As longitudinal tension increases, the glottis tends to develop a gap in the middle. To counteract the tendency, the lateral cricoarytenoids are brought into action, pulling forward on the muscular process of the <a href="/facts/Arytenoids/BEzTMYI0">arytenoids</a>. The process is sometimes referred to as medial compression.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> </p><p>In addition to the stretching of the vocal folds and the increasing tension on them as the pitch rises, the opposing surfaces of the folds, which may be brought into contact, becomes smaller and smaller, as the edges of the folds become thinner. The basic vibratory or <a href="/facts/Phonatory/u2IGLdgG">phonatory</a> pattern remains the same, with the whole vocal fold still involved in the action, but the vertical excursions are not as large and the rolling motion is not as apparent as it was on the lower pitches of the modal register.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p><p>The physical limits of muscular strength of the internal thyroarytenoids or <a href="/facts/Vocalis_muscle/vpXIHB8K">vocalis muscle</a> are being approached. To sing or speak above this pitch level, the voice must adopt a new phonatory pattern to change registers.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Voice_(phonetics)/VdqrEGQ3">Voice (phonetics)</a></li></ul> <h2 id="sources">Sources</h2> <ul><li>Cooper, Morton (1973). <i>Modern Techniques of Vocal Rehabilitation</i>. Charles C. Thomas. <a href="/facts/ASIN_(identifier)/twP2MtLk">ASIN</a> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000JC1U76">B000JC1U76</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Ladefoged, Peter; Maddieson, Ian (1996). The Sounds of the World's Languages. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-19815-6. <a href="0-631-19815-6" target="_blank">0-631-19815-6</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Ladefoged, Peter; Maddieson, Ian (1996). The Sounds of the World's Languages. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-19815-6. <a href="0-631-19815-6" target="_blank">0-631-19815-6</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>McKinney, James (1994). The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults. Genovex Music Group. ISBN 978-1-56593-940-0. <a href="978-1-56593-940-0" target="_blank">978-1-56593-940-0</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Large, John (February–March 1972). "Towards an Integrated Physiologic-Acoustic Theory of Vocal Registers". NATS Bulletin. 28: 30–35. <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Large, John (February–March 1972). "Towards an Integrated Physiologic-Acoustic Theory of Vocal Registers". NATS Bulletin. 28: 30–35. <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>McKinney, James (1994). The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults. Genovex Music Group. ISBN 978-1-56593-940-0. <a href="978-1-56593-940-0" target="_blank">978-1-56593-940-0</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Van den Berg, J.W. (December 1963). "Vocal Ligaments versus Registers". NATS Bulletin. 19: 18. <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Vennard, William (1967). Singing: The Mechanism and the Technic. Carl Fischer. ISBN 978-0-8258-0055-9. <a href="978-0-8258-0055-9" target="_blank">978-0-8258-0055-9</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Greene, Margaret; Lesley Mathieson (2001). The Voice and its Disorders (6E ed.). John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-86156-196-1. <a href="978-1-86156-196-1" target="_blank">978-1-86156-196-1</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>McKinney, James (1994). The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults. Genovex Music Group. ISBN 978-1-56593-940-0. <a href="978-1-56593-940-0" target="_blank">978-1-56593-940-0</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>