Greetings, fellow singers and friends! I am excited to present to you something I have wondered for a long time--something that could possibly open a whole new field of study--how eating and drinking affects the voice.
An understanding of the different parts of the throat, and what it takes to actually sing is essential to proper singing technique. The major parts of the voice include the vocal folds, the larynx, salivary glands, and the diaphragm. The vocal folds (commonly known as vocal cords) are a pair of bands of mucous membrane stretched across the larynx. They vibrate, regulating the flow of air from the lungs. The vocal folds are controlled by the vagus nerve which opens them during inhalation, closes them when holding one’s breath, and vibrates them for speech or singing. The larynx is called the voice box because it is a major source of sound in speech. The larynx generates sound when the vocal folds open and close letting air pass in and out. The air from the lungs passes over the vocal cords and the vibrations are modified by the tongue and lips to produce speech. The salivary glands are in and around the mouth and lay directly on the vocal folds themselves. When salivary glands are stimulated, the mouth starts to water and the vocal folds are hydrated and moisturized. When you eat or drink something this process of the moisture reaching and affecting the vocal folds takes about twenty minutes. The diaphragm is the thin, dome-shaped muscle that separates the chest from the abdomen. The diaphragm is the main muscle the body uses to breathe. When the diaphragm moves downward, the lungs expand and pull air into the body. When it moves up, air is forced out of the lungs. Breath is the fuel of the voice, so the stronger th...
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... of Singing: System and Art in Vocal Technique). He thinks that the same rules of eating healthy apply just the same. He also adds that singers should have the habit of high liquid consumption to keep vocal folds moist.
Although some foods and drinks may be better than others when it comes to the soothing of the throat, it seems that not enough scientific studies have been done to prove how it affects the singing voice. Richard Miller may be right that the ideas made by singers are merely superstitions, but it is a question of how much of it is actually true. The writers Dr. Barbara Mathis, Dan Parilis, and Roma Lightsey have drawn from their own experiences of eating and drinking before singing to provide the readers with information that they conclude may be true. Singers will continue to believe these superstitions until further research is done on the subject.
Michael Pollan has develop his own algorithm on proper eating. His algorithm is to “Eat Food, Not too much, Mostly Plants”. His explanation of eat food is to consume real food and to avoid the fake processed foods. His meaning of not too much is to be aware of how we eat our food and to have portion control. Lastly, Pollans explanation of mostly plants is to choose the best types of foods, rather than focusing on nutritional value. Unlike Pollan, Mary Maxfields theory on how to eat healthy is to “Trust Yourself. Trust you body. Meet your needs.” You can eat whatever you want or need and have to trust that your body will tell you what it needs. A flaw with both Pollan and Maxfield is the fact that they both want to dismiss the fact that our bodies needs nutrition. Pollan claims that in his formula under mostly plants that we should focus on the best type of foods and not the nutritional value in the foods. Maxfield believes we should disregard nutrition and healthy food altogether. However, multiple studies state that getting the proper nutrition is a crucial part of are overall health. For example, a lack of calcium can cause weak bones resulting in higher risk of bone
The contraction of the inspiratory muscles increases the volume of the thoracic cavity causing the pressure within the alveoli to decrease and air to flow into the alveoli. During resting inspiration, the diaphragm, the external intercostals and the parasternal intercostals contract to stimulate inspiration. During forced inspiration the scalene and the sternocleidomastoid muscles contract to further expand the thoracic cavity. The pectoralis minor muscles also play a minor role in forced inspiration. During quiet breathing, relaxation of these muscles causes the volume of the thoracic cavity to decrease, resulting in expiration. During a forced expiration, the compression of the chest cavity is increased by contraction of the internal intercostal muscles and various abdominal
Seikel, J. A., King, D. W., & Drumright, D. G. (2010). 12. Anatomy & physiology for speech,
Laughter is often involuntary. In fact, it is very difficult to fake it because it requires so many muscles. The main two muscles used in laughing are the zygomaticus major and minor anchor located at the cheekbones and go down towards the jaw. They both pull the face upward and the zygomaticus major also makes sure to pull the top lip upward and outward. Whenever we laugh, we also produce a sound. Whether it be a chuckle or a whole hearty laugh, we are still using the same methods as we do whenever we cough or speak. We use the lungs and the larynx, also known as a voice box, to make the sound of laughter. We don’t ever realize it, but whenever we breathe, air from our lungs passes through the open vocal cords in the larynx. Whenever the voice box is closed, air cannot travel. However, when the larynx is just barely open, it produces sound. When...
As you breathe out, narrow the back of your throat passage to make the breath audible. You should be able to create a noise of similar to the sound of rushing water. Use your diaphragm to control the length and speed of the breath, in that way you will also strengthen this muscle. Ujjayi breath is sometimes known as the “ocean breath,” because of the way you rattle the glottis as air passes in and out.
Here and there emulating celebrity diet guidance is much the same as any possible eating regimen or activity arrange: a few things work better for others, while other don't. Only on the grounds that your most loved performer or vocalist cases to have shed pounds by doing x,y,z; does not mean you will consequently do the same. Only remember that while taking after the expressions of a celebrity; they are much the same as you, j...
When breathing occurs, air enter through the mouth or/and nose and passes through the pharynx, larynx, and trachea. At this point in the body, the trachea splits off into the right and left bronchi....
Every cell in the human body requires oxygen to function, and the lungs make that oxygen available. With every breath we take, air travels to the lungs through a series of tubes and airways. After passing through the mouth and throat, air moves through the larynx, commonly known as the voice box, and then through the trachea, or windpipe. The trachea divides into two branches, called the right bronchus and the left bronchus, that connect directly to the lungs. Air continues through the bronchi, which divide into smaller and smaller air passages in the lungs, called bronchioles. The bronchioles end in clusters of tiny air sacs, called alveoli, which are surrounded by tiny, thin-walled blood vessels called capillaries.
Musical medicine: Impact of music on diabetes is subject of clinical study (2009 June). Retrieved from http://www.news-herald.com/general-news/20090625/musical-medicine-impact-ofmusic-on-diabetes
The larynx prevents food and liquids from traveling down the air path ways which could result in choking. From the larynx, Bronchi trachea splits into two bronchi each leading to a lung, each lung is divided into lobes. The right lung has three lobes and the left has two lobes. The right lung is slightly larger than the left lung. The two lungs are mainly made of up connective tissue, which gives them their soft and spongy texture. The bronchi branch are smaller and are called bronchioles which are divided many more times in the lungs. The lungs is made up of connective tissue, blood, lymphatic tissue, air pathways and alveoli are at the end of the branches inside of the lungs. The alveoli sends oxygen and removes carbon dioxide. This is a basic view of how the respiratory system functions and if the respiratory system doesn’t do its job then this could lead to infectious diseases of the respiratory
Alka-Seltzer® is a tablet that can be taken to relieve stomach pain from indigestion. Our experiment was designed to test the hypothesis that if the amount of Alka-Seltzer® increased, then the time it would take for the cap to pop off the film canister would decrease. In our experiment, we changed the amount of Alka-Seltzer® from zero tablets, to one quarter tablet, to one half tablet, and then to one full tablet. We placed the Alka-Seltzer® tablet into a film canister, poured ten milliliters of water into the canister and then capped the
The voice is our primary mean of communication and expression. We rarely last more than a few minutes without its use whether it is talking to someone else or humming quietly to ourselves. We can use the voice artistically in many ways. For example, singing carries the rhythm and melody of speech. It creates patterns of pitch, loudness, and duration that tie together syllables, phrases and sentences. We use the voice for survival, emotion, expression, and to reflect our personality. The loss of the voice is a severe curtailment to many professions. It is affected by general body condition which is why we need to consider the location of the larynx and how that organ produces voice. Surprisingly, this complex biological design is mechanical in function. It is mechanical to the point that when it has been excised from a cadaver and mounted on a laboratory bench, the larynx produces sounds resembling normal phonation. (Titze, Principles)
this is not to say that I have much musical talent. I did perform in the choir in elementary school, and I played the flute for four years through middle school, but one day I came to a simple decision. When it comes to music, I am a much better enjoyer of it than a producer of it. When I am alone in the car, my sing-along-to-whatever-is-on-the-radio voice is fab-u-lous. However, as soon as any else climbs into the car with me my talent suddenly dwindles. My larynx doesn’t seem to appreciate an audience when it is trying to perform. Thus, my musical enjoyment stems directly from listening.
While quiet breathing, external intercostal muscles contract, which causes the ribcage to expand and move up. The diaphragm then contracts and moves down. The volume of the chest cavity increases, the lungs expand and the pressure inside the lungs decreases. Air then flows into the lungs in response to the pressure gradient. Inspiration (inhalation or breathing in) is accomplished by increasing the space, therefore decreasing the
Digestion is the chemical breakdown of complex biological molecules into their component parts, i.e. lipids into fatty acids, proteins to individual amino acids, and carbohydrates into simple sugars. The functional objective is to produce various chemicals to break down the food, filter out harmful substances when possible, and get rid of solid wastes. The mechanical way the digestion works in order to change the physical form of the food is to chew, tear, grind, mash and mix. The chemical changes produced by digestion are supported by the aid of digestive enzymes and it modifies the composition of the food. The digestive enzymes are special proteins that help break up large molecules of food into very tiny molecules that can be absorbed and used by the cells in the form of nutrition. The phases of digestion are: ingestion, movement throughout the digestive tract, and final absorption. The digestive tract consists in long muscular tube with many sections