Frequency and Vocal Fatigue, Loudness, and PrioritizeYourVoice--Tuning IN!!

The Week of Jan 24th BLOG: 

TUESDAY TOSS UP:  Frequency and (Vocal) Fatigue

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Whaaaaat?! Yea, it’s the TRUTH. 

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And what is important is not only the SPEED of the vocal folds (VFs) coming together (pitch/frequency), but also the INTENSITY of how hard they come together (a.k.a. loudness). Based on a wonderful breakdown on the voicescienceworks website, “the same factors that make the tissues in your hands sore after clapping for an extended period of time are the same factors that can create vocal fatigue when making sound… These include length of time, how many muscles are involved, loudness (how hard), pitch (how often per second/how fast), and efficiency”. 

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Each of these elements contribute to vocal fatigue and general wear and tear on the VFs AND one’s overall vocal quality, as well as ease (or difficulty) in completing the vocal demands of daily life,  especially if you’re an occupational voice user.

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I love this example they provide: “Imagine clapping your hands with your biceps flexed, your fingers curled, your head jetted forward, & your teeth clenched together. The clapping sound will still occur, but none of those external muscle groups involved are actually aiding in creating the sound...in fact, they are making the clapping experience much more fatiguing and unsustainable”. This is a beautifully depicted example of the interference that muscle tension has on efficient and healthy vocal production. How can you sustain a healthy voice to help you fulfill your mission within your occupational voice use setting if you are consistently overcompensating &/or inefficient? How do you even KNOW this (until your body “speaks” to you about this, and often this physical sensation occurs when this tension pattern has already set in)? Why not get ahead of it by prioritizing self awareness, prioritizing vocal health, and prioritizing vocal warm ups, resets, and general efficiency? #educationispower 

#voxfit #tuesdaytossup #voice #vocalfitness #bevocallyfit #tuesdaytips #occupationalvoiceuser  #vocalhealth #vocalwellness #prioritizeyourvoice #protectyourvoice #healthyvoice #sovtes #vocalwarmup #vocalfatigue #vocalloudness #vocalfolds #vocalefficiency #vocalcooldown #singer #fitnessinstructor #publicspeaker #speechpathologist #voicespecialist #awareness #beproactive

HUMP DAY HEALTH:  Loudness

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Vocal Loudness is determined by the INTENSITY of vocal fold (VF) vibration and is measured in decibels (dB) of sound pressure (the pressure created by moving air molecules beating against the tympanic membrane that we perceive as loudness). Normal breathing is usually 10dB, whispering ~5feet away is 20dB, normal conversation is usually 60-70dB, loud singing is ~100dB, and a rocket launch is ~180dB. Typical restaurant noise levels range from 60-80dB and DID YOU KNOW that a 2016 study in Laryngoscope (Sinha et al.) found that the average “noise” level during 15 indoor cycling classes where sound was recorded was around 113dB?!

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We can INCREASE VOCAL LOUDNESS by increasing subglottal air pressure (air below the VFs) and we can increase VF closure (tighter squeezing together of the VFs). Additionally, we can also modify the vocal tract to create changes in resonance which can also enhance “loudness”. 

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Louder voice means an INCREASE in: degree of VF closure (“hit more tightly together”), the FORCE of closure, the duration of closure (stay closed LONGER), and the SPEED of closure (how fast they get from open to close—they RUSH to be closed when speaking or singing more loudly and this has a direct impact on vocal health).

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Clap your hands softly at a steady rate. Now, clap LOUDER without changing the “steadiness” of your clapping. Now change back to a softer clap. When you “clap loudly”, your hands go farther apart, come together much quicker, and are in a closed position much longer. In a “softer” clap, there are much less collision forces acting on the hands (VFs). AND did you notice that even when going back to “softer” clapping, your hands were quite a bit irritated as they continued the clapping cycle?  This is why using a louder voice over an extended period of time will negatively impact the VFs.

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DO YOU KNOW THE HEALTHY WAY TO PROJECT YOUR VOICE? Stay tuned for more on this topic… 

PRIORITIZE YOUR VOICE!  

TUNE IN... 

It’s Prioritize Your Voice Friday… So how are you prioritizing your voice today? And everyday? As an OCCUPATIONAL VOICE USER, it should be one of your top priorities!

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Staying in line with some of the other concepts from this week including pitch and vocal fatigue and especially loudness, (check out those posts if you haven’t yet), today’s #prioritizeyourvoice tip is all about TUNING IN to how you sound.

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If the background noise is too loud (hello Lombard Effect...) or you are straining and using a lot of (vocal) effort or you’re simply unaware of your voice-related habitual patterns, one easy way to bring your attention to how you sound and what level of effort you’re using for vocal production is simply to occlude one ear. This can be accomplished via simply plugging one ear with a finger, using  Swimmer’s Ear putty, using an earplug, etc.…

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This essentially helps you to get kinesthetically connected to the way the voice sounds, the way it feels including the way it is (or is not) vibrating in your face/mouth regions, the general placement of your voice (forward or backward), the level of effort you may be using (and where it is coming from), and the audible quality of your voice.  It’s great to do when at a loud restaurant or somewhere with a lot of background noise and/if you are curious if you’re talking loud or straining your voice or even just curious what you sound like (also great to do when singing or if/when acoustic or mic difficulties arise)… Simply plug one ear and continue speaking, teaching, singing, whatever you’re doing. You will easily be able to identify “where” you were and “where” you should be in order to ensure you are using voice in a healthy and efficient way. 

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Per the CSCFT/LMRVT manual: “This is a voice saving ‘trick’ that you can use when you go out to be in background noise... it will increase your ability to hear your own voice in background noise… You will realize how loudly you are speaking and probably limit extreme loudnesses. In some cases you may also be able to understand what other people are saying better as well because the earplugs/occlusion may filter out some of the noise.”

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TUNE IN to your voice and make adjustments as needed. YOU are the BEST ADVOCATE for your own instrument.

#voxfit #voice #prioritizeyourvoice #pyv #yesyoucan #healthyvoice #vocalhealth #vocalwellness #vocalefficiency #vocaldynamics #speechpathologist #voicespecialist #fitnessinstructor #fitnessisfun #goworkout #prioritizeyourhealth #letsgo #howloudareyou #tunein #prioritizeyourvoicefriday #vocalinstrument #occupationalvoiceuser #tuesdaytossup #tuesdaytips #humpdayhealth #frequency #loudness #voicesfittoinspire #bevocallyfit #vocalfitness #protectyourvoice #awareness #beproactive #amplitude #projection #vocalfatigue