In 2019, Kim Hyuk Gun (김혁건), the vocalist of THE CROSS (더크로스), opened the "scientific vocal technique" chapter of his doctoral dissertation with a definition of phonation. Soon after, he wrote that "the basic element of vocal technique is breathing technique." The process of making a sound begins with breath.
This is the second part of the series. It sets out the dissertation's sections on "understanding phonation" and "the role of breath in phonation" so that vocal students can put them straight into practice. It is the chapter where the experiment's question seen in Part 1 · Study Overview — does abdominal breathing help high notes? — starts from.
01.What Is Phonation?
The dissertation defines phonation and vocal technique separately.
| Term | The dissertation's definition |
|---|---|
| Phonation | In singing, breath pushed out of the lungs passing through the glottis (聲門) and vibrating the vocal folds to make sound; the whole process of producing speech sounds of every kind, singing included |
| Vocal technique | The way a singer trains by using various organs and adjusting them appropriately |
Following the order inside the definition gives breath → glottis → vibration of the vocal folds → sound. The dissertation treats phonation as "the basis of singing," and states that in this chapter a theoretical understanding of phonation serves as the basic foundation of the study.
The dissertation also writes that natural, correct breathing has a particularly important effect on producing vocal sound. The breathing movement of the lungs, which sends breath to the glottis, rises and falls with how much a person is moving and is regulated automatically. In the next section, the dissertation adds that even this automatic breathing has to be controlled for phonation.
02.The Three Systems That Shape the Sound
The dissertation explains that the character of phonation is shaped by three systems.
| System | What it does | In this series |
|---|---|---|
| Respiratory system | Drives the vocal organs with breath | Parts 2–4 |
| Vocal organs (vocal folds) | Receive the breath and vibrate to make sound | Parts 5–8 |
| Resonators | Handle resonance | Parts 9–11 |
It is not only these three. The dissertation adds that phonation is also determined by the speech sounds made by the organs of the mouth such as the tongue, lips and teeth; by the state of the chest, mouth, pharynx and nasal cavity, which take part in resonance within the body's cavities; and by the muscles linked to these organs and the posture of the whole body. In the narrow sense the vocal organ is the vocal folds, which have several jobs: regulating breathing, keeping foreign matter out of the lungs, and phonation.
That is why the dissertation sees vocal technique as "training in how to use and adjust the various organs." Singing practice is not practice for the throat alone.
03.The Voice Is Not Made in the Throat Alone
The dissertation follows the process of making sound in the order of the body.
- Breath that has entered the lungs flows out through the larynx at the entrance of the windpipe.
- As it passes the vocal folds, the muscles of the vocal folds strike each other and tremble — that is sound.
- As the vocal folds vibrate, sound waves are formed in the air passing between them.
- The sound waves resonate as they pass through the mouth and become sound as they leave the lips.
The vocal folds are muscle tissue around 2 centimeters long. They are normally open for breathing; they do not vibrate during ordinary breathing, but vibrate when you make a sound such as "ah." They vibrate together as the glottis closes for speech, and that makes the sound.
In the dissertation's words, the voice is "not a sound formed in the throat alone" but one made together by several organs such as the lungs and the mouth, the vocal folds and the lips. The anatomical model in the figure was photographed by the researcher himself and shows where the breath starts — the lungs — and the diaphragm beneath them. The lungs and diaphragm are covered in detail in Part 4.
04.Vocal Technique Starts with Breathing Technique
"Therefore the basic element of vocal technique is breathing technique." The dissertation finds the reason for this sentence in the process above: breathing is the most basic step in how sound is made.
The dissertation sets out the path of breath in and out like this.
| Inhale | Exhale | |
|---|---|---|
| Path of the air | Airway → bronchi → bronchioles → smaller tubes → air sacs → lungs | Lungs → windpipe → larynx → vocal folds |
| Diaphragm | Tightens and moves down | Relaxes and moves up |
| Body | The abdominal organs are pushed down so the belly comes forward, and the ribs spread sideways | The lungs shrink and the pressure inside them rises |
| Main muscles | Diaphragm, external intercostals | External obliques, internal obliques, rectus abdominis, internal intercostals |
The principle of the inhale is pressure. When the diaphragm moves down and the rib muscles pull the ribs, the space inside the chest (the thoracic cavity) widens, and outside air flows in to fill the empty space, filling the lungs. The lungs have no muscle, so they cannot contract or expand on their own; they rely on the diaphragm and the ribs.
Here the dissertation points out one thing that matters to singers. When the diaphragm has moved down and the widened chest cavity is kept that way, the breath can be supported and the pressure in the lungs can be controlled. This sentence is where the idea of "supporting" the breath comes from. Dividing breathing by the muscles used continues in Part 3.
05.Two Ways of Controlling Breath
The dissertation divides the regulation and control of breathing into two kinds.
| Kind | The dissertation's explanation |
|---|---|
| Occlusive control | Controls the breath by blocking the mouth or nose, or by squeezing the vocal folds hard to block them |
| Suspended control (suspended breaths) | Deliberately controls the breathing muscles to regulate the flow and pressure of the air |
And it writes that controlling the breath is very important in singing, and that examining and training the many muscles involved in breathing can raise the level of singing and phonation. A way of adjusting and training the muscles involved in breathing naturally — that, in the dissertation, is breathing technique, the foundation of vocal technique.
06.Today's Practice
Turned into points to check while you practice, what the dissertation and the lesson highlight looks like this.
- Breath versus sound — Compare breathing out alone with putting an "ah" on the same breath. The dissertation explains that the vocal folds do not vibrate during ordinary breathing, but close and vibrate when you make a sound such as "ah" (section 03; dissertation p.64).
- The direction of the inhale — When you breathe in, check whether the belly comes forward and the ribs spread sideways (section 04; dissertation p.64). Lesson Ep. 1 (Breathing) also explains pushing out the belly and sides as the diaphragm moving down (video description).
- Where you control the breath — When you hold or save your breath, check whether you are squeezing the throat (vocal folds) shut or regulating the flow with your breathing muscles. The dissertation separates the two ways and states that controlling the breath is very important in singing (section 05; dissertation p.66).
The lesson to watch with this part is Season 1, Episode 1, "Breathing." Its description lists scientific breathing and anatomical figures, the inhale (chest and abdominal) and the exhale, and the point that "the muscles that control breathing are the vocal folds and the diaphragm."
07.Where to Go Next
The series begins with Part 1 · Study Overview, and the three kinds of breath — chest, rib and abdominal — continue in Part 3 · Chest, Rib and Abdominal Breathing. The vocal folds that turn breath into sound are in Part 5 · The Larynx and Vocal Folds. If you want to hear a song sung with this breath, listen to THE CROSS's "Don't Cry", whose top note goes above the third octave. Lesson videos are in Korean.
The sound comes out of the throat, but it does not start there — the first beat of a song is breath.