PRINCIPLES OF THE VOICE THERAPY TECHNIQUE
Voice therapy is any kind of technique that changes voice in a behavioral way. As Aronson mentioned ” Voice therapy may be defined as an effort to return the voice to a level of adequacy that can be realistically achieved and that will satisfy the patient’s occupational and social needs”.
Traditionally voice therapy includes exercises for: Posture, Relaxation, Breathing, Vocalizing Articulation. The main aim of all voice therapies is a target voice. Target voice is the best possible voice within the patient’s anatomic and physiologic capabilities. To change the voice, it is essential to know how it works. Microphysiology clues lie between the two striking zones (in other words, vocal activation zone) of the vocal folds. Simply and very briefly, ‘optimal dominant vibration point replacement’ takes place in therapy procedures. Anatomically, this point (or place) is the best place for maximum elasticity and power. Also it is the place which shows maximal resistance to trauma.
Normal voice has five properties; Loudness, Hygiene, Flexibility, Representability and Pleasantness.
Lax Vox is a direct technique for general use. It is a holistic and cognitive approach which gives a multichannel biofeedback. The technique uses multiple mechanisms at the same time without forcing –even without thinking! The doctorVOX drives your voice system into a natural, safe and effective way.
MECHANISMS OF THE TECHNIQUE:
1-Positive supraglottal pressure in front of the voice source
(Vocal Tract Inertance)
Inertive Vocal Tract – Acoustic results
Phonation threshold pressure decreases
Fast-easy opening and closure of the vocal folds
Maximum flow declination rate (MFDR) increases
Vocal intensity increases (Without muscle forces!)
Closed phase lengthened
Forward positioning of voice
Vibration efficiency increases
Semi-occluded vocal tract exercises (lip trills, tongue trills, humming)
..maintain singing loudly without forcing vocal folds
.. lower the threshold pressure by “squaring up” the vocal folds
..lower F1 to give the vocalist the benefit of inertive reactance over the entire pitch range
..allow pitch and lung pressure to be raised to high levels without excessive vocal fold collision
2-Lowering the larynx
Effects:
- i. Vocal folds are likely to be thicker;
Fo decreases
- Loosens the vocal fold ‘cover’
Efficient closing phase
Vocal intensity increases
Flow phonation
iii. Loosens the thyroarytenoid muscle
The control capacity of thyroarytenoid (TA) muscle increases due to reduction of muscle tension
Better opportunity to get the TA muscle actively involved in vibration
- Resonating volume increases by:
The vocal tract elongation
Hypopharyngeal enlargement
Vertically stretched and flattened ventricular folds
Inverted megaphone shape
Anteriorly placed tongue
Palatal rise(Pre-yawn position)
- Larynx-hyoid bone-tongue relation loosens, the tongue moves forward
- Extraneous tension in the neck and shoulders are tend to be decreased
vii. Abdominodiaphragmatic respiration becomes a natural result
3-Artificial elongation of the vocal tract
Acoustic results:
i.Lowered F1
ii.Lowered phonation threshold pressure
iii.Lowered airflow
iv.Low-effort voice production
v.Resonance tubes-voice interaction levels
Interaction levels of artificial elongation of the vocal tract
- Acoustic-aerodynamic interaction (acoustic pressures → glottal flow pulse)
- Mechano-acoustic interaction (phonation threshold pressure)(vocal tract pressures→ vibrational characteristics )
- Neuro- mechanic interaction (Non-laryngeal articulatory movements→laryngeal settings)
4-Relaxation
‘KEY’ for good voice
Meditation, hypnosis, postural alignment, etc may be used.
‘The device’ takes the attention from daily life
Relaxation is the first step and ‘sine qua non’
Begin with forehead and then eyelids, cheeks, tongue and jaw in order
‘feel your head, neck and shoulders over clouds’
‘think and remember how you feel in relaxed position’
Keeping the relaxed position stable -floating head, silly face start bubbling with voice. Your cheeks must be relaxed and let them tremble with bubbling. Then extend the trembling into your throat. Play with focus, you will find the best place!
Do not even move your suprahyoid region. First you may try bubbling without voicing to feel and understand that it is possible to phonate with relaxed suprahyoid muscles.
5-Altering kinesthetic sensitivity
Changing habits by proprioceptive biofeedback
-Eases to feel and to manage the subglottal pressure and resonance spaces
-Helps tactile biofeedback for symmetrical adduction and relaxation
-Sensation of efficiency in converting aerodynamic energy to acoustic energy
6-Proper abdominodiaphragmatic respiration
doctorVOX facilitates abdomino-diaphragmatic respiration by:
Relaxation of secondary breathing muscles
Reduces extraneous tension in the neck and shoulders
Dissolves the compact arrangement of the larynx, hyoid bone and tongue
The correct breathing type comes without ‘thinking’
It may not be necessary for all of the patients to work on abdomino-diaphragmatic respiration technique. Vocal demands will help to decide. But not to concern about more than one mechanism at the same time will make the things more easier.
