[Durgical](https://durgical.com/en/) › [DurgiPedia](https://durgical.com/en/durgipedia/) › [Physiology](https://durgical.com/en/physiology/) › [Respiratory](https://durgical.com/en/physiology/areas/resp/) › How voice is produced: phonation, articulation and resonance

# How voice is produced: phonation, articulation and resonance

- Mechanism
- For completeness

Air from the lungs makes the vocal folds vibrate; the throat, mouth and nose shape that buzz into speech.

Updated Nov 13, 2026

Also called: Phonation, Speech production, Vocal fold vibration

**See it in 3D:** [Vocal folds](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/vocal-fold/) · [Thyroid cartilage](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/thyroid-cartilage/) · [Epiglottis](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/epiglottis/) · [Recurrent laryngeal nerves](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/recurrent-laryngeal-nerve/) · [Trachea](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/trachea/)

## Key points

- Phonation is in the larynx; articulation is by lips, tongue, teeth and soft palate; resonance is in the pharynx, mouth, nose and sinuses.
- Pitch rises when the folds are longer, thinner and tenser: the cricothyroid muscle does this (external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve).
- Posterior cricoarytenoid is the only abductor (opens the glottis); all other intrinsic laryngeal muscles except cricothyroid are supplied by the recurrent laryngeal nerve.
- Loudness depends on subglottic pressure from the expiratory muscles.
- Unilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy causes a hoarse, breathy voice; bilateral palsy can obstruct the airway.

## What it is

Voice needs three things: a power source (exhaled air), a vibrator (the vocal folds in the larynx) and shapers (resonating cavities and articulators). The folds are brought together and set into vibration by airflow; their tension, length and mass set the pitch. The pharynx, mouth, nose and sinuses resonate, while lips, tongue and soft palate shape vowels and consonants.

## How it works, step by step

- Adductor muscles (lateral cricoarytenoid, interarytenoids) bring the vocal folds together.
- Expiratory muscles raise subglottic pressure until it pushes the folds apart and a puff of air escapes.
- Tissue elasticity and the drop in pressure in the fast-moving air (Bernoulli effect) pull the folds back together.
- This cycle repeats many times per second, producing a buzzing tone (fundamental frequency).
- Cricothyroid tilts the thyroid cartilage forward, lengthening and tensing the folds: pitch rises.
- Thyroarytenoid (vocalis) shortens and thickens the folds, lowering pitch and adjusting quality.
- The vocal tract filters the tone: resonances (formants) set vowel quality; articulators add consonants.

## Typical speaking fundamental frequency (approximate)

| Parameter | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Adult man | ≈ 85–155 Hz |
| Adult woman | ≈ 165–255 Hz |
| Child | ≈ 250–300 Hz or more |

Approximate values for a healthy adult at rest; each laboratory sets its own ranges.

## Intrinsic laryngeal muscles and voice

| Muscle | Action | Nerve |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cricothyroid | Lengthens and tenses folds (raises pitch) | Superior laryngeal (external branch) |
| Posterior cricoarytenoid | Abducts folds (opens glottis) | Recurrent laryngeal |
| Lateral cricoarytenoid | Adducts folds | Recurrent laryngeal |
| Interarytenoids | Close the posterior glottis | Recurrent laryngeal |
| [Thyroarytenoid (vocalis)](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/vocal-fold-paralysis/) | Shortens and relaxes folds; fine control | Recurrent laryngeal |

## Clinical notes

- Hoarseness after thyroid or chest surgery suggests injury to the recurrent laryngeal nerve; the left nerve, looping under the aortic arch, is more exposed.
- Vocal fold nodules from voice overuse add mass and stop the folds from closing fully: rough, breathy voice.
- Puberty enlarges the male larynx and lengthens the folds, which lowers the voice by about an octave.

## Memory aid

Lungs are the bellows, folds are the reed, the mouth is the horn.

## Test yourself

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

## Which muscle raises the pitch of the voice, and which nerve supplies it?

The cricothyroid, by lengthening and tensing the vocal folds; it is supplied by the external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve.

## What is the only muscle that opens the glottis?

The posterior cricoarytenoid, supplied by the recurrent laryngeal nerve.

## What brings the vibrating vocal folds back together after each puff of air?

Their elastic recoil and the fall in pressure in the fast airflow between them (Bernoulli effect).

## Why does the left recurrent laryngeal nerve cause hoarseness more often than the right?

It has a longer course, looping under the aortic arch, so chest disease and surgery can injure it as well as neck surgery.

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## Connections

## See it in 3D 5

The structures of Durgical's 3D anatomy where it happens.

- [Vocal folds](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/vocal-fold/)
- [Thyroid cartilage](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/thyroid-cartilage/)
- [Epiglottis](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/epiglottis/)
- [Recurrent laryngeal nerves](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/recurrent-laryngeal-nerve/)
- [Trachea](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/trachea/)

## Related topics 3

- [Airway defenses, cough and mucociliary clearance](https://durgical.com/en/physiology/airway-defenses-cough-and-mucociliary-clearance/)
- [Mechanics of breathing: pressures and muscles](https://durgical.com/en/physiology/mechanics-of-breathing-pressures-and-muscles/)
- [Swallowing and esophageal motility](https://durgical.com/en/physiology/swallowing-and-esophageal-motility/)

## Related conditions 2

- [Vocal fold paralysis (recurrent laryngeal nerve injury)](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/vocal-fold-paralysis/)
- [Vocal fold nodules, polyps and laryngitis](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/vocal-fold-nodules-polyps-and-laryngitis/)

[← All of physiology](https://durgical.com/en/physiology/)

Educational physiology content; not a diagnostic or treatment guide and no substitute for a health professional's advice. Values are approximate references. No doses are given.

Sources: [Anatomy, Head and Neck, Larynx Vocal Cords](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK535342/) (StatPearls (NCBI Bookshelf), 2025); [Anatomy, Head and Neck: Larynx Muscles](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK545231/) (StatPearls (NCBI Bookshelf), 2025); [Anatomy, Head and Neck, Larynx Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470179/) (StatPearls (NCBI Bookshelf), 2025).

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License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Cite as: DurgiPedia (durgical.com), https://durgical.com/en/physiology/how-voice-is-produced-phonation-articulation-and-resonance/