The Foundation of Singing - Cord Closure

Singing voices are generally categorized in two ways: 1) breathy/airy; or, 2) squeezed/pressured. The key to maintaining a pure and pleasant singing voice is a technique called cord closure.

Cord closure is a term used to describe the way in which the vocal cords meet in order to produce sound¹. The amount of closure between the cords, e.g. how closely and to what extent they touch, largely determines the quality of the sound produced. Not enough cord closure gives way to the breathy or airy sounding voice and too much cord closure gives way to the squeezed or pressured voice.

An easy way to understand how cord closure works is to say (exaggerate) the phrase "uh-oh", the phrase being used as if you just got caught in a mischievous activity. When you say the word "uh", notice how your cords literally close up and stop nearly all air from leaving your larynx. On the other side of it, the word "oh" releases the air and relaxes the cords. This phrase contains both "too much" cord closure and "too little" cord closure. A healthy balance between these two extremes creates a tone that is colorful and pleasant.

The correct amount of cord closure also regulates the amount of air needed to produce sound. Too little cord closure causes you to use more air than necessary, and thus you needlessly focus your efforts on air production. The opposite is also true: too much cord closure prevents you from using enough air, and thus you needlessly focus your efforts on controlling your pitch and tone.

Cord closure is most easily achieved by a relatively new exercise called the lip roll. Simply place your fingers on each side of your mouth and gently push up the cheeks. Now, make a sound that sounds like a muscle car starting up or a sound you make after you've had a tough and long day at work. The sound you will produce will be similar to the sound a horse produces when snorting. As funny as it may seem and sound, this exercise forces (or a better term would be tricks) your vocal cords into closing correctly. If the lip rolls are too tough, tongue trills also produce the same effect (commonly referred to as rolling your R's). This exercise is the first essential step into developing good cord closure and a good quality tone. As the cords learn to close correctly, your tone will form and your vocal range will increase!

1. Jones, David L. "The Attack of Onset of Sound." Voice Teacher