I solve throat and voice problems from the viewpoint of a kineticist.

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Monthly Archives: August 2016

The posterior muscles of the voice refers to:(1)transverse arytenoid muscle(2)oblique arytenoid muscle
(3)posterior cricoarytenoid muscle
(All of these muscles are located in the back of the thyroid cartilage)

Back view of larynx model

The transverse arytenoid muscle and the oblique arytenoid muscle ‘adducts’ the vocal folds to close the glottis.
Adversely, the posterior cricoarytenoid muscle ‘abducts’ the vocal folds to open the glottis. The vocal cord cannot open or close by itself.
Additionally, the anterior muscle is the cricothyroid muscle and the lateral muscle is the lateral cricoarytenoid muscle.
When I studied anatomy, I heavily investigated the posterior muscles of the throat. It really was challenging to locate each muscle of the larynx. The oblique arytenoid muscle was the hardest to find. This is because that muscle crossed the transverse arytenoid muscle.
The transverse arytenoid muscle is positioned parallel to the oblique arytenoid muscle.
The cricoid cartilage is then under the transverse arytenoid muscle.
The transverse arytenoid muscle is wide but also thin. The oblique arytenoid muscle has two muscles crossing over each other and is quite thick.
Therefore, the oblique arytenoid muscle is little stronger than the transverse arytenoid muscle.
The posterior cricoarytenoid muscle is a part of the coronoid process of the thyroid cartilage (recognizable by its slightly dented shape) which is located behind the lower portion of the cricoid cartilage.The posterior cricoarytenoid muscles are the only laryngeal muscles to open the true vocal cords, allowing inspiration and expiration. The arytenoid cartilage is located on the cricothyroid articulation.

The cricoarytenoid articulation is a saddle joint. This saddle joint connects the arytenoid cartilage to the cricoid cartilage. The arytenoid cartilage rotates with the sliding action of the cricoid cartilage, which needs to be strong to move.
The posterior cricoarytenoid muscle is the only muscle to be able to abduct the vocal fold to open the glottis.

The human body has 5 senses, one of them being hearing. Memory retention relating to our sense of hearing is very important for Karaoke.
If you are not good at Karaoke, and sing it often, you might lack memory retention in connection with your hearing sense.
I asked 3 people who are not good at Karaoke and 3 additional people who are good at Karaoke, to listen to an original song three times. This original song is one they have never heard before. I then gave them the lyrics, and sang the song for them with music in the background.
The group who are good at Karaoke performed really well, singing the song from beginning to end consistently. I really felt that they were good at singing and performing Karaoke.
The group who are not good at Karaoke performed poorly. They displayed a slower tempo than the music, the key and pitch were way off from the original song. One participant even stopped singing half way through.
Next, I asked the group participants who are good at Karaoke to sing without accompaniment of the background music. The result was that they really duplicated singing the original song fairly well.
The group participants who are not good at Karaoke were also asked to perform the song without the background music. The result was that they had trouble remembering the lyrical rhythm, overall sound, pitch and speed. Their performance sounded bad and very different than the original song. When asked what happened, they claimed that the biggest setback was their memory. They couldn’t fully remember the song, stating that hearing the song three times wasn’t enough for them to memorize it.
From the above test study results, I conclude that people who are good at Karaoke have the ability to display naturally skilled memory retention in connection with their hearing sense.
I believe that memory retention for the hearing sense is inherently acquired. This ability depends on how much an individual is exposed to and involved with music starting at as early of an age as an infant, and continuing throughout their childhood years.
Be mindful that the status of a person’s hearing sense needs to be functioning properly to fully analyze memory retention connected to their hearing. Vibrating eardrums and transmission of sound to the brain are the basic factors of importance for memory retention of the hearing sense.

LSE = Larynx slide exercise
The targeted individuals for this specific training is people who have muscles related to vocalization with less than 20 Tone.
The purpose of this exercise is to build overall power, strength and edurance of the throat.
LSE of right and left: Training of the pharyngeal constrictors
Upper LSE: Training of the suspension mechanism
Lower LSE: Training of the sternohyoid muscle

Note1:If your muscles relating to vocalization are more than 20 Tone, you should not do LSE training. This is because the cricothyroid articulation is not easy to slide, and may result in injury to your muscles.
Also, keep in mind that your muscles might become more stiff because they cannot extend and contract properly.

Note2:A lot of people who did LSE training gave me feedback. Such as, “My throat isn’t even tired after I sing for a long time. My voice is not hoarse after letting out a high-pitched voice. Someone told me my voice sounded stronger than before!” My response to them was, “If you are a professional singer please exercise and care for your throat muscles. Always give your best performance all the time, and keep singing for many years to come.

Note3:I sometimes get requests asking, “Please show me photos of how to do LSE training.” I usually decline because this exercise might cause injuries when trying it without knowledge.
If you do not have the precise skill to be able to judge how strong and how many times to perform a specific exercise when training muscles, the small musculus extrinsic laryngis will get strained. I accept no responsibility for anyone’s training. Be careful and train at your own risk.