Vocalist.org archive


Subject: re: maturation of the voice
From: "jjh"
To: Vocalist <vocalist>
Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>

On Mon, 7 Feb, Isabelle Bracamonte wrote:

>I have heard this before, but I have trouble believing
>it. What cartiledge is there in the cords? I think I
>just saw an article by some pedagogical woman in the
>latest NATS Journal that said (I think) that the
>instrument does NOT ossify as it ages.

>However, I have often heard the rumor (never backed
>up) that something in the throat (but what??)
>calcifies and gets hard, which is what causes wobbles.
>Can this be true? For women, do hormone replacement
>therapies delay this occurence? If this is not true,
>what does cause that distinctive older-diva wobble?

Dear Isabelle et al:

I'm just starting to teach Vocal Pedagogy, so I'd like to take a crack at
this one. Please, everyone, feel free to correct me or offer differing
viewpoints, as I find your input very valuable.

First, you are technically correct in saying that there is no cartilage in
the vocal folds (cords), However, the larynx is "built" with several
cartilages: the thyroid cartilage, the cricoid cartilage, and the two
arytenoid cartilages. These cartilages form a sort of "scaffolding" for the
larynx. In my research for the Ped class, I found that some sources also
label the epiglottis as a cartilage.

Second, in the Journal of Singing (January/February 2000), Jean Westerman
Gregg does indeed point out that the laryngeal cartilages do ossify, or
harden, as a person ages.

"The thyroid, cricoid, and the greater part of the arytenoid cartilages are
of the hyaline type, which ossifies as the individual matures. The thyroid,
and then the cricoid cartilages, start to ossify in the early twenties of
one's age, while the arytenoids delay this until the late thirties. These
structures are completely ossified by the age of sixty-five (Aronson 1985;
Sataloff 1997). The apices (tops) of the arytenoid cartilages do not
ossify, because they are made of elastin..." (page 68, Journal of Singing
Volume 56, No. 3).

Mrs. Westerman Gregg then goes on to say that adult singers need the
strength of the ossified, or hardened, cartilages for the full vocal volumes
expected of a mature voice. "It would seem that training of the vocal
mechanism takes this long, based on length of time for maturation of the
structures, to say nothing of the time required to achieve complete
coordination of the muscles, nerves, and so for, for fine, artistic
singing." (page 68, Journal of Singing Volume 56, No. 3).

This last statement, along with the continuum of vocal maturation, would
seem to explain the pedagogical significance of not "pushing" young voices.

As for your questions about wobbles and hormones, you've got me there. I
really don't know very much about that, but I'd love to learn more!

Cheers!

Jana
--
Jana Holzmeier
Dept. of Music
Nebraska Wesleyan University
5000 Saint Paul Ave.
Lincoln, NE 68504
jjh-at-nebrwesleyan.edu
402-465-2284