ElI5: how does our body know exactly how tight or loose to make our vocal cords to hit a pitch right on?
In: 2
Practice. Watch a video of kids singing, while they may sound adorable they’re usually not particularly good. As they get older they start to hit the right notes but even after practicing the song they’ll still hit a wrong note and then slide to the correct one. Just like anything else, your body learns cause and effect for “this pitch feels like this” and then remembers that.
Muscle memory. You’re body doesn’t know where to put the muscle to produce the pitch, your brain does. Muscle memory is a stored procedure/memory the brain uses to control muscles with little conscious effort for things that are often repeated. Practicing often repeats the same move creating the muscle memory so your brain associates the specific placement of a note on a music sheet to a pitch so your brain says “vocal cords go to this position and lungs blow this hard, and mouth make this shape” and then the brain takes feedback from the ear to fine tune it in the instant it is being used.
* In addition to the other comments, you body also does constant correction.
* When you hear the note you’ve sang, if it starts to drift, your vocal cords adjust until it’s back in pitch.
* This is why even the best trained singers need to be able to hear themselves when singing and why in-ear or stage monitors are essential in a loud concert setting.
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