Why does our voice crack sometimes??
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Have you noticed hairs popping up in weird places?…
Opera singer to the rescue to explain a few reasons why your voice cracks:
1) if you’re referring to the cliché voice crack typically associated with young men, that’s because all of our vocal chords are affected as we all go through puberty. Fluctuating hormones and body growth cause the chords to thicken as well as lengthen, leading to that classic voice drop. However, this is a process that bodies adjust to, and because there is a natural, bigger divide in male voices (what you feel is supported and natural switching drastically to falsetto), sometimes your chords just don’t do what you want them to do, leading to that crack that’s sudden and out of nowhere. It fades/stops (in speaking) over time as the body matures.
2) If you mean like when someone’s singing and they crack on a note (not fully hit it/voice sounds like it breaks/jumps to falsetto lower than expected), that could be a myriad of things depending on the body and the experience of the singer. 9 times out of 10, it’s an issue of airflow and muscle tension. Trying to control the voice too much (pushing the sound out, singing with throat tension), which is common in both beginning and intermediate singers, can get in your own way. It’s like stepping on a garden hose and expecting water to come out.
3) If it’s when you’re sick and your voice is raspy and cracking all over the place, it’s because your vocal folds are swollen/irritated, and therefore can’t oscillate correctly.
Hope this helps! Feel free to be more specific if I didn’t address the exact crack you mean.
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