What is sub-glottic pressure?

What is sub-glottic pressure?

The opening between your vocal cords is called the glottis.  When we close our vocal cords to create phonation we are closing the glottis so that the vocal cords can vibrate and create sound.  What causes the vocal cords to come together and close the glottis?  It is the breath that comes up from our lungs controlled by the diaphragm that draws the vocal cords together.  So the term “sub-glottic pressure” is divided this way:

“sub” refers to the breath pressure that is beneath the vocal cords, “glottis” is referring to the opening between the cords and “pressure” is the air coming through the glottis to make sound.  We have to create the correct amount of sub-glottic pressure to successfully sing in our different ranges.  Sub-glottic pressure is at it’s greatest when we sing high because the vocal cords stretch very thin and vibrate very quickly so more breath pressure is needed.  In our middle range less breath pressure is needed to create sound because the vocal cords are stretched less.  Most people speak in their middle range because it requires less effort.  When we sing in our low range, the vocal cords are the least stretched and because the cords are vibrating more slowly, the singer needs to move more breath rather then rely on the sub-glottic pressure to hold back air.   Singing in our high range requires the most breath support to properly create sub-glottic pressure which is why so many singers strain their voices when they sing high.

So what is a singer to do?  We at Jameson vocal studio believe that singers need to achieve the right kind of sub-glottic pressure to learn proper breathing technique.  Your vocal cords will react to whatever range you want to sing in but if you lack adequate breath support you will not be able to achieve the beautiful sound you want.  Don’t get frustrated, contact us today!!