Vocal Tract
Quick Definition
The air passage above the vocal folds—including the throat, mouth, and nasal cavities—that shapes the voice's tone quality and resonance.
Factual Definition
The vocal tract is the acoustic resonating cavity extending from the vocal folds to the lips and nostrils, whose shape and configuration determines the formant frequencies that characterize vowels and the overall timbre of the voice.
Full Explanation
The vocal tract encompasses all the air spaces above the vocal folds that contribute to shaping the sound of the voice. This includes the pharynx (throat), oral cavity (mouth), and nasal cavity when the soft palate is lowered.
The shape and configuration of the vocal tract determines which frequencies produced by the vocal folds are amplified (formants) and which are dampened. This acoustic filtering is what creates different vowel sounds and gives each voice its characteristic tone quality or timbre.
Singers learn to manipulate vocal tract shape through adjustments to tongue position, jaw opening, lip rounding, larynx height, and soft palate position. These adjustments allow for different resonance qualities, vowel modification for ease in high range, and stylistic tone variations. Semi-occluded vocal tract (SOVT) exercises specifically manipulate the vocal tract opening to create beneficial back-pressure for the voice.