Biophysics of Voice Onset: A Comprehensive Overview

Voice onset is the sequence of events between the first detectable movement of the vocal folds (VFs) and the stable vibration of the vocal folds. It is considered a critical phase of phonation, and the different modalities of voice onset and their distinctive characteristics are analysed. Oscillation of the VFs can start from either a closed glottis with no airflow or an open glottis with airflow. The objective of this article is to provide a comprehensive survey of this transient phenomenon, from a biomechanical point of view, in normal modal (i.e., nonpathological) conditions of vocal emission. This synthetic overview mainly relies upon a number of recent experimental studies, all based on in vivo physiological measurements, and using a common, original and consistent methodology which combines high-speed imaging, sound analysis, electro-, photo-, flow- and ultrasound glottography. In this way, the two basic parameters—the instantaneous glottal area and the airflow—can be measured, and the instantaneous intraglottal pressure can be automatically calculated from the combined records, which gives a detailed insight, both qualitative and quantitative, into the onset phenomenon. The similarity of the methodology enables a link to be made with the biomechanics of sustained phonation. Essential is the temporal relationship between the glottal area and intraglottal pressure. The three key findings are (1) From the initial onset cycles onwards, the intraglottal pressure signal leads that of the opening signal, as in sustained voicing, which is the basic condition for an energy transfer from the lung pressure to the VF tissue. (2) This phase lead is primarily due to the skewing of the airflow curve to the right with respect to the glottal area curve, a consequence of the compressibility of air and the inertance of the vocal tract. (3) In case of a soft, physiological onset, the glottis shows a spindle-shaped configuration just before the oscillation begins. Using the same parameters (airflow, glottal area, intraglottal pressure), the mechanism of triggering the oscillation can be explained by the intraglottal aerodynamic condition. From the first cycles on, the VFs oscillate on either side of a paramedian axis. The amplitude of these free oscillations increases progressively before the first contact on the midline. Whether the first movement is lateral or medial cannot be defined. Moreover, this comprehensive synthesis of onset biomechanics and the links it creates sheds new light on comparable phenomena at the level of sound attack in wind instruments, as well as phenomena such as the production of intervals in the sung voice.