Influence of Menstrual Cycle on Clinical Measures of Voice: A Comparison of Singers and Non Singers

Abstract

Voice is a marvelous instrument. The importance of the human voice in modem society cannot be overstated. lt is the primary instrument through which most of us project our personalities and influence our compatriots. And it is the same instrument through which the art of singing is expressed. The principles of proper voice production are largely the same in speaking and singing. In fact, many people believe that the singing voice is simply a natural extension of a good speaking voice (Carol & Sataloff, 1991). Singers follow particular strategies to achieve optimum control of the breath, influencing tonal quality, range and dynamics. They use the diaphragmatic muscle support to supply adequate breath pressure to the vocal folds for the sustaining of any desired pitch (Thorpe, Cala, Chapman & Davis, 2001).