Singing should be fun. But sometimes you get tense and your voice doesn´t quite function with the ease you want. The voice gets stuck in your throat and you feel the need to push to get it out. The throat closes even more and you go on pushing because that´s all you can do at that point. What´s going on in your throat?

Just above your vocal folds, there is even a second pair of folds that are called the false vocal folds. The larynx was originally created to make sure nothing except air can go into your lungs. Therefore, the seal into the windpipe or trachea needed to be absolutely certain, so there are two valves to make sure of this: the false folds and the true vocal folds.

When we sing the true folds do the job. But the false folds really must give way to the free sound and retract. Yet, if we apply too much pressure and tense the throat the false folds may start to react by constricting, that is approaching each other. And in normal singing, we usually don´t want that to happen! (there are cases where a singer might just want to do that, though, but we don´t deal with that now).

How do you avoid constriction and use retraction instead?
Here comes the laughing larynx! If you think of a silent laugh and feel the neck almost expanding sideways, then you are doing the retraction that makes your voice flow much easier and the need to push with other muscles is not needed.  You can do this in any style and it doesn’t mean lowering the larynx unless you want a darker sound.

How to know for sure if you are retracting the false folds? Here is a tip: Close your ears with your fingers. Breathe slowly in and out. If you can hear the air moving (a tiny murmur) you are likely not retracting the false folds. Try to breathe silently (inhalation and exhalation) and just feel the air moving without sound. That´s retraction. Now memorize this feeling and try to do it when you sing. Happy singing with your laughing larynx!