The human voice makes sound when air from the lungs makes the vocal folds vibrate.

The longer version

Air pushed from the lungs builds pressure below the larynx until the folds are blown apart, then suction and tissue elasticity snap them back together. One cycle happens many times a second, chopping steady airflow into a buzzing stream rich in overtones.

Tension and length of the folds set the pitch, while the throat, mouth and nose act as a variable filter that shapes that buzz into different vowels. Loudness comes mostly from breath pressure, and the whole system is a source driving a resonant tube. Formants are the resonances that make one voice recognisable as itself. Thicker and longer folds lower the range.

Where this entry sits

Sound and Music gathers facts about how vibrations move through air and water, how ears turn them into meaning, and how instruments and notation shape what listeners hear. Expect echoes, pitch, volume, acoustics, and the odd silence in between. The full list sits on the Sound and Music page, where every entry is listed in order.