Signs of voice change in girls

During adolescence, both boys and girls will undergo certain changes in their physical growth. They will grow and develop rapidly, their bodies will begin to become strong, and height will be the fastest growing item. This also includes the voice change period. Both boys and girls will experience voice changes, but the changes in boys are more obvious, and their voices will become deeper and more powerful, while the changes in girls are not so obvious, with their voices just becoming thinner and the pitch becoming higher. So what are the signs of a girl’s voice change?

Voice change is a physiological phenomenon, a secondary sexual symptom caused by the development of gonads, and is caused by the rapid growth of the throat in a short period of time. During childhood, people's larynx and vocal cords are smaller than those of adults, about half the size of adults. The vocal organs are relatively fragile at this time, and the difference in voice between boys and girls is not obvious. But during puberty, due to the effects of endocrine system, all aspects of the body develop rapidly, and the larynx undergoes great changes in appearance and function. The larynx, vocal cords and other vocal organs grow, develop and change rapidly, causing obvious changes in the voice. This period is called the "voice change period" in physiology.

The entire voice change period can be divided into the early voice change period, the voice change period (which is the peak period of voice change) and the late voice change period. According to observations by physiologists and medical scientists, "before the voice change period, the size of the larynx of boys and girls is almost the same, and the physiological changes in the shape and volume of the larynx are also very small." In terms of vocal characteristics, the sound quality, timbre, volume and range are generally similar. According to statistics from experts on the vocal range of children before voice change, "the vocal range of boys and girls is almost the same." When teenagers enter the voice change period, the first thing that changes is the appearance of the larynx. For example, the thyroid cartilage, also known as the Adam's apple, rapidly grows larger and protrudes forward, the laryngeal cavity becomes larger, and the vocal cords become longer. Before voice change, the length of girls' vocal cords is 10-12 mm and that of boys' is 12-13 mm. After voice change, it grows to 14-16 mm for girls and 18-22 mm for boys. By adulthood, it is 14-18 mm for women and 18-24 mm for men. According to the doctor's observation under laryngoscopy, the vocal cords show symptoms such as congestion, edema and poor glottal closure during the voice change period of adolescents. The vocal organs will inevitably cause changes in the voice. For example, in the early stage of voice change, adolescents will have unstable voice, poor durability, easy fatigue, difficulty singing, and rough sound quality. In the middle stage of voice change (i.e. the vigorous period), the voice will be volatile, control is poor, chest voice increases, the voice is low and even hoarseness and loss of voice. In the late stage of voice change, the development of the Adam's apple and vocal cords has basically stabilized, the congestion of the vocal cords has basically disappeared, and the vocal cord closure is basically intact. The voice is close to that of an adult, and the differences in timbre, sound quality, and volume between male and female voices are also clearly formed. In terms of range, the actual pitch of male voices is one octave lower than that of female voices. It can be seen that these physiological and vocal changes can also be used as a basis for judging the voice change period of adolescents.

After we understand the characteristics and process of the voice of adolescents during voice change, it is more important to know how to protect the voice of adolescents. The author would like to share some of his insights based on more than 20 years of teaching practice.