Puberphonia, nerve + air.

Coordination in the onset and release of sound necessory to treat puberphonia.

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One of the very first technical skills to be mastered is that of coordinated onset and release of sound. McKinney (1994, pp. 78–79) describes three segments of speech tone, namely the phases of –

• attacca, attack (or onset) starting in the mind of a singer;

• sustention that should be steady and consistent; and

• release that should occur instantaneously and precisely.

Sell (2005, p. 110) believes that equilibrium in onset and release is the result of laryngeal muscle balance and elasticity and also refers to the role that the Bernoulli Effect (airflow causing suction) plays in the phonatory process.

McKinney (1994, p. 76) describes the two theories of how vocal fold vibration is initiated, namely the myoelastic (or muscle elasticity) theory and the 2-47aerodynamic (or air action) theory. The only difference between these theories is the factor credited to bring the vocal folds together – muscle tension according to the myoelastic theory and the Bernouilli Effect according to the

aerodynamic theory.

Sell (2005, pp. 111–112) distinguishes three types of onset, namely –

• The hard attack,( also called coup de glotte, colpo di glottide and Glottisschlag,) characterised by violent action from the vocal

muscles and also called the 'glottal plosive' leading to vocal abuse;

• The soft onset characterised by the flow of breath before sound

production which may give rise to breathy phonation impeding

clear, rich resonance; and

• The balanced onset or dynamic muscle equilibrium (Miller, 1986, p.

4) where pre-phonatory tuning takes place and is regarded as the main voluntary contribution to the control of the larynx for speech.

The mastery of balanced onset and release of sound ultimately encourages equilibrium and discipline in breathing (Sell, 2005, p. 112).

 I consider clear vocal onset and release as the foundation for free and resonant sound production.