The Queen of Speech and Screech

That's what People magazine called veteran LA voice teacher Elizabeth Sabine. NBC's Tom Brokaw called her "the Auntie Mame of Heavy Metal" for her work in rescuing the voices of rock singers. Her upcoming book on vocal techniques may help save more voices - and ears.

The May/June 2003 issue of ArtistPro magazine gives us a sneak peek at Sabine's new book. The excerpt explains the mechanics of the vocal cords, and therefore why they are so powerful and so vulnerable at the same time.

According to Sabine, our vocal cords are a "multi-frequency modulator." That is, our brains tweak these tiny muscles into the right size and shape to get the pitch we're hoping for. And our brain also controls other variables, such as the amount of air that flows over the cords, the rigidity of our upper body, etc.

And all these variables can produce beautiful sounds for endless hours -- or, if applied incorrectly, can ruin our instrument.

Sabine describes how she once watched her own vocal cords in action. She visited an otolaryngologist who specializes in using fiber optics, and after a little throat-numbing anaesthetic, a lighted fiber optic camera made its way up her nose and down into her throat. Eyes on a TV monitor, Sabine marveled as she saw her cords rise and fall, relax and tighten, bounce, shorten and lengthen as she spoke, sang, and laughed in different ways.

Because we don't all have the (dubious?) opportunity to watch our insides from the outside, Sabine provides mental visualizations and other physical techniques for keeping tabs on how our cords are moving, so as to get the best performance from them -- without damaging them.

Browse ArtistPro magazine including a table of contents

Read more about "Unleash the Passion in your Voice," Elizabeth Sabine's earlier book, including a short biography

Find out when Sabine's new book is available by tracking ArtistPro's press releases