Abstract
An excised larynx experiment was undertaken to investigate the interaction between acoustic pressures in a subglottal tube and the amplitude of vibration of the vocal folds. Pressure was measured beneath the vocal folds during three specific moments of the vibratory cycle: (1) when the superior margin of the vocal folds began to separate, (2) when the vocal folds were maximally apart and (3) when the inferior margin of the vocal folds began to touch. Results indicate that the amplitude of vibration increases when the acoustic pressure beneath the vocal folds are positive at the moment of opening and negative when the vocal folds are maximally apart. The implications of these experiments to involuntary register transitions in the human voice are discussed in light of a previously proposed register theory.

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