Without going into detail here about the physiology of the vocal tract let me just state that all voicework – whether it’s speech or singing , or what some call “speech level singing” – needs to address the larynx ( where the vocal folds/chords are located ). I like to think of the larynx as a buoy in the water – free floating on it’s own without being pushed, manipulated, squeezed, lowered, raised or aerated. A good basic warmup should give you a real physical sense of how to be laryngeal without bullying the larynx. When the larynx is free it is also supported which brings us to why I call this system “…beyond breathing and diaphragm”. The support of the voice resides in a pipeline of muscle that begins just under the larynx deep in the thorax and extends to the lower part of the stomach. Yes, the diaphragm gets engaged but is only one small part of a larger network that when activated with just a tad of ” friendly tension” feels like air cannot escape. This results in what is referred to as the “no leak pipe”.