ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Vocal resonation

When we talk or sing, the sound comes from our vocal cords that vibrate as we make sounds. But for the sounds to travel through the air and be heard by others, they need to go through something called "resonators." Resonators are like tiny echo chambers inside our body that amplify, or make the sound louder and easier to hear.

The main resonators are in our throat, mouth, and nose. When we speak or sing, air comes out from our lungs and goes up through our throat, where it hits our vocal cords and creates vibrations. These vibrations then travel up into our mouth and nose, where they bounce around and get louder and clearer.

Think of it like talking into a megaphone. When you speak into a megaphone, it makes your voice much louder and clearer so that people far away can hear you. Similarly, the resonators in our body act like little megaphones that make our voice louder and clearer so people can hear us better.

Different parts of our body can affect the way our voice sounds. For example, if we hold our nose when we speak or sing, it changes the way the sound travels through our nose and mouth, affecting the tone of our voice. So, by using our resonators in different ways, we can change the sound of our voice and make it sound more interesting or expressive.