0:00:02 > 0:00:04- Are you ready for our Ouch Snips? - Snip!- Ouch.- Exactly!
0:00:18 > 0:00:20Well, they all help you to sing!
0:00:20 > 0:00:22SINGS LONG NOTE
0:00:22 > 0:00:26First up, let's take a closer look at the vocal cords.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28This is a nasal endoscope. It's a very small camera
0:00:28 > 0:00:31that I'm going to put up my nose and look at my vocal cords.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39The best way for doctors like us to access the vocal cords
0:00:39 > 0:00:41is through the nose, because if the camera
0:00:41 > 0:00:44went via the mouth, the patient would start to gag and feel sick.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48So feel in your throat. You'll feel a hard, gristly bit at the front.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51That's your voice box or your larynx,
0:00:51 > 0:00:53and that's where your vocal cords sit.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57What you can see now is Chris' vocal cords.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59They look like flaps or webs
0:00:59 > 0:01:00going across his windpipe.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04What happens is, as your lungs force air up your windpipe,
0:01:04 > 0:01:06these flaps start to vibrate
0:01:06 > 0:01:09and it's the vibration that causes noise.
0:01:09 > 0:01:10So let's see them in action.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12So, Chris, can you hum a high note?
0:01:12 > 0:01:15HE HUMS
0:01:17 > 0:01:19Now hum a low note.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21HE HUMS
0:01:21 > 0:01:23So when Chris hums a high note,
0:01:23 > 0:01:25what you see is the vocal cords tightening and that means
0:01:25 > 0:01:28they vibrate faster and make a higher note,
0:01:28 > 0:01:31and when he hums a low note, the vocal cords relax,
0:01:31 > 0:01:33they're much floppier, they vibrate more slowly
0:01:33 > 0:01:35and you get a lower note.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37Your vocal cords may make the sound,
0:01:37 > 0:01:40but there's another unsung hero of singing.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43SHE SINGS
0:01:43 > 0:01:46Now, Lucy and other opera singers can hold a note this long,
0:01:46 > 0:01:48because she's trained a special muscle,
0:01:48 > 0:01:50one which we all have
0:01:50 > 0:01:51called the diaphragm.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53Now, your diaphragm sits here
0:01:53 > 0:01:55at the bottom of your ribcage.
0:01:55 > 0:01:56Thank you.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00Let's find out what the diaphragm looks like and how it works.
0:02:00 > 0:02:01Lucy.
0:02:01 > 0:02:09# We're going to sho-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow... #
0:02:09 > 0:02:11Ahem.
0:02:11 > 0:02:12# ..you
0:02:12 > 0:02:17# Show you... #
0:02:17 > 0:02:19Thanks, Lucy!
0:02:19 > 0:02:22Your diaphragm is the main muscle you use when you breathe,
0:02:22 > 0:02:24which is something we all do all the time.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27Now, to show you what a diaphragm looks like,
0:02:27 > 0:02:29we've got a real one...
0:02:30 > 0:02:32..from a pig.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35This is the pig's voice box,
0:02:35 > 0:02:37this is the trachea,
0:02:37 > 0:02:38or the windpipe,
0:02:38 > 0:02:39these bits are the lungs,
0:02:39 > 0:02:41and then underneath the lungs
0:02:41 > 0:02:44in a big muscular sheet,
0:02:44 > 0:02:46that is the diaphragm.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50You breathe in and out about 20,000-30,000 times a day,
0:02:50 > 0:02:51and it's this,
0:02:51 > 0:02:54the diaphragm, that makes it all happen.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57So after your heart, it's the most important muscle in your body,
0:02:57 > 0:02:58because it allows you to breathe.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01To see how it works, I've got this nifty little model.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04Now, the big bottle is your ribcage,
0:03:04 > 0:03:07and these things inside represent your lungs.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10Xand, those aren't lungs! Those are my party balloons!
0:03:10 > 0:03:14We're using them for a very important scientific demonstration!
0:03:14 > 0:03:17- OK. Well, I suppose if it's in the service of science...- Good.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21And this at the bottom is your diaphragm.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24Now, we tend to think that breathing is all about the lungs,
0:03:24 > 0:03:27but the diaphragm is the unsung hero of breathing.
0:03:27 > 0:03:28It's what makes it all happen,
0:03:28 > 0:03:31and that's why the diaphragm is such an important muscle.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35Now, when you breathe in, the diaphragm pulls downwards.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38This lowers the pressure inside this chest cavity.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42This creates extra space, a vacuum, and air has no option
0:03:42 > 0:03:46but to rush in through your mouth and into your lungs
0:03:46 > 0:03:47to fill this space.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51And then you breathe out again.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53Your lungs really are a bit like these balloons -
0:03:53 > 0:03:55they have no muscles at all.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58They're just like bags, really, and they don't do anything
0:03:58 > 0:04:00without the diaphragm.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03Which also helps Lucy project her voice.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07We've shown you that your vocal cords make sounds by vibrating.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11And your diaphragm is one of the most important muscles in your body,
0:04:11 > 0:04:14enabling you to take 30,000 breaths a day
0:04:14 > 0:04:16and help you hold those long notes.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18Chris, I really want to sing now. Can I?
0:04:18 > 0:04:20OK, Xand, since you love it so much,
0:04:20 > 0:04:22but hold on just one second.
0:04:24 > 0:04:25OK, Xand.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28HE SINGS IN LUCY'S VOICE
0:04:29 > 0:04:32SINGING CONTINUES
0:04:37 > 0:04:40- See you next time!- Bye!- Bye!
0:04:40 > 0:04:42- Bye!- Bye!- Bye!