Selecting Sensor For Vocal Vibration Readings

I’m trying to determine what the best type of sensor would be for measuring vocal cord vibrations when pressed against the neck. If you hum and press your fingers near your Adams apple you should be able to feel it; this is what I’d like to record.

I’ve been recommended acoustic wave sensors and piezo elements, but I’d appreciate any additional thoughts on what the ideal solution would be and why.

It doesn’t have to be SUPER accurate, but my goal is to output the vibration readings to a live graph. Ideally, this would come from an existing software, but I’m open to designing one myself.

Thanks!

Hi Justin.

I’m not sure about an ideal solution, you’d probably need to try several different things and see what works best. A piezo disk would probably work pretty well and they are very inexpensive. The only other things we carry that might work for this would be a microphone. The parts below are what I’d try but you’re likely going to need to test all of them to see what works the best.

  • - [[Piezo Element](https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10293)
  • - [[SparkFun Electret Microphone Breakout](https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12758)
  • - [[SparkFun MEMS Microphone Breakout - INMP401 (ADMP401)](https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9868)
  • [/list]

    It might be possible to use an [accelerometer as a microphone, as well, but that’s going to be a bit more complex to implement and would also require some experimentation to figure out what works best.

    Good luck with your project!](Using MEMS Accelerometers as Acoustic Pickups in Musical Instruments | Analog Devices)](https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9868)](SparkFun Electret Microphone Breakout - BOB-12758 - SparkFun Electronics)](https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10293)