Shattered vibration is a chaotic kind of vibration in which there may be several independent segments vibrating erratically to create a characteristic sound quality. May be seen, for example, in an individual who has vocal cords that are not symmetrical with respect to vocal cord mass, flaccidity, and tension, and that are not “of one piece” within themselves, so that a fold may have two different vibratory patterns within itself.

See also: segmental vibration