The external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve supplies which muscle?

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The external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve provides motor innervation to the cricothyroid muscle. Cricothyroid lengthens and tenses the vocal cords by tilting the thyroid cartilage forward, which raises pitch. The other muscles listed—posterior cricoarytenoid, thyroarytenoid, and interarytenoid—are innervated by the recurrent laryngeal nerve and are involved in vocal cord abduction or other aspects of cord tension and closure. So cricothyroid is the muscle fed by the external branch and is responsible for tensing the vocal folds.