Discussion. This study demonstrates that the assessment of risk associated with the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in large groups due to respirable particles from speaking and singing should consider the number and mass concentrations of particles generated by these activities. The statistically significant, yet relatively modest differences detected between the type of vocalisation at the loudest volume studied, are eclipsed by the effects of volume on aerosol production, which varies by more than an order of magnitude from the quietest to loudest volume studied, whether speaking or singing. By contrast, the number of particles produced by breathing covers a wide range (spanning from quiet to loud volume speaking and singing) but has a size distribution shifted to smaller particle sizes, in principle mitigating some of the potential risk associated with the wider emission range.