A previous study [G. F. Lysaught, R. J. Rosov, and K. S. Harris, J. Acoust. Soc. Am.33, 842 (1961)] showed that although the glottis behaves differently for the oral labial stops /p/ and /b/, there is no significant difference between them in the pattern of electromyographic activity at the lips. In the present study, we found that /m/ has the same pattern of lip action. Furthermore, we were able to analyze the action of the musculature of the soft palate in the articulation of these three sounds. For the nasal /m/, no activity was observed anywhere in the palatal region. For /p/ or /b/, however, there is an identical burst of activity which can be measured on either superior or inferior palatal surface. The shape of the electromyographic pattern changes depending on whether the /p/ or /b/ follows a nasal or another oral sound, but changes in the same way for /p/ and /b/. The findings of these studies suggest a simple picture of the independent action of the various parts of the articulatory apparatus, which parallels the results of perceptual studies.