Vocal fry register

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Short demonstration of vocal fry

The vocal fry register [a] is the lowest vocal register and is produced through a loose glottal closure that permits air to bubble through slowly with a popping or rattling sound of a very low frequency. [1] During this phonation, the arytenoid cartilages in the larynx are drawn together, which causes the vocal folds to compress rather tightly and become relatively slack and compact. This process forms a large and irregularly vibrating mass within the vocal folds that produces the characteristic low popping or rattling sound when air passes through the glottal closure. The register (if well-controlled) can extend far below the modal voice register, in some cases up to 8 octaves lower, such as in the case of Tim Storms who holds the world record for lowest frequency note ever produced by a human, a G−7, which is only 0.189 Hz, inaudible to the human ear.

Contents

Vocal fry is thought to have become more common among young female speakers of American English in the 21st century, with the style of speaking being considered informal, nonaggressive and urban-oriented, though there is a lack of evidence to support this.

History of register classification

The vocal fry register has been a recognized and identifiable register in American English only within the past few decades, but its characteristic sound was recognized much earlier. Discussion of the vocal fry or pulse register began first within the field of phonetics and speech therapy and did not enter the vocabulary of vocal music pedagogists until the early 1970s, when it was initially controversial. However, controversy surrounding the term within vocal music has subsided as more research into the use of the vocal fry register within the context of singing ensued. [1] In particular, vocal pedagogist Margaret Greene's videotaping of the physiological processes occurring in the body while singers were phonating in the vocal fry register offered solid evidence that this type of vocal phonation should be considered a vocal register from the perspectives of both speech pathology and vocal music. Like any other vocal register, the vocal fry register has a unique vibratory pattern of the vocal folds, a certain series of pitches, and a certain type of sound that distinguishes it from other vocal registers. [2]

In speech

Discussion of vocal fry is much more frequent in books related to phonetics and speech therapy than it is in those dealing with singing. Some authorities consider the use of vocal fry in speech a dysphonia, but others consider it so only if it is used excessively [1] such as Hollien, Moore, Wendahl, and Michel:

It is simply our intent to suggest that ordinarily vocal fry constitutes one of several physiologically available types of voice production on the frequency-pitch continuum and hence, of itself, is not logically classified among the laryngeal pathologies. While the excessive use of fry could result in a diagnosis of voice disorder, this quality is too often heard in normal voices (especially in descending inflections where the voice fundamentally falls below frequencies in the modal register) to be exclusively a disorder. [3]

Many are quick to point out that although vocal fry is minimally a part of routine speaking patterns, the continued use of such a pattern makes it non-utilitarian or pathological. [1]

Pathé news reel where the speaker uses vocal fry termination (1932).

During the 20th century, vocal fry in English was most commonly associated to intonational falls produced by male speakers of RP (Received Pronunciation). [4] Notable examples are the movie characters James Bond as played by Sean Connery, and Shere Khan, voiced by actor George Sanders who turned creaky voice into his trademark.

Some evidence exists of vocal fry becoming more common in the speech of young female speakers of American English in the early 21st century, [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] but its frequency's extent and significance are disputed. [10] [11] Researcher Ikuko Patricia Yuasa suggests that the tendency is a product of young women trying to infuse their speech with gravitas by means of reaching for the male register and found that "college-age Americans ... perceive female creaky voice as hesitant, nonaggressive, and informal but also educated, urban-oriented, and upwardly mobile." [5]

In native speakers of American English, young women use vocal fry more frequently than men. When asked to read a passage, female speakers used vocal fry at a rate four times higher than male speakers. [12]

Creaky voice is frequent in a number of languages, including Finnish, where it serves as a cue for phrase-boundaries and turn-taking. [13] Some languages, such as Jalapa Mazatec, use vocal fry (creaky voice) as a linguistically significant marker; the presence or absence of vocal fry can then change the meaning of a word. [14]

Social implications

Some people seek out the help of speech pathologists as they feel vocal fry makes them appear unsure and less confident. [15]

A study published in 2014 found that speech with vocal fry was perceived more negatively than a voice without vocal fry, particularly in a labor market context. Young adult women using vocal fry were perceived as sounding "less competent, less educated, less trustworthy, less attractive, and less hirable". [16] The negative evaluation was stronger when the evaluator was also a woman. [17] A limitation of the study was that the vocal fry samples were produced by imitators rather than natural vocal fry speakers. The study was criticised by the linguist Rusty Barrett as the recordings used as stimuli were of participants imitating vocal fry, rather than of speakers who use it in their normal speaking voice. [18] That suggests that more research is needed, as the negative reaction could be attributable to other factors. [16] [19] Some have argued that negative perceptions are part of a broad attack on women's speech, [15] noting how male voices with vocal fry carry different, and sometimes opposite, connotations. [20]

In Finnish language, creaky voice is an integrated part of the pronunciation and is used regardless of gender. A study from Finland showed that the absence of voice fry in spoken Finnish was perceived as the speaker being less fluent. [13]

In singing

The croaking sound produced by male singers at the start of phrases in American country music is produced by moving from this to the modal register. Within choral music, when true basses are not available, choirs often rely on singers who can "fry" the low bass notes.[ citation needed ] Singers such as Tim Storms, [21] Mike Holcomb and various other gospel basses use this technique to sing very low tones.[ citation needed ] Some styles of folk singing showcase the vocal fry register in the female voice. Vocal fry is also used in metal music, usually in combination with air from the diaphragm,[ citation needed ] in order to create a "growl" or "scream", which sounds aggressive and harsh. [22]

The chief use of the vocal fry register in singing is to obtain pitches of very low frequency, which are not available to the singer in the modal register. The physiological production of the vocal fry register may be extended up into the modal register. In some cases, vocal pedagogues have found the use of vocal fry therapeutically helpful to students who have trouble producing lower notes. Singers often lose their low notes or never learn to produce them because of the excessive tension of the laryngeal muscles and of the support mechanism that leads to too much breath pressure. [1] [2]

Some throat singing styles such as kargyra, which includes overtone singing, use vocal techniques similar to vocal fry. [23] [ better source needed ]

The vocal fry register – either singing or speaking – is commonly employed by many female celebrities of the 21st century: including Ariana Grande, Britney Spears, Emma Stone, Katy Perry, Kesha, Kim Kardashian, and Lady Gaga. [24]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Also known as pulse register, laryngealization, pulse phonation, creaky voice, creak, croak, popcorning, glottal fry, glottal rattle, glottal scrape, and comfortable voice register.

Related Research Articles

In linguistics, creaky voice refers to a low, scratchy sound that occupies the vocal range below the common vocal register. It is a special kind of phonation in which the arytenoid cartilages in the larynx are drawn together; as a result, the vocal folds are compressed rather tightly, becoming relatively slack and compact. They normally vibrate irregularly at 20–50 pulses per second, about two octaves below the frequency of modal voicing, and the airflow through the glottis is very slow. Although creaky voice may occur with very low pitch, as at the end of a long intonation unit, it can also occur with a higher pitch. All contribute to make a speaker's voice sound creaky or raspy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Formant</span> Spectrum of phonetic resonance in speech production, or its peak

In speech science and phonetics, a formant is the broad spectral maximum that results from an acoustic resonance of the human vocal tract. In acoustics, a formant is usually defined as a broad peak, or local maximum, in the spectrum. For harmonic sounds, with this definition, the formant frequency is sometimes taken as that of the harmonic that is most augmented by a resonance. The difference between these two definitions resides in whether "formants" characterise the production mechanisms of a sound or the produced sound itself. In practice, the frequency of a spectral peak differs slightly from the associated resonance frequency, except when, by luck, harmonics are aligned with the resonance frequency, or when the sound source is mostly non-harmonic, as in whispering and vocal fry.

Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds or, in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians. The field of phonetics is traditionally divided into three sub-disciplines on questions involved such as how humans plan and execute movements to produce speech, how various movements affect the properties of the resulting sound or how humans convert sound waves to linguistic information. Traditionally, the minimal linguistic unit of phonetics is the phone—a speech sound in a language which differs from the phonological unit of phoneme; the phoneme is an abstract categorization of phones and it is also defined as the smallest unit that discerns meaning between sounds in any given language.

The term phonation has slightly different meanings depending on the subfield of phonetics. Among some phoneticians, phonation is the process by which the vocal folds produce certain sounds through quasi-periodic vibration. This is the definition used among those who study laryngeal anatomy and physiology and speech production in general. Phoneticians in other subfields, such as linguistic phonetics, call this process voicing, and use the term phonation to refer to any oscillatory state of any part of the larynx that modifies the airstream, of which voicing is just one example. Voiceless and supra-glottal phonations are included under this definition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human voice</span> Sound made by a human being using the vocal tract

The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary sound source.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Singing</span> Act of producing musical sounds with the voice

Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singing as the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. Other common definitions include "the utterance of words or sounds in tuneful succession" or "the production of musical tones by means of the human voice".

Vocal cord nodules are bilaterally symmetrical benign white masses that form at the midpoint of the vocal folds. Although diagnosis involves a physical examination of the head and neck, as well as perceptual voice measures, visualization of the vocal nodules via laryngeal endoscopy remains the primary diagnostic method. Vocal fold nodules interfere with the vibratory characteristics of the vocal folds by increasing the mass of the vocal folds and changing the configuration of the vocal fold closure pattern. Due to these changes, the quality of the voice may be affected. As such, the major perceptual signs of vocal fold nodules include vocal hoarseness and breathiness. Other common symptoms include vocal fatigue, soreness or pain lateral to the larynx, and reduced frequency and intensity range. Airflow levels during speech may also be increased. Vocal fold nodules are thought to be the result of vocal fold tissue trauma caused by excessive mechanical stress, including repeated or chronic vocal overuse, abuse, or misuse. Predisposing factors include profession, gender, dehydration, respiratory infection, and other inflammatory factors.

Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave.

Head voice is a term used within vocal music. The use of this term varies widely within vocal pedagogical circles and there is currently no one consistent opinion among vocal music professionals in regard to this term. Head voice can be used in relation to the following:

Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of study within linguistics, phonetics, and speech-language pathology, particularly in relation to the study of tonal languages and certain types of vocal disorders, although it has little practical application in terms of speech.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kulning</span> Scandinavian herding calls

Kulning, also known as the Nordic herding call, refers to high-pitched herding calls that were developed centuries ago in Norway and Sweden. Different regions have different names for these calls, such as kauka, lålla, kula, kulokk, and lockrop. These calls are part of Scandinavian herding music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vocal register</span> Range of tones a certain voice type can reliably produce

A vocal register is a range of tones in the human voice produced by a particular vibratory pattern of the vocal folds. These registers include modal voice, vocal fry, falsetto, and the whistle register. Registers originate in laryngeal function. They occur because the vocal folds are capable of producing several different vibratory patterns. Each of these vibratory patterns appears within a particular range of pitches and produces certain characteristic sounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belting (music)</span> Singing technique

Belting is a specific technique of singing by which a singer carries their chest voice above their break or passaggio with a proportion of head voice. Belting is sometimes described as "high chest voice" or "mixed voice", although if this is done incorrectly, it can potentially be damaging for the voice. It is often described as a vocal register, although this is also technically incorrect; it is rather a descriptive term for the use of a register.

Chest voice is a term used within vocal music. The use of this term varies widely within vocal pedagogical circles. There is no consistent opinion among vocal music professionals regarding the term. Chest voice can be used in relation to:

A voice type is a classification of the human singing voice into perceivable categories or groups. Particular human singing voices are identified as having certain qualities or characteristics of vocal range, vocal weight, tessitura, vocal timbre, and vocal transition points (passaggio), such as breaks and lifts within the voice. Other considerations are physical characteristics, speech level, scientific testing, and vocal register. A singer's voice type is identified by a process known as voice classification, by which the human voice is evaluated and thereby designated into a particular voice type. The discipline of voice classification developed within European classical music and is not generally applicable to other forms of singing. Voice classification is often used within opera to associate possible roles with potential voices. Several different voice classification systems are available to identify voice types, including the German Fach system and the choral music system among many others; no system is universally applied or accepted.

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Puberphonia is a functional voice disorder that is characterized by the habitual use of a high-pitched voice after puberty, hence why many refer to the disorder as resulting in a 'falsetto' voice. The voice may also be heard as breathy, rough, and lacking in power. The onset of puberphonia usually occurs in adolescence, between the ages of 11 and 15 years, at the same time as changes related to puberty are occurring. This disorder usually occurs in the absence of other communication disorders.

Vocal resonance may be defined as "the process by which the basic product of phonation is enhanced in timbre and/or intensity by the air-filled cavities through which it passes on its way to the outside air." Throughout the vocal literature, various terms related to resonation are used, including: amplification, filtering, enrichment, enlargement, improvement, intensification, and prolongation. Acoustic authorities would question many of these terms from a strictly scientific perspective. However, the main point to be drawn from these terms by a singer or speaker is that the result of resonation is to make a better sound, or at least suitable to a certain esthetical and practical domain.

Modal voice is the vocal register used most frequently in speech and singing in most languages. It is also the term used in linguistics for the most common phonation of vowels. The term "modal" refers to the resonant mode of vocal folds; that is, the optimal combination of airflow and glottal tension that yields maximum vibration.

In vocal music, the term voce faringea describes a historical singing practice developed and used especially by the bel canto tenors of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century to extend the upper range of the voice by modifying the falsetto, which is typically heard as a weak or feminine sound, into a vocal quality that is more tenoral and powerful.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 McKinney, James (1994). The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults. Waveland Press. ISBN   1-57766-403-5.[ page needed ]
  2. 1 2 Greene, Margaret; Mathieson, Lesley (2001). The Voice and its Disorders. ISBN   978-1861-56196-1.[ page needed ]
  3. ↑ Cooper, Morton (1973). Modern Techniques of Vocal Rehabilitation
  4. ↑ Lindsey, Geoff (February 2, 2012) https://www.englishspeechservices.com/blog/britney-pitney-and-vocal-fry/
  5. 1 2 Yuasa, I. P. (2010). "Creaky Voice: A New Feminine Voice Quality for Young Urban-Oriented Upwardly Mobile American Women?". American Speech. 85 (3): 315–37. doi:10.1215/00031283-2010-018.
  6. ↑ Wolk, Lesley; Abdelli-Beruh, Nassima B.; Slavin, Dianne (2012). "Habitual Use of Vocal Fry in Young Adult Female Speakers". Journal of Voice. 26 (3): e111–6. doi:10.1016/j.jvoice.2011.04.007. PMID   21917418.
  7. ↑ Marissa Fessende (December 9, 2011). "'Vocal Fry' Creeping Into U.S. Speech". Science Now. American Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Get Your Creak On: Is 'Vocal Fry' a Female Fad?". Time. December 15, 2011.
  9. ↑ Vuolo, Mike (2013-01-02). "Vocal fry or creaky voice in young American women, on Lexicon Valley". Slate. Retrieved 2015-07-28.
  10. ↑ Rebecca Greenfield (December 12, 2011). "Vocal Fry Isn't Just for College Girls". The Atlantic Wire. The Atlantic. Archived from the original on January 2, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
  11. ↑ Veronique Greenwood (December 13, 2011). "The Linguistic Phenomenon Du Jour: Vocal Fry". Discover. Archived from the original on January 8, 2012. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
  12. ↑ Abdelli-Beruh, Nassima B.; Wolk, Lesley; Slavin, Dianne (March 2014). "Prevalence of Vocal Fry in Young Adult Male American English Speakers". Journal of Voice. 28 (2): 185–190. doi:10.1016/j.jvoice.2013.08.011. PMID   24315658.
  13. 1 2 "Creaky voice and utterance fluency measures in predicting perceived fluency and oral proficiency of spontaneous L2 Finnish".
  14. ↑ Ashby, Michael; Maidment, John A. (2005). Introducing Phonetic Science. Cambridge University Press. p. 98. ISBN   978-0-521-00496-1 . Retrieved 30 June 2012.
  15. 1 2 "From Upspeak To Vocal Fry: Are We 'Policing' Young Women's Voices?". NPR. 23 July 2015.
  16. 1 2 Anderson, Rindy C.; Klofstad, Casey A.; Mayew, William J.; Venkatachalam, Mohan (28 May 2014). "Vocal Fry May Undermine the Success of Young Women in the Labor Market". PLOS ONE. 9 (5): e97506. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...997506A. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0097506 . PMC   4037169 . PMID   24870387.
  17. ↑ "Employers look down on women with vocal fry" The Atlantic, May 29, 2014
  18. ↑ Barrett, Rusty (2021). "You don't even try to understand!: Interdisciplinarity in language and gender studies". Crossing Borders, Making Connections: Interdisciplinarity in Linguistics. De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 63–64. doi:10.1515/9781501514371-006. ISBN   9781501514371.
  19. ↑ Sterbenz, Christina (August 12, 2014). "The Truth About 'Vocal Fry' — The Speech Trend That's Supposedly Hurting Your Chances Of Getting Hired". Business Insider. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  20. ↑ Lindsey, Geoff (February 2, 2012). "Britney, Pitney and vocal fry".
  21. ↑ Scott, Elfy (April 4, 2017). "Heard of Vocal Fry? The phenomenon is taking pop culture by storm and it's not going anywhere". Happy Mag. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  22. ↑ Large, John (February–March 1972). "Towards an Integrated Physiologic-Acoustic Theory of Vocal Registers". The NATS Bulletin. 28: 18–36.
  23. ↑ "The Throat singers of Tuva". Archived July 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  24. ↑ "11 Most Popular Vocal Fry Celebrities [+ How to Sound Like Them]". A VO's Journey. August 17, 2023.

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