Vocal Fry Register in Singing
The vocal fry register is more widely used in singing than might at first seem apparent. Within the bass part of gospel quartet singing the practice is quite common. The croaking sound produced by male singers at the start of phrases in American country music is produced by moving from this mode to the normal voice. Additionally some Russian Anthems contain bass lines within the vocal-fry register. Within choral music, when true basses are not available, choirs often rely on singers who can "fry" the low bass notes. Women are not usually required to sing in the vocal fry register, but are capable of doing so. Some styles of folk singing, however, do utilize the vocal fry register in the female voice. Vocal fry is also used in metal music, usually in combination with air from the diaphragm, in order to create a "growl" or "scream" which sounds aggressive and harsh.
The chief use of the vocal fry register in singing, then, is to obtain pitches of very low frequency which are not available to the singer in the modal register. Although the physiological production of the vocal fry register may be extended up into the modal register, most vocal pedagogues discourage such practices, as it may cause damage to the vocal cords. Also, many voice teachers discourage singers from using the vocal fry register frequently, as it may cause the singer to lose some of the upper notes in 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.
Some overtone singing styles such as kargyraa use vocal techniques similar to vocal fry.
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