http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/05/employers-look-down-on-women-with-vocal-fry/371811/
Recent studies have shown that the way you speak can actually be hurting your voice, and also your ability to being hired.
As a music student, vocal fry is probably the worst thing you can do for your voice. You should always be speaking at the natural timbre of your voice. Meaning, not anywhere below, and not forcing your voice too high. If you follow the link above, you can read this small article all about the studies they have done and even listen to participants speaking in the regular timbre of their voice, and when they "fry" it, making it sound crackly.
Vocal Fry is something that happens usually at the end of the sentence you are saying due to the lack of air in your lungs. Once this air runs out, your vocal chords aren't receiving the air needed to continue through the vocal chords to make a clear sound. It's the same with singing. If you don't have enough breath support to push all your air out to sing a phrase, you either are breathy or cannot finish singing that phrase. But who ever knew that talking in vocal fry could impact you getting a job? We've all met those ditsy girls who talk like babies and laugh like it's fake, but little do they know that talking like that can lead to serious vocal health such as vocal nodules. Little cyst like bumps on the strings of your vocal chords that hurt, and if not treated can lead to complete voice loss and/or surgery. This article is a must read for when you are doing job interviews for future employers!
Thanks for sharing, Lindsey! I found this very interesting. I have never heard of the term vocal fry before reading your review. I also read the article that you reviewed because I was so intrigued. I am still a bit confused, however. Do people knowingly do this vocal fry to their voices or is it a subconscious thing? Also, how exactly does it have a negative impact on a person's vocal chords? Thanks again for posting this!
ReplyDeletePeople very often have no idea that they are "frying" their vocal chords. Many women believe that speaking in a more desirable way towards men, (i.e. speaking in a high-pitched voice, trailing off with their voice where the breath is no longer supported), can lead to either losing your voice, constantly having a raspy speaking voice, or vocal nodules. Thanks for the comment!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting read. I have not heard of vocal fry before either, but it makes sense. I have been in musical theater all my life, so I know the importance of having enough breath support when you're singing. I actually know a girl who purposely speaks in a higher-pitched voice, and I think she is so used to it now she doesn't know how to talk normally anymore. I wonder if she will eventually get vocal nodules. I have had a few friends who had to have surgery for nodules, which is not good. It is important to take care of your voice and use in properly. Thanks for sharing this information, I learned something new today!
ReplyDeleteThis is so interesting. I have never heard about vocal fry, but it totally makes sense. This can come in handy for a lot of people out there. Great job!
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting thing to think about! I have never heard of vocal fry before. Thanks for sharing :) !
ReplyDeleteWow, I never even knew what this was before! I am a lover of music and wish I could sing better so I don't think I will have to worry about this :) cool post!
ReplyDeleteWe actually looked at vocal fry in my Linguistics class this year, and it was really interesting to see how this has become it's own dialect of English in the United States. The article was a great addition to the information I had already read.
ReplyDeleteWow! This was a very interesting read! I have been involved in music since kindergarten. The article was very informative and interesting! Thank you!
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