I am currently paneled for a jury trial in criminal court. A
number of folks have been released on cause, and the voir dire process will continue on Monday. I might get kicked off
the panel, but who knows. Unfortunately, I am the kind of person people of all
stripes and scruples want on a jury… But, this can only be good for the justice
system.
If you have never been part of a jury selection process, I
can tell you that it is one of the most interesting vehicles for people watching. For a vocalist, it is
also an interesting venue for people
hearing.
I do not now teach, but have in the past been a vocal
technique coach for singers, actors and speakers. One of the current topics
that is “trending”, if you will, through the conversations of among voice
teachers has to do with the current phenomenon, found primarily among young
millennial women, called “vocal fry.” As the name indicates, there is a sizzle
that characterizes the sound of the spoken voice. This sizzle produces a very
unattractive sound, as well as an unhealthy habit in vocal production. By
unhealthy, of course I mean vocal production that is destructive to the health
of the vocal cords of the individual.
It has been suggested that this speech pattern exists mainly
among young women. I had ample opportunity to hear for myself, from among those
in the jury room. Here are my primary observations:
·
Of the men, representing a spectrum of ages from
roughly 25 to 70, none at all spoke with vocal fry. Many men of different
ethnicities men had very melodic sounding voices, but even the most flat
sounding voices (mostly from Caucasian males) did not have a sizzle.
·
There has been a respiratory cough going around,
and it was apparent that a few people were recovering from such.
·
Among the women, those most likely to have a
sizzle to their sound were women 65 and older or 35 and younger.
·
The one young woman who did not speak with vocal
fry was a trained actress.
·
Olfactory evidence of cigarette smoke (I am sometimes
burdened by my strong sense of smell…) played a role in the vocal production of
some of the men and women in the courtroom.
These observations led me to the immediate conclusion that “fry”
is due primarily to a lack of vocal support. This might stand to reason among
some older women, but cannot be considered as a pat answer; young women are cultivating this sound, are hearing and imitating
that vocal production. What can this mean?
My further observations drew me to make the following general
observations. (I would be interested in any feedback on these observations.)
·
Many women do not speak with as much diaphragmatic
support as men do.
·
Most of the women speaking with vocal fry were
heavily engaged with their handheld technology, when outside the courtroom
(where all were asked to turn off and stow the gizmos).
·
Most of the women speaking with vocal fry were
professional women with post-graduate degrees; some said they currently supervise
others in their workplaces.
·
I could tell that most of the women speaking
with vocal fry were forcing their voices to be pitched lower is natural to
their voice.
I will now proceed to brainstorm on what I observed.
We live in a society that does not value the spoken word, as
once and time immemorial. I make this brazen assertion because, as the parent
of school aged children, I know for a fact there is not enough public speaking
required of our youth and that it is not actively taught, unless the youth are
involved in drama and singing at school. Of course, every school is different,
but I believe this to be true of many public and private schools. Because we
are being taught to be more technically engaged and distracted consumers of
devices that entertain us, we are less likely to entertain one another, even
with the expedient in “face-time” of the gentle art of conversation. I go into
coffee shops everyday, where groups of people are huddled, but not conversing
with each other. People are more likely to email or text one another than to
speak in person or on the phone. Tone and inflection are, it seems, modes
confrontational, rather than illuminating and inspiring.
When I hear “vocal fry” from women, I wonder why it is
cultivated. There is a sort of jaded sound to it. Is this meant to convey
experience or competence? Often, when used, it seems to convey “attitude” or “entitlement”.
Conversely, (particularly Caucasian) men flatten quite a bit of nuance from
their speech pattern. Here is a leap: Could women be cultivating this sound due
to the stresses of competition in a male dominated workplace? Could it be that
women think this sound lends “authority” to what they say? Could men be
flattening their tone in order to be perceived as less authoritarian?
I certainly hope not. I find the fried sound from women fatiguing
and outright annoying, particularly when hearing it in voice after voice after
voice… I find the flat tone from men uninspiring, if not outright boring.
As for the future of public speaking, this is what I think,
for what it is worth. While there are many celebrities, pundits, sales people,
actors, motivational speakers, advocates and politicians who get into our consciousness
with vivid speech, there are too few examples of average people, in our everyday
interactions, who can and do speak fluidly, articulately and with a full range
of inflection and emotion, when the situation calls for it. (I realize that a
steady diet of that could be overwhelming.) The normative seems to lean toward
men of few words, and women who sound jaded or exhausted. People who are
bilingual can perhaps resonate with this: We are losing the music of spoken
English because we are not exercising it, for some reason or perhaps for
various reasons.
It is a mistake to take public speaking (known formerly as
oration) out of our education, just as it is a mistake to take handwriting out
of our education. Each of these skills is extremely important toward exercising
our creative capacities, as many studies have shown. Reliance on technology to
be our primary medium of communication means that we are, bit by bit, byte by
byte, losing our ability to communicate clearly, effectively and expressively.
I predict that those few who do manage to learn to be
expressive, in their written and vocal communications, will by necessity become
a first generation of modern scribes. Trained singers and actors will continue
to serve that function, existing throughout history, variously known as bard,
troubadour, fool, and prophet.
Meanwhile, ladies, let’s lose the fry… It is an affectation
most unbecoming. Gentlemen, don’t be
afraid to bring color and inflection to your voice… If you need help to
cultivate the natural potential of your voice, there are professionals, like
me, who can help you with that. Impressions are made not appearance alone, but
on how you sound, as well.
Your voice is your
music—a music you carry with you, wherever you go!!! The human voice is a beautiful and expressive instrument,
people!
Voir dire literally means “speak the truth,” and cannot go unsaid that your voice is your unique vehicle
for speaking truth to power. Please, exercise your instrument, take care
of it and, most of all, use it well, in speech and in song! Don’t abuse it; use it, authentically and expressively.
