Extended vocal technique

Vocalists are capable of producing a variety of extended technique sounds. These alternative singing techniques have been used extensively in the 20th century, especially in art song and opera. Particularly famous examples of extended vocal technique can be found in the music of Luciano Berio, John Cage, George Crumb, Peter Maxwell Davies, Hans Werner Henze, György Ligeti, Demetrio Stratos, Meredith Monk, Giacinto Scelsi, Arnold Schoenberg, Salvatore Sciarrino, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Tim Foust, Avi Kaplan, and Trevor Wishart.

Timbral techniques

Phrasing

Spoken

Spoken text is frequently employed. The Italian term "parlato" has a similar meaning.

Rapping

Sprechgesang

Sprechgesang is a combination singing and speaking. It is usually heavily associated with Arnold Schoenberg (particularly his Pierrot Lunaire which uses sprechgesang for its entire duration) and the Second Viennese School. Schoenberg notated sprechgesang by placing a small cross through the stem of a note which indicates approximate pitch. In more modern music “sprechgesang” is frequently simply written over a passage of music.

Inhaling

Singing is produced while a singer is inhaling. It is used in experimental contemporary classical compositions, such as in the 2006 chamber opera Ursularia by Nicholas DeMaison, for its ability to produce a variety of extreme high and low pitches impossible to create in typical exhaled vocals.^[1] In popular music styles, ingressive singing can be combined with vocal distortion techniques for extreme metal vocals like death metal growls. In beatboxing, it is used to create certain percussion sounds (like the "inward K snare"). A careful mixture of ingressive and egressive sounds allows a beatboxer to sustain a rhythmic phrase indefinitely without needing to pause for breath.^[2]

Pitch

Falsetto

A vocal technique allowing the singer to sing notes higher than their modal vocal range.

Glottal sounds

A "frying"-type sound may be produced by means of the glottis. This technique has been frequently used by Meredith Monk.

Yodelling

Yodelling is performed by rapidly alternating between a singer's chest and head voice.

Ululation

A long, wavering, high-pitched vocal sound resembling a howl with a trilling quality. It is produced by emitting a high-pitched loud voice accompanied with a rapid back-and-forth movement of the tongue and the uvula. Ululation is practiced in certain styles of singing, as well as in communal ritual events, used to express strong emotion.

Squeaking

The thyrohyoid muscle can be tensed when speaking to shorten the vocal cords, allowing the use of an extremely high pitch but with a different timbre and resonance compared to a typical falsetto. This technique was originated and named by the rapper 645AR.^[3]^[4]

Reverberation

Vocal tremolo

A vocal tremolo is performed by rapidly pulsing the air expelled from the singer's lungs while singing a pitch. These pulses usually occur from 4–8 times per second.^{[citation needed]}

Vocal trill

A vocal trill is performed by adding singing vibrato while performing a vocal tremolo.^{[clarification needed]}

Rekuhkara

Harmonics

Overtones

By manipulating the vocal cavity, overtones may be produced.^[5] Although used in the traditional music of Mongolia, Tuva, and Tibet, overtones have also been used in the contemporary compositions of Karlheinz Stockhausen (Stimmung),^[6] as well as in the work of David Hykes.^[7]

Undertones

By carefully controlling the configurations of the vocal cords, a singer may obtain "undertones" which may produce period doubling, tripling or a higher degree of multiplication;^{[citation needed]} this may give rise to tones that fairly coincide with those of an inverse harmonic series. Although the octave below is the most frequently used undertone, a twelfth below and other lower undertones are also possible. This technique has been used most notably by Joan La Barbara.[1].However, undertones may be generated by processes that include more than the vocal folds.^{[citation needed]} For instance, the ventricular folds (also called the false vocal folds) may be recruited, probably by solely aerodynamic forces, and made to vibrate with the vocal folds, generating undertones, like those found, for instance, in Tibetan low-pitched chant.^{[citation needed]}

Multiphonics

By overstressing or by asymmetrically contracting the laryngeal muscles, a multiphonic or chord may be produced.^{[citation needed]} This technique features in the 1968 composition Versuch über Schweine by the German composer Hans Werner Henze. In voice pathology, there are various descriptions of somewhat similar effects, such as those found in patients with diplophonia, a condition that produces a "double voice", i.e., two or even more simultaneous pitches.^{[citation needed]}

Distortion

Screaming

Growling

Buccal speech

A form of alaryngeal speech that has a high pitch that can be used for speaking and singing. It is most familiar as the voice of Donald Duck.

Non-vocal sounds

Besides producing sounds with the mouth, singers can be required to clap or snap their fingers, shuffle their feet, or slap their body. This is usually notated by writing the appropriate word over a note. These gestures are sometimes written on a separate one-line staff as well.^{[citation needed]}

Artificial timbral changes

Inhalation of gases

Inhaled helium is occasionally used to drastically change the timbre of the voice. When inhaled, helium changes the resonant properties of the human vocal track resulting in a very high squeaky voice. In Salvatore Martirano's composition L’s GA the singer is required to inhale from a helium mask.

Conversely, an unnaturally low voice may be achieved by asking the singer to inhale sulfur hexafluoride. This technique carries higher risk than helium inhalation due to the gas's heavy weight causing it to settle in the lungs, where it displaces oxygen.^[8]

During the production of the album Eternal Atake 2, the rapper Lil Uzi Vert was recorded in the studio inhaling a gas that appeared to be nitrous oxide, an anesthetic that is used recreationally and that creates an unnaturally deep voice when inhaled.^[9] The album heavily uses low-pitched vocals which sound identical to the effects of nitrous oxide on the voice^[10], though it is unconfirmed if these were created by inhaling gas, or through digital manipulation to give a similar effect.

Artificial vocal enhancement

Amplification, such as microphone or even megaphone, possibly with electronic distortion of the voice, is frequently used in contemporary composition. Through the use of various electronic distortion techniques, vocal enhancement possibilities are nearly unlimited. A good example of this technique can be found in much of the music written and performed by Laurie Anderson.

Since its invention in the 1990s, Auto-Tune and other digital pitch correction methods have been widely used in commercial music genres to create expressive effects, popularized by artists in many genres including the pop singer Cher, the R&B singer T-Pain, and the hip-hop artist Future. Contemporary raï and Berber folk music, which historically placed emphasis on glissando, embraced Auto-Tune to enhance the beauty of vocals^[11].

Singing into the piano

There are a number of pieces which require a singer to lean over a (sometimes amplified) piano and sing directly into the strings. If the strings are not damped, the effect is to start audible sympathetic vibrations in the piano. By far the most famous piece to use this technique is Ancient Voices of Children by George Crumb.^{[citation needed]}

Notable performers using extended vocal techniques

References

^ DeBoer, Amanda R. (2012). Ingressive Phonation in Contemporary Vocal Music (Thesis). Bowling Green State University.
^ "Blumenfeld & Blaylock - Beatboxing Airstreams". reedblaylock.com. Retrieved 2025-05-20.
^ Muggs, Joe (2021-06-08). "'This sounds like a human synthesiser': the evolution of rap, one verse at a time". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-05-20.
^ "Gather 'round, children, for it's time to learn about "squeak rap"". AV Club. Retrieved 2025-05-20.
^ David Pariser and Enid Zimmerman, "Learning in the Visual Arts: Characteristics of Gifted and Talented Individuals," in Handbook of Research and Policy in Art Education, edited by Elliot W. Eisner and Michael D. Day (Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004): 388. ISBN 978-0-8058-4972-1.
^ Gregory Rose and Simon Emmerson, "Stockhausen 1: Stimmung". Contact, no. 20 (Autumn 1979): 20–25, citation on 20.
^ Charles Madden, Fractals in Music: Introductory Mathematics for Musical Analysis, InMusic (Salt Lake City, Utah), no. 1 (Salt Lake City: High Art Press, 1999): 85–89, 95. ISBN 978-0-9671727-5-0.
^ "Sulfur Hexafluoride". Hazardous Substances Data Bank. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
^ Cummings-Grady, Mackenzie Cummings-GradyMackenzie (2024-08-27). "Video Shows Lil Uzi Vert Inhaling Balloon Allegedly Filled With Nitrous Oxide". XXL Mag. Retrieved 2025-05-20.
^ Attard, Paul (2024-11-05). "Lil Uzi Vert 'Eternal Atake 2' Review: Microwaved Leftovers". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2025-05-20.
^ Clayton, Jace (2009-05-05). "Pitch Perfect". Frieze. No. 123. ISSN 0962-0672. Retrieved 2025-05-20.

Blatter, Alfred (1980). Instrumentation/Orchestration. New York: Schirmer Books.
Read, Gardner (1969). Music Notation. 2nd ed. Boston: Crescendo Publishing Co.
Edgerton, Michael Edward (2005). The 21st-Century Voice: Contemporary and Traditional Extra-Normal Voice. Lanham: Scarecrow Press.- ISBN 978-0-8108-5354-6
Fuks, Leonardo; Hammarberg, Britta; Sundberg, John (1998): "A self-sustained vocal-ventricular phonation mode: acoustical, aerodynamic and glottographic evidences", KTH TMH-QPSR 3/1998, 49–59, Stockholm

External links

Listening

Vox Humana: Alfred Wolfsohn's Experiments in Extension of Human Vocal Range (Folkways Records, 1956)
Lexicon of Extended Vocal Techniques^{[permanent dead link]}
Lexicon of Extended Vocal Techniques([by Arthur Kegerreis])

[[Category:Singing techniques|Extended vocal]

[1] DeBoer, Amanda R. (2012). Ingressive Phonation in Contemporary Vocal Music (Thesis). Bowling Green State University.

[2] "Blumenfeld & Blaylock - Beatboxing Airstreams". reedblaylock.com. Retrieved 2025-05-20.

[3] Muggs, Joe (2021-06-08). "'This sounds like a human synthesiser': the evolution of rap, one verse at a time". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-05-20.

[4] "Gather 'round, children, for it's time to learn about "squeak rap"". AV Club. Retrieved 2025-05-20.

[5] David Pariser and Enid Zimmerman, "Learning in the Visual Arts: Characteristics of Gifted and Talented Individuals," in Handbook of Research and Policy in Art Education, edited by Elliot W. Eisner and Michael D. Day (Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004): 388. ISBN 978-0-8058-4972-1.

[6] Gregory Rose and Simon Emmerson, "Stockhausen 1: Stimmung". Contact, no. 20 (Autumn 1979): 20–25, citation on 20.

[7] Charles Madden, Fractals in Music: Introductory Mathematics for Musical Analysis, InMusic (Salt Lake City, Utah), no. 1 (Salt Lake City: High Art Press, 1999): 85–89, 95. ISBN 978-0-9671727-5-0.

[8] "Sulfur Hexafluoride". Hazardous Substances Data Bank. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 26 March 2013.

[9] Cummings-Grady, Mackenzie Cummings-GradyMackenzie (2024-08-27). "Video Shows Lil Uzi Vert Inhaling Balloon Allegedly Filled With Nitrous Oxide". XXL Mag. Retrieved 2025-05-20.

[10] Attard, Paul (2024-11-05). "Lil Uzi Vert 'Eternal Atake 2' Review: Microwaved Leftovers". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2025-05-20.

[11] Clayton, Jace (2009-05-05). "Pitch Perfect". Frieze. No. 123. ISSN 0962-0672. Retrieved 2025-05-20.

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v t e Musical techniques
General	Articulation Bowing Damping Double stop Extended technique Fingering Finger substitution Finger vibrato Glissando Harmonics Intonation Multiphonic Phrasing Pizzicato Position Slapping Slide Stopped note Thumb position Tremolo Vibrato
Wind instruments	Saxophone technique Circular breathing Embouchure Flutter-tonguing Growling Harmonica technique Overblowing Slap tonguing Split tone Tonguing
Piano	Piano extended techniques Finger tapping Luthéal Three-hand technique Prepared piano String piano Tack piano
Bowed string instruments	Bowed string instrument extended technique Violin technique Cello technique Bariolage Pizzicato Bartók pizz. Col legno Free bowing Martelé Spiccato Two bows
Guitar	Downpicking Fingerstyle Flatpicking Picking Hybrid picking String bending Tambour Third bridge Prepared guitar
Harp	Prepared harp
Percussion	Snare drum technique Burton grip Cymbal choke Drum roll Stevens grip Rimshot
Human voice	Extended vocal technique Beatboxing Death growl Overtone singing Screaming Sprechgesang
Related articles	Étude
Category:Musical performance techniques