A few months ago I started noticing a particular female announcer’s voice on radio and television commercials. She had a pleasant enough voice, but I thought it exhibited a peculiar weakness — in her falling inflections she would routinely drop below the bottom of her tonal register, and her sonorous voice would break momentarily into a pitchless croaking.
Having had a great deal of experience in recording audio for advertising, I was amazed that these defective (to my ear, anyway) voice-over performances had made it onto the air. But once I had noticed this woman, there she was, week after week, reading copy for several different products. (I wish I could remember what they were, so I could dig up a clip for you.) I also started noticing other female announcers who had the same problem.
Well it turns out this is a new fashion trend for the female voice. It has a name, too: it’s called “vocal fry“.
Learn more here.
4 Comments
A male example of vocal fry?
(Vocal fry… that sounds like loquacious baby fish.)
“(Vocal fry… that sounds like loquacious baby fish.)”?
Further research indicates there is an olfactory component frequently attending.
Curiously, the scientists who’ve reported this have had their grant requests denied.
Fry, baby, fry
Turn the stove on high
You’re old enough to eat better
So fry, baby, fry
Seriously? Ugh! I have yet to do a recording session with this kind of nonsense, but I am sure it is just a matter of time before I do.
Ads are riddled with poor grammar, shouting, and jamming way too much info in way too short of a time. Why did someone have to invent a new was to annoy us? The old ways worked just fine!