False Cord Function

[K. Mc]

Interestingly enough, I got into a discussion about false cord function with David L. Jones of www.voiceteacher.com about this "false cord function" and have been mind boggled about the concept. I was told that it is often used in metal and rock music to pitch "death growls" and "death screams," and parson my terminology if those are incorrect. I admittedly know nothing about rock music or metal, nor would I ever claim to.

 

That said, knowing that there are several rock aficionados here, I was curious if anyone is familiar with this false cord function and just exactly how it operates?

[Felipe Carvalho]

I am sorry for the perhaps oversimplified explanation, but you constrict them, and they produce noise:

https://app.box.com/s/zalbo07na1x54fkwlyr0s9pfdufdzdy1

 

Jens has a really nice video on it, but, I recommend to take care and work it with your teacher just to be safe since there is more than one way to produce distortion and it can lead to damage rather quickly if you do it wrong. Can't find it but I am sure that the word "false fold" will spawn him sooner or later. hehe

[MDEW]

I cannot explain how to use them by I can help you find them. Breathe out heavily but do not make a noise. Now breathe out heavily and allow a noise like the wind blowing or the roar of a croud. When you breath out without any noise your false folds are retracted with noise they are not.  I f you have ever gotten man at someone or something and made a "Huffing" noise like a bull. You have used your false folds. It is more about allowing it to happen than making it happen.

[ronws]

The false folds are a membrane just directly above the true folds and they secrete mucus to lubricate the surface of the folds while the body hydrates from the inside out by means of the water level in your blood.

[Robert Lunte]

9 minutes ago, YouCanSingAnything said:

dont the false cords have some sort of relationship with cvt modes? i have yet to understand how specifically they define modes but ive heard this a few times now

I consider distortion to be one of 8 TVS Physical modes... but it is a bit open ended and open for interpretation I have to admit, because there are many different ways to produce noise in the vocal tract / distortion. None the less, as I see it, given that it does represent a unique laryngeal configuration, why would it not be considered by the same standards as other physical modes or .. Estillian modes?  Estill doesn't recognize distortion unfortunately, but TVS does.

As a point of interest... Estill also does not delineate between twang and quack.. but I do. Quack Vocal Mode is very different then Twang vocal mode... yes, they are related, but the difference in compression and sound color are significant enough that they need to be identified as two different modes and thus, taught differently as well.

CVT has some distortion ideas, but I don't think it has anything to do with their modes.

[Robert Lunte]

Here is one of four vocal distortion tutorials offered in 4Pillars. There are 8 vocal effects lessons in the program... hope you guys will enjoy. This form of distortion has been very useful for me. Probably use this more then any of them.

 

[K. Mc]

I don't think that I would personally use the false cords for the oratorio that I do sing, but, David and I discussed how in some pedagogical circles it is instructed. I find a great deal of CVT to be especially interesting, but at this point I am so encultured operatically that trying to calibrate my voice to do something different is nigh impossible.

My own instructor, Karyn O'Connor informed me that it is largely instructed in rock and metal so as to prevent damage to the actual folds, and I can see that being the case. But other than these "death screams" is there any usage or application for it vocally speaking? Can other pitches be produced with false cord function?

[MDEW]

First I want to point out a danger. I think I damaged the middle register of my voice from making sound with the false vocal folds.

Having said that, pitches can be produced with the false folds alone. Do not do that. They can be used for softening the sound...... adding a little "Heat" to the voice(courtesy of Melissa Cross, teacher/coach/Guru for Screamo type phonations/singers).

    Do not allow them to tighten enough to make true pitches, only use them to regulate airflow, Maybe........

[ronws]

I know I damaged myself trying to engage "false fold distortion." Twice, because I thought I did it wrong the first time. I was trying to engage membranes. But I was a stupid bleeping idiot, about as smart as mud, for trying that, just because I had read of the concept. Also, as a total buffoon. I had not thought about every person being different, may be some people have larger FVF and some have smaller FVF. It's simple now, when you look back upon it and realize yes, ronws, you had reason to envy the brain power of a bag of rocks.

Each time took me about two weeks to recover to some normal function. Meanwhile giving myself a gigantic butt-kicking using language far stronger than what I have cleaned it up to here, to quit doing things like that which are damaging to the voice. There is NO part, and I do mean NO PART of voice training that should leave you without a voice, ever. If it does, then it is wrong. No other choice.

But others swear up and down they are creating sounds with a membrane and I don't have the credentials to argue.

[MDEW]

   Yes people are different........ just look around some body parts between people are of different sizes. Some people can wiggle their ears or curl there tongue and some cannot wiggle ears and their tongue stays flat.

    I could explain how I made the pitches and made melodies but I dare not. Some things are not worth explaining or doing.