What are Subharmonics?

SR2: Subharmonics allow the user to sing an octave lower by: balancing a sung note and slowly “feathering” the voice into vocal fry, using kargyraa which combines the use of the false folds and normal folds, OR using a vocal growl which activates the false folds. There are three categories of vocal fry: compressed (no pitch, weak, unstable), supported (thin, bright, some pitch issues, stable), and open (full, bright, stability issues). Vocal subharmonics, unless specified, will generally refer to the open vocal fry sound which sounds the closest to full voice due to similar harmonics and function.

 

What are subharmonics?

Well, if you do a quick search on subharmonics, you will find several definitions depending on the application. As it applies to the voice, a subharmonic is one or several harmonics created below the fundamental harmonic where the fundamental is perceived to be lower with the original tone in place^[1]. The label “subharmonic” or “subharmonics” does not refer to a type of register or specific vocal technique; rather, it is the result of the vocal technique.

In this video you will hear and see subharmonics as demonstrated by Logic Pro‘s Test Oscillator plug-in. Notes are set as A0 at 55Hz, A1 at 110Hz, and E2 at 164.8Hz. (Caution: I recommend using good speakers or headphones, but be careful since this video may get very loud!)

 

You can get the full description/analysis on the Youtube site.

As seen in the video above, the subharmonic is generated when two notes with the correct frequencies interact or periodically “connect” with each other. This simply means that subharmonics can be generated when the two notes are coming from the same source and place (or as close as possible so that the receiver/listener perceives it as only one wave of sound).

 

There are three distinct techniques (each with their own merits and uses) that create subharmonics: vocal fry, kargyraa, and growl^[2]. Kargyraa and vocal growl will have their own post eventually, but let us dig a little deeper into vocal fry. I will, however, divide vocal fry into three states: compressed, supported, and open.

 

A compressed vocal fry is often used by many people in terms of speech, typically at the trail end of each spoken phrase (think Bill Clinton, Elmer Fudd, Kim Kardashian, etc.). Some use it judiciously while others use it without even realizing it. Regardless of the user, there is no support or breath pressure because the folds are fully adduct but are also thick, short, and slack – proper phonation is no longer possible at this point because the voice is squeezed tight and pressed down. The only way for someone to create sound in this predicament is to allow puffs of air to push through the folds which in turn causes them to “bubble” through (thus the term “vocal fry” since it sounds like frying bacon). The sound is thin, weak with little to no lower support, and no actual pitch can be identified. There are many “pros and cons” for vocal fry as well as those who are “for or against” it, but we will save that for a later time. 😀

 

(This is what compressed vocal fry sounds like… definitely not useful in singing; maybe useful as a warm-up, though. Great video and information!)

A supported vocal fry sounds thin in comparison to full voice and tends to have a lot of rattle with some instability in pitch; nonetheless, it usually does not suffer from the dreaded “vocal break” like falsetto or open vocal fry. The sound feels as if it is centered around the mouth area with a lot of resonance in the suprasternal notch (area between the throat and collar-bone).

Surprisingly, when I was a teen, I was able to do this very well and it felt as if I were in full voice the entire time. Male voices that changed from puberty can use this technique easier and incorporate it seamlessly with their developing modal register to extend it down. (In my experience, I “lost” the sensation of this lower register as my voice continued to develop and rediscovered it later on in my career).

Sometimes it is hard to tell, but you can normally hear it because the voice gets very thin with rattle but doesn’t get softer either; the pitch is may or may not be unstable. A properly supported fry can be heard even within a choral context. This type of sound, with proper training, time, and care can eventually develop into a thicker, full voice sound.

 

(Here I am using three modes of phonation: full voice, supported fry, and open fry).

 

An open vocal fry (the subharmonics I use) is where the user is able to sustain both full voice and a supported vocal fry at the same time. Technically, one fold vibrates at one frequency and the other vibrates a perfect fifth above, creating the subharmonic^[3]. (The other forms of vocal fry do not necessarily create subharmonics and act more like a detuned guitar string instead to reach lower notes.) In order to produce the desired note, one must sing up the octave when using an open vocal fry. It is the “subharmonic singing” sound that you may have heard of before online (do a quick YouTube search).

Notice that it sounds very similar to full voice, but with a different color. It also sounds as if I have increased the harmonics in my voice. Some people have referred to this sound as strohbass and others would call it a loud fry; technically speaking, both are correct since strohbass refers to the crackling sound that straws make and “loud fry” refers to the volume and the quality of frying bacon for the voice (actually, a loud fry is half right, because I am also using full voice).

 

 

So there you have it. Subharmonics are harmonics below the fundamental and can be created with instruments, electronics, the voice, or anything that makes sound. It does have to come from the same source, space, and time (or be very close) with the correct waves periodically interacting with each other in order for someone to hear it. I am not here to define terminology or create issues regarding proper labels, but I do hope that you would consider the differences between techniques and the quality of sound that is created from them before automatically assuming which register a person uses. One would also hope that people will be able to connect the sounds to the correct terms and not just how the sound feels within the context of their own voices.

In reality, we should not focus on the register or type of voice. Instead, does it sound great? Is it healthy? Can it be taught? Is it competent in the vocal market (does it work with different styles and ensembles)? It is my job to make sure the answer to those questions is a definitive YES.

Though “subharmonic” is an overarching term for all listed techniques below the modal register, I will be referring to the open vocal fry sound when I use the term subharmonics (unless I clarify).

 

What do you know about subharmonics? Please share in the comments below.

 

Next post to follow – How to Sing Subharmonics. Stay tuned!

 

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References

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1, 2     Imagawa, K., Kimura, H., Tokuda, M., & Tayama, I. (2007, September 2). Observation of Subharmonic Voices.

                    Retrieved November 21, 2015, from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.500.4574&rep=rep1&type=pdf

3         Svec J. G., Schutte H. K., Miller D. G. (1996). Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 39(1):135-43.

                    A Subharmonic Vibratory Pattern in Normal Folds. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.