Some concerned parents brought their child in for a vocal lesson. Their little girl already had a successful vocal career going, and was in the middle of a professional production, but was experiencing some problems. I had her sing for me and found her voice to be breathy and raspy. The parents told me that a coach their daughter had been working with told them that some people's voices are just naturally that way, so they never worried about it. Hmm. I had her do some gentle, targeted vocal exercises that almost always clear a voice up, but I couldn't get her speaking or singing without those sounds. Recognizing the signs, I sent her to Vanderbilt Voice Center in Nashville where they examined her vocal cords, diagnosed serious vocal nodules, and put her on extended voice rest. Her vocal career was stopped in its tracks. I'm not sure what happened to her, because I never heard from her again, which is unfortunate because it is my experience that with time and careful remedial work, vocal damage can usually heal without surgery, and careers can be resumed.

If you have any vocal strain or damage, do not sing or speak with a rasp, vocal fry, or 'gravel' sound. Period. Picture rubbing two wounded emery boards together every time you sing. Wait until the vocal damage and fatigue is completely healed before attempting to create rasp (if ever!).

If you have a raspy voice already and you can't make a conscious choice to speak or sing without it, it's very important to investigate why it sounds that way. For instance, you could have excessive mucous on your vocal cords (folds) due to allergies or dehydration. You could have a degree of irritation or a growth of some kind on your vocal cord(s). You could even have throat cancer. You could be fatiguing or damaging your voice by the vocal fry you don't even know you're using when you speak.

Contrary to what you may hear (from ANYBODY), it is not a good idea to ignore it just because you've had vocal raspiness for a long time, and think it's 'natural' for you. Any chronic case of vocal raspiness, hoarseness, or discomfort should be investigated by a doctor. It's best to go to a vocal health center where medical voice specialists can scope your cords, rule out anything serious and illuminate you about anything you may be doing or not doing that is causing the sound. A good vocal coach can help you change techniques that are keeping your voice unhealthy.

Some voices can just get by with more punishment than others. Think of the guy or girl you know who can eat habanero peppers like candy. Some voices are strong enough, or have been exercised long and correctly enough,  to create vocal sounds that would fatigue or damage weaker voices. It is my opinion that such is the case for career raspy singers like those mentioned above. Unless, of course, they lose their voices on tour!

Case Study:

I sang for about 7 years as part of a group that sang jingles from 8:30am to 3:30pm 5 days a week. One of the singers in our group developed a vocal hemorrhage from the hours of singing. Why did she have the issue and others did not? The better question is, what were the signs she needed to rest? And yes, she did heal completely and went on to a stellar career.

• If it hurts, your voice can't tolerate it... stop! 
• If your voice feels worse the next day after you've used a raspy sound, your voice can't tolerate it... stop! 
• If you haven't been singing for a while and need to sing a raspy song, try doing those raspy sounds far less than usual throughout the song. Save it for choice spots and do those BACKWARDS (see next section). When it comes to vocal affectations, less is often best anyway for performance impact!
• If you have it because you smoke, you don't need the cigarette - train instead for the rasp you want. And don't be afraid to ... stop smoking!! You can do it!

Your Vocal Technique

There are techniques to singing with a raspy sound that are healthy. If this is a sound you want to use, learn how to do it in a way that protects your cords from vocal strain. For metal screamers, I recommend the Jamie Vendera product "Extreme Scream". For those of you who'd just like some random rasp, I can help you accomplish it strain-free with my 'pulling' method of deconstructing technique.

Bottom line:

You may wish to add a growl, rasp or scream for coolness or signature impact when you sing. You may be acting as a character with a raspy voice, and need to speak with that sound. But be careful. Don't use rasp or vocal fry unless you mean to; get it out of your everyday speech habits. And if you do mean to sing or speak with a rasp for some purpose, learn vocal techniques to pull those sounds, be vigilant with vocal warmups and cooldowns to mitigate any stress to your vocal cords. Create those sounds in ways that will protect the health of your vocal apparatus. Raspiness can be cool, passionate, and harmless, or it can be a real voice killer.