What is Vocal Fry & How to Sing it Like Beyoncé in “Texas Hold Em”

Let’s start here: We stan Beyoncé’s country era. Especially since, like most Queen Bey songs, it shows off her vast vocal range. Starting off in her rich chest voice on the first line, then showcasing that Bey’s got bass, also known as her vocal fry, and then hopping up the octave towards the end. For most women, those notes seem unattainable. Usually because they’re attempted in chest voice which is not the most flexible part of our voice. So, since we talked about our falsetto, let’s dive into: what is vocal fry, and how do we obtain it? How do we build it? Read on, fellow beyhive-ian.

What is vocal fry?

According to the Oxford Language Dictionary, vocal fry is defined as “a way of speaking in which the voice is very low-pitched and has a characteristic rough or creaking sound.” What it is referring to is either what we define as vocalists as “smoky” sounding in our lower register, or, the creaky sound of starting a note rather than simply starting it clearly. 

How do you sing the low notes like Beyoncé?

If you look at our previous blog post about falsetto, you’ll remember that we talked about allowing more air through the vocal folds to create a “breathy” tone. Attaining your vocal fry is done in a similar manner, on the opposite end of your voice! For example, if you sing the second half of the opening line of “Texas Hold em,” “so lay your cards down, down, down, down, down.” If you sing it in chest voice, you’ll find that you can’t hit the notes the way you want to because of the pressure of the air behind your vocal folds. When you phonate fully, your vocal folds are vibrating close together to create that clear sound. Now, when you allow some air to pass through, that opens the vocal folds up and creates a “smoky”, or “soft” sound that allows you to access lower notes. 

What are some good exercises to strengthen your vocal fry?

One of my favorite exercises to do is a descending 5-note-scale, starting on the 5 of the chord and alternating between every other note in a descending pattern on an “ooh.” 

5-3-4-2-3-1-2-7-1, for all my number people. 

For all of my solfège friends, the pattern is: 

So-Mi-Fa-Re-Mi-Do-Re-Ti-Do. 

Continue this pattern in descending half steps until you are about halfway through, and then open to an “ah.” Go as low as you can without feeling pain, and allowing more air through as necessary to access your lower range. (You can also use the “so lay your cards down, down, down, down,” line as your pattern if you wish!) 

Once you feel comfortable, go ahead and try it out! If you’re still working on it, try raising the song by a half step or two, and then work your way back down. Remember, your voice is a muscle, so train it like you would for any other activity!