Research of Guttural & Other Extreme Singing Techniques

Knowing exactly how our voice works when we sing has always been something I've been passionate about.

Especially in vocal techniques where the voice seems to perform to the extreme!

In the classroom, most people pass on what they have been taught themselves or what they have learned from specialist literature.

But these things have to be reconsidered again and again and, above all, adapted to the individual student.

Unfortunately, there is not much methodical/didactic material on guttural singing techniques that explains how these techniques work individually, how they differ and, above all, which approach yields the best results.

I have made it my task to get to the bottom of these questions!

In terms of voice research, I have found a world-renowned partner in the Institute for Musicians’ Medicine (aka Freiburger Institut Für Musikermedizin or FIM). With their help, I conduct research in the fields of guttural singing techniques.

We study the anatomical processes involved in performing various guttural vocal techniques together and use these to categorize, identify, and learn to understand techniques.

To do this, we use various technologies such as laryngoscopy, electroglottography, MRI, and other devices to measure subglottic pressure and airflow volume.

The knowledge gained from this is directly incorporated into my teaching, providing content that is not just conjecture, but based on scientific findings!

-How do the vocal cords behave when performing different guttural techniques?

-Which areas above the glottis assume which function in which guttural singing technique?

-What is the subglottal pressure and airflow rate during the different techniques?

-What is the tension of the supporting muscles when singing guttural techniques?

-How accurately does the vocal tract modulate pitch differences when shouting or screaming?

These and many more questions are investigated in our research.