Objective: 
 
Rough vocal effects like “distortion,” “fry scream,” “creak,” “growl,” and others have become increasingly important in Contemporary Commercial Music genres. Use of these effects has also been recently explored in therapeutic contexts as substitutions for standard phonation, and even as SOVTE’s in voice therapy. Previous studies have demonstrated the long-term sustainable practice of such effects and the structures involved in their execution, but almost no data exists on the transglottal airflow they generate relative to normal phonation, or the subglottal pressure necessary to maintain them. This exploratory study aimed to measure such data with the hope that it can be used to enhance the effectiveness and safety of current pedagogical approaches to these effects. 
 
Methods: 
 
The main subject was a professional classical countertenor, who also has a background in rock singing. Data was collected using a Rothenberg CV OroNasal flow mask, the Glottal Enterprises MS-110 unit and EG2-PCX2 Electroglottograph, an Earthworks M23 microphone, and the Olympus OTV-S190 stack system with an ENF-VH flexible nasal endoscope. Seven distinct effects were measured and compared to “clean” singing in both classical and contemporary rock styles as a control. Six of the studied rough effects have been previously profiled in research by the Complete Voice Institute, and one was considered novel.
 
Results:
 
Phonation threshold pressure for rough effects was generally significantly higher than for “clean” phonation, with the effect failing before standard phonation as pressure decreased. Generally, higher flow was measured in “unvoiced” effects—those without true-fold phonation—compared to the corresponding “voiced” effect. For voiced effects, flow varied relative to clean phonation, with some effects increasing flow, such as arytenoid/epiglottis “growl,” some showing commensurate flow, such as ventricular fold “distortion” and some showing decreased flow, such as subharmonic singing. Endoscopic imaging suggests the novel effect measured is previously unobserved, combining fry-scream-like phonation with partial vocal fold vibration typical of flageolet singing and ventricular fold vibration. 
 
Conclusion:
 
With growing demand to learn these effects from musicians and even medical professionals, accurate parameters for their performance is paramount. Flow and pressure values from this and future studies can help to inform breath management strategies and enhance current pedagogical practice. Phonation threshold pressure, oral pressure and flow values suggest that certain effects have specific utility as potential SOVTE’s, and provide guidelines of what kind of patient can pragmatically use effects as a substitution for phonation.