Pumpkin voice

Pumpkin voice is a speaking and singing method where the vocal folds located in the back of the throat become tense and push the larynx down into the throat, producing a rounded tone that is best described as a very thick vibrato voice. Others may refer to this rounded tone as an "ice cream voice" or "egg voice". These terms describe the deep, dense tone of the voice that sounds as if a pumpkin, ice cream or raw egg is lodged in one's throat. A pumpkin voice has a woody thick timbre, similar to a bass clarinet. After learning to tense the vocal folds in this manner, many people, including professional vocalists and amateur experimenters, are able to use pumpkin voice. Artists and celebrities that are known to possess pumpkin voice include: Shakira, Pee-Wee Herman, Kermit the Frog, and Miss Piggy. Christina Aguilera uses this technique in and out of her songs as seen in her fifth single The Voice Within from her second album "Stripped".

A prime example of pumpkin voice is demonstrated within the song Underneath Your Clothes from the album "Laundry Service" released in 2001, where Shakira decorates her melody with the use of the pumpkin voice technique.

History

The term pumpkin voice was coined in Glendora, California in the year 2000 by Zara Street.