Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[missdaredevil]

My voice is *pebbly* and *scratchy*.

What does that sound like?

Thanks

[bud]

It's very hard to describe, MsD, but here's a try:

Sometimes when you first wake up, your voice takes a few moments to sound normal. Your initial words are probably scratchy or pebbly sounding.

Sometimes your voice is hoarse as you're coming down with a cold. That's pebbly and scratchy. (That's before you become congested and then become nasally sounding.)

Some people who have smoked and/or drunk heavily throught their lives sound pebbly or scratchy. Lee Marvin (actor), Leonard Cohen (singer), John Lee Hooker (singer), and Janis Joplin (singer) all had distinctive voices later in their careers. I would think of "pebbly", "scratchy" and "gravelly" to describe them. (Maybe you can find a sample of their voices on the web.)

[CP]

Janis Joplin had a beautiful voice, and all her singing was always wonderfully on pitch, but she purposely made her voice scratchy by screaming so as to get the sound she wanted for the songs she wanted to sing.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[bud]