Screaming... some pointers

I read the post on screaming and I noticed although it describes the scream and the kinda bands that do the screams it doesn't really describe technique ... besides saying "sing from here and push" ... easier said than done.

I've been doin vocals for about 4 or 5 years now and have taken singing lessons and have developed a pretty good "chino" or maynard scream (like he does on ticks and leeches). You could also use this same technique to do screams of the emo kind. I've never been interested in doing the low pitch grunt screams you here in slipknot so I won't be really getting into that... although once you master this scream those one are ridiculous easy to do.

Before you start: Just be carefull that reading this in no way can really prepare you in the way a proffessional instructor can. I highly reccomend singing lessons before you start screaming your head off so you can learn some proper form. But if you're impatient and think you can read instructions carefully err go ahead


Alright here goes:

#0 shut your door, or make sure nobodys home, this is pretty important because you can't be shy about this at all, if you do it half assed its gonna sound like ****... also your parents or whoever your living with is gonna think your a fackin psycho. No worries at my house though, they already think im crazy.

#1 take a deep breathe and open your mouth, wide motherfacker... nobodys gonna here you if your shy and have your mouth half closed. Practise your breathing every night put a book on your chest and lift it up with your stomach as you breathe in. Eventually try to see if you can breathe in and breathe out only once a minute.

#2 stand up straight and put your shoulders back so your vocal cords are open--i cannot stress this enough, i realise that many singers on stage do not do this but that is because they are so well trained they think they dun have to well they're wrong, in the studio when they do it, I'm almost 100% sure they aren't crouching or jumping around. Since you are just starting make sure you do this so you don't **** up your voice.

#3 raise your cheekbones up so it looks like your kinda makin a stupid grinning face. I'm not really sure what this does, but it works, every vocal teacher I've had has told me to do this. If you want to do as little damage to your vocal cords as possible do this.


#4 Practise with a microphone, nobody can sound like they do without a microphone... its the distortion you get through the PA that makes the scream sound good. Plus when you practise with a microphone you get a feel for how loud you actualy have to scream. When you have a mic you'll find you really don't have to scream so loud... thus the reason why a singer can go do shows 7 days a week and not **** up his voice.

#5 (this is where some of you maybe leaving us) Ok, do know the difference between full voice and falsetto? You know how you can sing 2 ways, one with your full voice (gut) and one a little girly voice thats comming just through your throat... it doesn't have any power really but it can go really high. When you scream, you want to use this voice if you don't want to wreck yourself. For years i tried to scream with my diaphram and i kept hurting my throat and for some stupid reason i thought eventually it would get used to it... it doesn't. Please do not try to do this unless you are doing low pitched screams.

Anyways, into the mic, with your falsetto voice (i cannot stress enough that you use your falsetto voice and not your full) , and I know this sounds stupid but try to imagine that your singing out of the temple of your head... and push as hard as you can a scream. It doesn't have to be loud even, you are using a microphone, it just has to be pushed really hard from your throat.

#6 don't get discouraged if you don't get it right away... it takes time. I would sugguest if you haven't already take some vocal lessons... it helps a lot strengthening your falsetto. If you don't have a strong falsetto you'll never be able to scream.

And lastly, pick songs that have easier screams at first. Listen to the breathing of the screams, and try to breathe when they do. Do not try to do something insane like Deftones - Elite LOL I've been screamin like 2 years now and i still can barely get through the whole song without goin red in the face from lack of air. Go for quality over loudness, your scream doesn't have to be loud, you can turn the mic up, as long as it sounds hardcore. The loudness of your scream will come with time. I strongly recommend easy 1 sylable screams first I like my own summer.
When he's doin "cooooooomeeee" "shooooveeee" "the suuuuuuunnnn" "asssiidee"

Note: Kurt Cobain "screaming" isn't screaming, its aggresive pitched singing and isn't something you can reallyteach, If you can't hit those notes you can't hit them. Its like asking someone to teach you to have a higher voice. Its true with a lot of practise you can increase your vocal range, but in most cases you are pretty much stuck with what you got. If you have a crummy deep voice like scott stapp of creed lol don't expect to be doing and cobain screams any time soon.

[Stimpy]

thanks anyway!! i think it would work, but when I scream I **** up my voice man!! ....I cant talk normal anymore..you know...your voice sounds like a frog or something

nevermind I play lead guitar But I like to scream hehe

just follow the technique and you won't hurt your voice at all, if you are hurting your voice you aren't doin it right :P

[Stimpy]

yup, i know i'm going to try your technique

[toolisgod]

screaming is so hot, i can do it sometimes, i'm gonna work on it tho

[Griffin_Page]

I wanna yell like Tom Araya.

[thesis]

Originally posted by Griffin_Page
I wanna yell like Tom Araya.

me 2

[Poisonthewelll]

Posion the well has some good screams, especially Nerdy and Botchla

[QueenofNowhere]

its funny, i have like 50 different cool screa,s and i dont do them like you said and i dont **** up my voice, i think in my whole life, ive never been so pround (tear) ****

[QueenofNowhere]

its funny, i have like 50 different cool screa,s and i dont do them like you said and i dont **** up my voice, i think in my whole life, ive never been so proud (tear) ****

thats cool, i was just tryin to teach one method of high pitched screaming that I know actualy works and doesn't **** up your vocal chords at all. With this technique I've found you can do an hour or more set without hurting yourself... If you know another or better way hey cheers post up and share what ya know.

[axeslinga_32]

this thread has helped heaps, i'll muck around with it infront of the mirror later on haha but the cheek bone thing will look so bad coz im asian and fat so my eyes will be like nuthin but tiny slits haha, the falsetto thing is interesting, im more comfortable using my diaphram but I'll muck around with it

I'm gonna listen to this tom arya scream and see if i can't figure what you guys were talkin about.

[Soundless.Vow]

This is a much more descriptive thread than that "SCREAMING 101" crap. I'm gonna post a link from there to here.

Peace out,

Soundless.Vow

check us out at http://www.soundclick.com/soundlessvow/
or http://www.soundlessvow.tk

[JewlDragon911]

while its common knowledge that smoking is bad for your throat, i have found that by smoking cigarettes, i can scream a lot better.

(as a side note, chino is the reason i began singing and eventually became singer for a band. i would highky recommend deftones to anyone who hasn't heard their sh*t yet.)

joe.

[Videric]

hahahahahahaha

Alright so I'm back with a few more pointers and a few things which I forgot to mention in my first post:

Everybody has a different vocal range. Not everybody has a high voice not everybody has a low voice--but everybody for the most part can be taught to scream. I reccomended earlier that if you are doing reletively psychotic high pitched screams that you use your falsetto voice. However everybodys falsetto starts at different areas, so... at certain notes your falsetto will be stronger. For the most part you are stuck with the range you have, you can strengthen what notes you can hit, by doing excercises... if you have a piano and you know a little bit of theory you can practise singing different notes in the C major scale (do re mi fa so la ti do). A good place to start your falsetto singing for most males is around C5 or the high C or the B4(middle C being C3). So basically my point is, if you think that practising and practising and screaming your guts out till you are blue in the face will eventually help you reach higher notes STOP... you cannot change the depth of your voice... unless you take hormone pills or remove your testicals... lol. Work with what you got, even if you got a really deep bass range you can probably get a decent high falsetto scream goin if you practise at getting it strong with proper exersises. I think after about 2 years of practising when I started I increased my range by 1 and a half steps or 3 semitones... which is a lot for a guy, but I am a still a baritone, I could never change into a tenor or anything.

I realise that many people want to just jump into screaming or singing but treat it like any instrument. If you want to play guitar, you can't just jump into it, you gotta practise the basics... and then move on to the harder stuff. Every idiot and there uncle thinks they can be a singer-- ie. american idol. ITS AN INSTRUMENT, treat it like one, practise everyday and you will see results. If you practise half an hour before a show, once a month its going to show.

OK, so lets assume you've gone ahead and you've mastered the technique I've posted up--and you're screamin like a champ.

Here are some things to keep in mind before doing a show:

1) avoid drinking orange juice or any other kinda acidic fruit or sugary or carbonated drinks: Its has citric acid in it, it irritates your throat... its not a BIG deal, but every little thing helps.

2) don't drink any alcahol: Alcahol will dehydrate you like a mother****er, if you drink heavily right before you sing you can seriously hurt your vocal chords and risk permanent damage. Don't believe me? Bono from U2, used to be an amazing live singer, he used to be able to hit a C5 head on full voice live, now he sings it falsetto. Why? Alcahol. Don't get me wrong, it still sounds ok, but you know... not as good as he used to be.

3) avoid drinking milk: I know the guy in the other forum said to drink milk before you do a scream... I can see why this would be important if you are doing an improper technique that hurts your vocal chords... however assuming you are following my instructions milk will just build up a HUGE amount of mucus in your mouth. After about 30 minutes of your set you might start coughing it up between songs like an idiot or worse during a song.

4) DO drink warm water or tea: hey, it can't do you any harm can it? Talking and singing makes the throat dry, you need to liquidate it a bit there. If you are into that herbal ****, then put some echanacea in your water or tea, IT WORKS GREAT!

5) DO try to eat about 2-3 hours before you go up. You will always sing better on an empty stomach, plus you feel lighter.

6) DO take a piss: i think this one explains itself... 90% of the time you will be so nervous you'll forget to do this... nothing is ****tier than when you're rockin it out on stage and you gotta piss...

7) Get confident: Do whatever you have to do to be relaxed, you are the frontman here, if you just stand there and don't jump around and aren't confident in yourself people aren't gonna get into it. Don't get too excited and forget the stuff you practised, get into it but keep a clear head and remember your theory. Obviously your not gonna be able to stand up straight with your shoulders back ALL the time, but... try your best to keep form as much as possible until you are really confident with your voice. Unless your maynard or something, then i guess you can just crawl up in a fetal ball and nobody will give a **** cause your f*ckin maynard!

8) Avoid smoking ciggarettes: I always hear stupid **** from singers who say that smoking helps them sing cooler or scream cooler. I can recognize that smoking will give you a sort of raspy sounding voice... however you can learn to emulate this style of singing/screaming with practise. Its not necessary to smoke to sound raspy--its taking the short road out. If you are sombody who smokes to sing better in a few years 2 things will happen. You will develop large amounts of flem in your vocal chords causing you to cough like a fiend on stage all the time during sets, and two you MAY loose some of your vocal range--I've seen it happen, to friends, so yah... ITS NOT A GOOD IDEA. But whatever, if you're sensible about it and don't smoke like a fiend... its not that bad, but if you want to be a serious performer and want your music to sound its BEST then i would consider loosing it, or for gods sake don't do right before a show.

Next post will be about some warm up vocal exercises you can use before a show, and before practising.

I also wouldn't mind if anyone is interested... I could put what I have learned from my classical, jazz, and rock training in singing up here as well in a different thread.

ps. I listened to the Tom Araya scream, you can emulate it to a reasonable degree with this style. However he does seem to scream on key (with a tone), which is a little bit harder to do... especially if you are more of a screamer than singer, thats why I would recomend learning to do both if you want to be a live performer.

[oblin]

#5 (this is where some of you maybe leaving us) Ok, do know the difference between full voice and falsetto? You know how you can sing 2 ways, one with your full voice (gut) and one a little girly voice thats comming just through your throat... it doesn't have any power really but it can go really high. When you scream, you want to use this voice if you don't want to wreck yourself. For years i tried to scream with my diaphram and i kept hurting my throat and for some stupid reason i thought eventually it would get used to it... it doesn't. Please do not try to do this unless you are doing low pitched screams.

so to do the deathmetal type screams i'd would have to use my full voice? could you explain that type of scream abit more?

give me an example of a deathmetal band, and give me a song by them that would you like to start with. I will listen to it and let you know.

[Chewbacca]

how does finch scream? sometimes hes like bending over when he does it. awesome tho.