Merkabas Voice-Help Hotline

[Merkaba]

Originally Posted by putit2myheadbaby

i've been reading all your posts and practicing and i think i have it down to an extent... im a little bit shy when it comes to being infront of a mic though....

just how much do u hafta stress to get a good sound out of a mic when screaming?? i heard it allows you to slack off some and the sound is still fairly decent... but u dont wana scream your lungs out the whole time right?? im a bit shy/confused all of that... i wana know how hard you push and what that volume would be w/ out a mic please...

1. dont use the word stress, its a bad sounding word. hehe
2. the mic is your friend. get over it now if youre planning on singing. You can use it now to listen to all the imperfections that make you feel shy. lets face it, if you were sure you werent gonna miss anything, you wouldnt be shy right? so practice as much as possible until you got your voice down so well that you know its ins and outs, and that translates into confidence. Man, if you wouldve asked me like 7 years ago if i was planning on singing in front of people i wouldve laughed myself to death.

And sing acapella as much as possible. especially if you can record it with a mic. you will hear all of what you need to work on. And things you thought sounded bad may sound alright, and things you thought were dead on arent quite right. (**** that rhymed). Especially since you hear with your whole body when you sing. but when its played back to you, you hear what everyone else hears. I always sound dead on when i sing. when i record, i say hey, i need to work on.......etc. after a while you realize that its technique based so you just smooth out your breath and technique and it helps problems in general.

oh, dude, listen to my samples. On adobe audition(cool edit pro's new version) it shows your waveform as you record. when i do the falsetto screams the volume is off the meter! But im pushing at like 60 percent, if that. Remember , you have an acoustic instrument. all the other instruments are electrically amped up, unless youre doing a folk session by campfire or some shlt. So dont feel inadequate about having your mic up to its full potential. thats what its for. I mean if youre just too loud then you just adjust the output. but you should have a level to where you dont have to push much to do anything. alot of gain but not too much that you feedback easily. Again, deftones, mudvayne, linkin park, metallica, etc. touring all year long and doing like 5,6, or more shows a week! and these people have professional setups so they get it easier. now of course they still kill it though. i mean they are still shredding cords. but just not killing them.

for me, i've gotten it down to where i can project without pushing first. that comes from learning when to shift the throat and open it and drop the jaw and all this, plus i've been doing it a while, so by now, a 50% push for me is nothing but its still pretty loud, depending on the setting. usually i dont push hard at all. as time goes on, this has to increase though. so thats why you dont wanna blast at 90%. unless youre doing a 20 minute show! as far as working out it depends on how much time you have and what youre trying to work on.

[SlapHappySunshine]

Originally Posted by Merkaba-1

especially if you can record it with a mic. you will hear all of what you need to work on. And things you thought sounded bad may sound alright, and things you thought were dead on arent quite right.

Thats my problem though, I hate my voice when it's played back to me, I just cannot stand it. So I have to get my friends to sit still and listen to me, which is another problem because they don't know what they're talking about when it comes to singing. So would someone be willing to listen to my recordings when I get my mic and adapter on dmusic?

[j0s1ah]

we will.

[Merkaba]

^^ yea, you wont be the first

most people who hate their voice sing with a high larynx. I'm willing to bet you do as well. you start to get some resonance in there and you'll like yourself more. I was the same way.

[Idontknow]

Im Trying to start a band and there are very few people who are willing to sing where i live so i kinda want to learn how to sing/scream. I can get high and low notes and all but i cant seam to scream relly. i have read thies fourms quite a bit and tryed many things but i still comes out more like a whisper. what am i doing wrong? thankyou for the help

Edit:btw im a 15 year old male

[Merkaba]

Originally Posted by Idontknow

Im Trying to start a band and there are very few people who are willing to sing where i live so i kinda want to learn how to sing/scream. I can get high and low notes and all but i cant seam to scream relly. i have read thies fourms quite a bit and tryed many things but i still comes out more like a whisper. what am i doing wrong? thankyou for the help

you have to get "behind" the note, and feel like youre getting ready to sing it. more than likely youre squeezing your larynx and throat up in the attempt and its just not allowing enough air to activate the cords. check out the isolation stuff, and remember to feel like your going to sing the note. and like i say, you should be able to sing that note first. and sing it over and over again. practice hitting the notes hard first. not too hard. then you add the throat to get the rasp. if you can get a sample up it would help too.

[Idontknow]

Ok, ill try that, i Dont have a PA "Yet" but i will soon so i was trying before hand. i kinda want to do a Finch/The Used type of scream. thanks Merkabab-1. ur the master

Edit: Im trying... it still comes out weak and to raspy... what can i do? ill get a sample up as soon as possable. it sounds.... too raspy kinda

[IH8teYourEyes]

hey Merkaba-1 and others who can help.... i've been readin through these threads alot today.. I just found this site earlier.. Anyways I havent sang since 6th grade.. Im now 18 almost 19 and thing is i dont remember anything from choir.. Alot of my friends play acoustic/electric guitar, bass, or drums.. I have been playing guitar but my friends want me to learn to scream sing so we can start a hardcore/metal/screamo band.

Could you help me with things i need to learn. Like do I have to be able to really sing like kids do in choir to be able to scream sing? I printed the singing 101 breathing tips from this site and will be practicing those alot, i already breathe with my stomach going out so i dont really need to practice that but i will. Please anyone post things i need to learn and explain them and w/e else u can tell me, thx

music singing preference... i wanna have sing style somthin like AsILayDying or RememberingNever, Or Atreyu..somthin like that.. u can email me too that would be great..email is [email]eatreyu182@yahoo.com[/email]

[Merkaba]

its fairly simple.
all the stuff i stress
hydration
warm up
low relaxed larynxed, open throat
warm down.
no affect to the speaking voice
no pain

other than that youre just gonna have to practice singing hard, and getting rasp.
i cant stress enough the importance of learning to isolate. its vital and it allows you the freedom to come up with your own stylings and helps you work out the cords not stress them.

[IH8teYourEyes]

K what exactly is rasp? Sry i dont wanna sound dumb but i dont know anything of singing anymore.... Anything u feel would be good for me to practice paste here or on my other thread i made cuz i couldnt find this one haha.. Like i printed that breathing tips if theres anything like that i can read that describes and is somthin u feel i should practice let me know.

Now I havent even screamed since i was like 12... I can lightly sing along with some of my fav metal bands but i dont scream the lyrics just use a quiet like whisper deep voice when driving. So should I try to scream like when I was a kid and get feel and practice to ulter it to right way.. Im still not sure how im to know this bounce of back of my throat or pull down on my throat thing. Sry if this is all confusing im about to leave so i typed it up very fast.. I am very serious about learning to scream sing and so im not here just to waste anyone time I really wanna get all info and help i can. thx

[Merkaba]

if youre that serious you wont mind reading the begining of this thread, which takes you to some previous posts of mine. its a good read

[IH8teYourEyes]

Yea ive been going through them

[Merkaba]

rasp, aka scratch...its when you deflect the air off of the back of your throat. which is where you get that static like sound from when people scream. It doesnt and never should come from your cords. the thing is you have quite a few muscles in the area. so you have to learn to not pull all of your throat closed or push extra on the cords when youre trying to do this. this is pretty much the key to longevity and "screaming". dont forget that a mic with good settings makes any screamer sound that much better.

[btoto]

Hey Merkaba, it's bad I don't have so much time to visit the forums..........I see you still rule If you remember I asked about raspy voice a month ago and singing like Cobain etc. blah blah blah............well, I you really did help me and I kinda learned to get some rasp (heh, one of the reasons I don't have so much time for internet....enjoying my singing )..........Thanks to you again!

But now some problems started to come out with my voice. After a month that I started to sing better, there have been some worsenings too.

Like, uhhhmmmmm it's been already 5-6 days that I started to have mucuous in my throat...........I read your topic about it and didn't quite understand if it's good to have mucuous or not. By the way, I watch my nutrition, don't smoke and don't drink.

Another problem is about pain in throat...........After you gave me a tip on singing from diaphragm I got rid of pain in my throat and felt much better.......But now it begins again, this time it's a bit different pain............I don't even know how to describe it. It's not in my throat like it was before.......you know not the part that hurts when you've caught cold...........It's somewhere in back and a bit up.......sometimes I even think it's somwhere in back of my head.
I couldn't describe better, I guess you know what I'm talking about...not throat itself but somewhere upper, like back of your head. It would be great if I know what causes it.

Thanks beforehand

[Merkaba]

Originally Posted by btoto

Hey Merkaba, it's bad I don't have so much time to visit the forums..........I see you still rule If you remember I asked about raspy voice a month ago and singing like Cobain etc. blah blah blah............well, I you really did help me and I kinda learned to get some rasp (heh, one of the reasons I don't have so much time for internet....enjoying my singing )..........Thanks to you again!

But now some problems started to come out with my voice. After a month that I started to sing better, there have been some worsenings too.

Like, uhhhmmmmm it's been already 5-6 days that I started to have mucuous in my throat...........I read your topic about it and didn't quite understand if it's good to have mucuous or not. By the way, I watch my nutrition, don't smoke and don't drink.

Another problem is about pain in throat...........After you gave me a tip on singing from diaphragm I got rid of pain in my throat and felt much better.......But now it begins again, this time it's a bit different pain............I don't even know how to describe it. It's not in my throat like it was before.......you know not the part that hurts when you've caught cold...........It's somewhere in back and a bit up.......sometimes I even think it's somwhere in back of my head.
I couldn't describe better, I guess you know what I'm talking about...not throat itself but somewhere upper, like back of your head. It would be great if I know what causes it.

Thanks beforehand

Well thanks for the compliments, and its good to see youre improving. and yea i remember you. an upper throat pain? well above your adams apple? it could either be muscular tension or the affect of blasting air over the back of the throat. but its a pain, not a discomforting annoying feeling, but actually like ow, pain? if it feels like its in the back of your head, it very well could be. you'd be surprised what people will inadvertently tense up. it could be muscle tension. I just cant make the call from here. i mean, you should be able to know if its in the throat. if it is you can push air to it, without sound, to hit the area and allow you to feel if its in your throat or not. if you cant find the area with air , without sound, then do it with alot of air and very little sound to see if its your cords. otherwise its muscle related more than likely.

as far as mucus...let me get this straight. you were find a month ago, but over the past five or so days the mucus all of a sudden starts to come around?

well, mucus can also drain down from higher nasal areas if you have allergies, or anything going on up top. just be sure to warm up good, and try not to clear your throat much. if you do, do it without sound. it could be just the amount of time it has taken for your cords to start to be stressed. so you might just now be trying to protect a perceived stress or damage by your body. just remember it can fool you into thinking you have to push harder than you do. usually when i have mucous i dont really get it totally away until i start to do some high rasp notes. but as long as youre doing rough work, youre gonna be getting some mucus. be sure to warm down at the end of the session, and if you've been going a while. keep singing lower and softer for at least five minutes after you finish practic/gig. then do eee's. its all about getting your cords to return to normal length. if they dont, they will bring in more mucous for the perceived stress/damage and the swelling that is occurring in the area.

dont forget that you dont always have to push from the gut for every note. some notes and vocal techniques you dont want a lot of push. remember you use it when you need it. and dont forget that you dont have to go up in volume as you go up in pitch.

keep us posted. good luck.

[btoto]

Originally Posted by Merkaba-1

Well thanks for the compliments, and its good to see youre improving. and yea i remember you. an upper throat pain? well above your adams apple? it could either be muscular tension or the affect of blasting air over the back of the throat. but its a pain, not a discomforting annoying feeling, but actually like ow, pain? if it feels like its in the back of your head, it very well could be. you'd be surprised what people will inadvertently tense up. it could be muscle tension. I just cant make the call from here. i mean, you should be able to know if its in the throat. if it is you can push air to it, without sound, to hit the area and allow you to feel if its in your throat or not. if you cant find the area with air , without sound, then do it with alot of air and very little sound to see if its your cords. otherwise its muscle related more than likely.

as far as mucus...let me get this straight. you were find a month ago, but over the past five or so days the mucus all of a sudden starts to come around?

well, mucus can also drain down from higher nasal areas if you have allergies, or anything going on up top. just be sure to warm up good, and try not to clear your throat much. if you do, do it without sound. it could be just the amount of time it has taken for your cords to start to be stressed. so you might just now be trying to protect a perceived stress or damage by your body. just remember it can fool you into thinking you have to push harder than you do. usually when i have mucous i dont really get it totally away until i start to do some high rasp notes. but as long as youre doing rough work, youre gonna be getting some mucus. be sure to warm down at the end of the session, and if you've been going a while. keep singing lower and softer for at least five minutes after you finish practic/gig. then do eee's. its all about getting your cords to return to normal length. if they dont, they will bring in more mucous for the perceived stress/damage and the swelling that is occurring in the area.

dont forget that you dont always have to push from the gut for every note. some notes and vocal techniques you dont want a lot of push. remember you use it when you need it. and dont forget that you dont have to go up in volume as you go up in pitch.

keep us posted. good luck.

Wow, you know your job...............I did what you said i.e pushed air without sound and now I'm sure..........yes it is my throat. I don't know why I thought it was back of my head

Ok I'll be frank with you. Actually all these problems with pain and mucus started to appear after I sang and played Nirvana's "Drain You" for several days, trying to sound like Cobain too much. Maybe this is the reason, but it's not that hard song.

Yes, mucus started to come around over last week. I mean, it's not it causes me so much trouble. And sometimes I even like..........because, you know that with mucus it's easy to get raspy and sound cool. But it becomes irritating while talking.............I know that it annoys people I'm talking to. I guess they think that I have a bad desease and going to die soon...lolz

Ok I'll try to sing lower for a couple of minutes after I finish...........well, actually I doubt I can do it. Let me explain the situation:

I do all the singing and guitar playing at home. But I do it when there's no one around. And it happens not that often. I mean I'm kinda ashamed to sing when my family is at home. So as soon as they leave, I pick up my guitar and start singing. And I don't do any warmups because I know that I have for example only 35 minutes, and I want to enjoy myself all that little time.

I guess now you understand me why I don't any warmups. Simply because I have little time for singing and I want to use it for my own songs.

Also, if it's possible for you, can you please download Nirvana's "Lithium"? I want to know what Cobain is doing in chorus. The "Yeah Yeah Yeah" part. Because as it sounds to me, it's not screaming......and I don't want to scream, I just to be able to do that thing he does, it sounds to me more like an agressive singing rather than screaming.

Thank you

[Mike B.]

Hey. I've been reading through your posts and I've picked up lots of great tips about warmups, isolation, and rasping. Thanks for putting all of this out here! I have been singing since before I can remember, but I always find that my vocal cords get tired and my diaphragm never does. I have read in a few different places that proper breathing should be done with the stomach, and the chest shouldn't move at all. Also, also the shoulders should stay down. When I do this, it feels like I only have about half as much air in me as when I fill up my whole chest. Am I doing this wrong or will it get better with practice? Thanks for the help!

[Merkaba]

well i must say dont overthink the breathing thing. but it is important. dont really tense up anything when youre trying or try hard to keep your shoulders down. just let them relax and they will not move much. However many people do breathe improperly and raise there shoulders and move the chest alot. your stomach should bellow out first and and your chest is still gonna move a little, but mostly at the end of a deep deep breath which you really dont need to do that much in singing. of course over time you dont have to think about this stuff so you can enjoy doing whatever you like while on stage, not having worry about your shoulders while doing death metal or rock would probably help out. lol

[Chris-Bassist]

i really wish i had a good singing voice but my voice is always high pitched even when i try to sing normally...do you think me being 13 might have something to do with it...a reply would be most appreciated

[CrazyDiamond725]

I'm sixteen and my voice is still squeakin on me. I made a microphone in an electronice clas in school and I taped myself attempting to sing on mt stereo. I never heard myself sing before. I was thought my voice was ok. Until I listened to it on the tape. I can't sing in key or anything. I think I'm just gonna stick to playin bass cause I suck at singing. I don't know if a cr*ppy voice could be changed, but if it can mines gonna take a lot of work. Would it even be worth it for me to try to sing, because my band has no singer?