[QUOTE=Merkaba-1]If you start off in basic light voices and slowly add more and more push over the course of a few minutes you can concentrate better on keeping things relaxed like they were when you were doing lighter notes. Start off with "Ah".

You want to concentrate on keeping what it takes to form the note but minimizing everything else. And in a normal speaking pitch and push there is not anything else going on. So start off in that area first and slowly pitch without increasing push or anything else. Gotta go for now.[/QUOTE]

ok ill try that out. Thank you

[QUOTE=fuzzyhair]I just started screaming (possibly properly) last night. I was going through an amp with a lot of distortion like the guide said to do. Last night my voice started to hurt so i stopped. I didnt really feel any pain in my vocals, just my throat. This morning I wake up and my vocal chords feel, i guess the best way to describe, stretched. On the sides of my neck my vocal chords feel i kinda stressed, like I just did a workout. So am I doing everything, possibly anything,right? Heres a 5 sec. clip of me screaming testing 123.
[url]http://s5.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0UYW0C43HRF6Q0ZUS07FEVJJH6[/url]
p.s. im 16 and am trying to get possibly a norma jean styled scream like on memphis will be layed to waste.[/QUOTE]
Sounds good from what I can hear. I would say try it a few notes lower and with less push, to be sure youre isolating and relaxing...Not that you have to stay there...just visit there if youre not sure of your technique.

Alot of people strain and pull neck and throat muscles doing alot of wild screaming. Its not uncommon. Be sure to warm up and warm down.... It will be easier to find out if its your throat or your cords.

vocal range
 

hi all,ive been looking at a lot of vocalist forums lately and everyone seems to be claiming to have amazing ranges and they never actually prove it as when asked to show recordings they suddenly dissapear,so id thought id show a part of mine over 2 octaves from C3 to C5 which i recorded on my phone 5 mins ago so the quality might not be that good but you should be able to hear it ok at least. i just did a simple 'ah' at each pitch in a relaxed voice and sustained it for 6-8 seconds or so, although i can go down to E2 and all the way up to E5(thought id get that in there,he he) i thought this would be more benificial as a sort of warm up,by the way im the lead vocalist in a bon jovi tribute band and i like all classic rock music. why not have a go at the recordings yourself,have fun people.:smoke: firstly the C3, a bit of phone gargle on this one,sorry guys! [URL="http://s41.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2455PYKKSC96R3B6BLF97084W4"]http://s41.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2455PYKKSC96R3B6BLF97084W4[/URL]

now the c4
[URL="http://s41.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2XIIJEXYGD4SY0JMJA2P5EDIPW"]http://s41.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2XIIJEXYGD4SY0JMJA2P5EDIPW[/URL]

now feared by many,the dreaded C5[URL="http://s41.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2IFFAXOAHT2721DGU33OQRSK78"]http://s41.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2IFFAXOAHT2721DGU33OQRSK78[/URL]

[QUOTE=Merkaba-1]Sounds good from what I can hear. I would say try it a few notes lower and with less push, to be sure youre isolating and relaxing...Not that you have to stay there...just visit there if youre not sure of your technique.

Alot of people strain and pull neck and throat muscles doing alot of wild screaming. Its not uncommon. Be sure to warm up and warm down.... It will be easier to find out if its your throat or your cords.[/QUOTE]
Thanks man I didnt really warm up that much. Mainly because I don't know how to but I will look around here on the site and try to find a warmup thread or something. Would you count playing as many notes on the piano as you can sing and just going up and down the keys and trying to sing them as a warmup, because thats what I have been doing lately. Thanks for you help.

[QUOTE=fuzzyhair]Thanks man I didnt really warm up that much. Mainly because I don't know how to but I will look around here on the site and try to find a warmup thread or something. Would you count playing as many notes on the piano as you can sing and just going up and down the keys and trying to sing them as a warmup, because thats what I have been doing lately. Thanks for you help.[/QUOTE]

[url]http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=219911[/url]

Would you consider seeing how fast you can run as a warm up to running? Because your cords vibrate faster and faster as you go up in pitch. Plus they are being stretched further. so...NO. You should start off in chest voice, speaking voice range....slowly and lightly buzzing the vowels for about five minutes. Then start sliding lower and higher before going way higher. Now, its boring that way, and until you know your limits you should at least start off like this for a few minutes. But I usually do this stuff right after I wake, and getting in the shower (gargling lightly on mid and low pitches as well for a minute in the shower as well) and as I'm getting around getting ready or whatever. But As I normally say, I consider 30 minutes at least if youre going to be doing harsh vocals, and when you finish, do at least five minutes of warmdown exercises or at least some low notes ending in low e's. I remember before I new about warming down I would always sing low notes messing around forming melodies with the music, in the interludes or solos while I was practicing in the car. Just because based on the fact of other muscle groups, that when you work them out, if you do opposite, opposing movements, you help to avoid repetitive stress injuries and the opposing movements relax the muscles that they oppose. Like mixing chest and back in the gym.... if you do a bunch of high pitch stuff or working on range, you should hit some low notes in there as well, and at the end. Its in the voicehelp hotline in that link.

[QUOTE=Merkaba-1][url]http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=219911[/url]

Would you consider seeing how fast you can run as a warm up to running? Because your cords vibrate faster and faster as you go up in pitch. Plus they are being stretched further. so...NO. You should start off in chest voice, speaking voice range....slowly and lightly buzzing the vowels for about five minutes. Then start sliding lower and higher before going way higher. Now, its boring that way, and until you know your limits you should at least start off like this for a few minutes. But I usually do this stuff right after I wake, and getting in the shower (gargling lightly on mid and low pitches as well for a minute in the shower as well) and as I'm getting around getting ready or whatever. But As I normally say, I consider 30 minutes at least if youre going to be doing harsh vocals, and when you finish, do at least five minutes of warmdown exercises or at least some low notes ending in low e's. I remember before I new about warming down I would always sing low notes messing around forming melodies with the music, in the interludes or solos while I was practicing in the car. Just because based on the fact of other muscle groups, that when you work them out, if you do opposite, opposing movements, you help to avoid repetitive stress injuries and the opposing movements relax the muscles that they oppose. Like mixing chest and back in the gym.... if you do a bunch of high pitch stuff or working on range, you should hit some low notes in there as well, and at the end. Its in the voicehelp hotline in that link.[/QUOTE]
okay thanks I did your warmups. Vowels at normal voice for about 5 minutes. now im going to take out my keyboard, start at a note that i am comfortable with, and go around it (hitting higher and lower notes). Then im going to sing for a little bit. When I am done singing i will go back to the keyboard, then finish off with some vowels at normal voice. Anything else you recommend. I think im going to stop screaming since the band i am in doesnt require it. We sound sorda like breaking benjamin. So I will work toward actually singing, possibly adding some rasp later. I just started seriously singing a couple of days ago to get rid of the lead singer problem. Thank you you have been such help.

I just recommend taking your time until you get a feel for your limitations and boundaries. Adding a little more and more over time. I'm not talking about years ....but days and weeks, if applicable. I must say that screaming has made my voice WAY stronger.... But I take my time.....usually.

Thanks I doubt im going to scream so much. I am going to work on singing, then adding rasp, then possibly screaming. I figure if I practice singing everyday I will get better over time. Thanks for all your help.

Is it possible to just have a bad singing/screaming day? I mean, sometimes when I scream I just plain out suck. [Today is a good example.. it's worrying me.] And other days I just ****ing kickass. Shouldn't I be able to just scream at the best of my ability if I'm doing things correctly? I did a 5 minute warmup, [what I usually do] and have been drinking a lot of water and my screams are just so ****ty today. It's pissing me off because I sort of have an interview type thing. A friend of mine wants me to scream for him to see if I'm good enough to join his band. It's pissing me off because I just don't want to have a "bad" screaming day, they day I go to scream for him.

What am I doing wrong? Uhg.

Also, one thing I've noticed is when I'm sick I can scream extremely well. It's weird. I think it's because of the mucus and stuff in my nose/throat, so it's easier to make a clean rasp. Maybe now that I'm not sick anymore I just sound like ****?

Uhg, HELP.

[QUOTE=wkd]Is it possible to just have a bad singing/screaming day? I mean, sometimes when I scream I just plain out suck. [Today is a good example.. it's worrying me.] And other days I just ****ing kickass. Shouldn't I be able to just scream at the best of my ability if I'm doing things correctly? I did a 5 minute warmup, [what I usually do] and have been drinking a lot of water and my screams are just so ****ty today. It's pissing me off because I sort of have an interview type thing. A friend of mine wants me to scream for him to see if I'm good enough to join his band. It's pissing me off because I just don't want to have a "bad" screaming day, they day I go to scream for him.

What am I doing wrong? Uhg.

Also, one thing I've noticed is when I'm sick I can scream extremely well. It's weird. I think it's because of the mucus and stuff in my nose/throat, so it's easier to make a clean rasp. Maybe now that I'm not sick anymore I just sound like ****?

Uhg, HELP.[/QUOTE]


Check this out [url]http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=228211[/url]
Its Merkaba's soundclick (I hope you don't mind Merkaba) He really explains well how to do a falsetto scream and add rasp and stuff. You could be doing it wrong. If you have to drink milk and use your mucous, then you are doing it wrong. <<<<I beleive I read that somewhere on this site, so wait for Merkaba's opinion first.

The best way to increase your singing talents, like any other dicipline is to be able to listen to yourself and try to determine what's going bad (tape yourself if necessary) and try to make adjustments.......................

I found out what my problem was. I wasn't having a bad singing day, I just didn't warm up correctly/long enough. Warming up can go a long way.

The only thing that concerns me, is sometimes my voice cracks on the higher pitch screams. Now, duh you would say this is normal and it takes practice, but I used to be able to hit these kind of notes like a mofo. It was my best kind of screams, now I can't hit them quite as well as I used to.

My band wants me to have more lower pitched screams, which I can do, just not as good, so when I practice things, and I don't hear exactly what I want to hear, then I go and try my high pitch and my voice is cracking, it's giving me the impression that I am turning into a bad screamer.

What should I do? Merk?

Hey I just wanted to ask question....

If anyone of you has heard Steelheart - She's Gone before....Is this guy doin a falsetto or does he just have an incredible range?

Matijevic uses a reinforced falsetto which is basically a strong mix of head voice and falsetto, and sometimes (like in a lot of sheila) it's just plain falsetto (think the end where he's matching the guitar).

[QUOTE=wkd]I found out what my problem was. I wasn't having a bad singing day, I just didn't warm up correctly/long enough. Warming up can go a long way.

The only thing that concerns me, is sometimes my voice cracks on the higher pitch screams. Now, duh you would say this is normal and it takes practice, but I used to be able to hit these kind of notes like a mofo. It was my best kind of screams, now I can't hit them quite as well as I used to.

My band wants me to have more lower pitched screams, which I can do, just not as good, so when I practice things, and I don't hear exactly what I want to hear, then I go and try my high pitch and my voice is cracking, it's giving me the impression that I am turning into a bad screamer.

What should I do? Merk?[/QUOTE]You probably havent done enough high pitch work to handle it. When youre doing alot of forceful singing/screaming then all of that will make the cords swell to some degree. If you've ever had any muscle swell up, you'll remember that you naturally lose flexibility. At higher pitch your cords are thinner. So youre trying to take a swollen tissue and stretch it further which is hard enough, but then youre adding resistance to it by the air pushed against it. This is why I always stress that people should do more true singing as a means to workout because screaming doesn't allow enough time to work the tissue out. It leads to heat and dryness and swelling and bowing too quickly. Some people can work through it naturally. Some can't.

If youre cracking then youre either using a high tense larynx and thus partially blocking proper airflow and creating an imbalance, or your cords are fatigued to some degree for some reason.

So, to fix this you think I should do more vocal practice that involves more singing instead of screaming? Okay, I'll try that, even though I already do a **** loud of singing excercises.

How I warm up is.. doing ay, ee, ii, oo, uu stuff. Then I start singing real songs like, acoustic. [Usually I sing a long to Yellowcard or Fall Out Boy... heh... it works.] Then move up to more faster rock stuff, then finally into screaming. But of course, spending more time doing regular singing couldn't hurt, I want to build up my natural singing voice as well.

As for the chords being fatigue.. could this be because I practice too much? So far I have been practicing every single day.. from 30 mins to atleast an hour and a half. My chords are never soar, they're never in pain or anything like that. So naturally, I just feel like I can keep doing it. Should I just rest them more? I think I'm not going to do any vocal excercises this weekend, but then start again on monday. Do you think 30 mins a day is healthy? Or should I do it every other day?

Thanks merk.

can anyone (preferably merkaba) tell me how to get the voice like the guy from lifehouse?

Yeah he sounds good... I know how to do it, but can't explain it since I have no experience whatsoever in teaching people vocals. But yeah, you should provide a song for an example....or a particular verse from a song and I'll try my best to help you out..

[url]http://xscenesterx.org/Tony_Bullard_-_Metal_Vocal_Tutorial.mp3[/url]
Okay do you think if i practice this, and dont push to hard, and Dont join a band for a couple of months with vocals like this untill i really get it down that i can do this without going avenged sevenfold on my voice?

[QUOTE=fuzzyhair][url]http://xscenesterx.org/Tony_Bullard_-_Metal_Vocal_Tutorial.mp3[/url]
Okay do you think if i practice this, and dont push to hard, and Dont join a band for a couple of months with vocals like this untill i really get it down that i can do this without going avenged sevenfold on my voice?[/QUOTE]

From the looks of it, it seems like a tutorial. So I would assume it is teaching proper vocal technique, so I don't think you have anything to worry about.

Why would not joining a band help you? From my experience, it would. As long as you are screaming correctly, you really have nothing to be worried about.

I'm not a professional, just wanted to give my two cents. Thanks for the comment on one of my posts, I figured I would return the favor.

Good luck. Btw, I'm downloading it now.. it seems interesting. I'll take a look at it.

[QUOTE=wkd]From the looks of it, it seems like a tutorial. So I would assume it is teaching proper vocal technique, so I don't think you have anything to worry about.

Why would not joining a band help you? From my experience, it would. As long as you are screaming correctly, you really have nothing to be worried about.

I'm not a professional, just wanted to give my two cents. Thanks for the comment on one of my posts, I figured I would return the favor.

Good luck. Btw, I'm downloading it now.. it seems interesting. I'll take a look at it.[/QUOTE]
well i was wanting merkaba to answer this (thanks for your answer though:thumb: ). I just didnt want to be following a tutorial some person using improper technique made. It is really cool. It focuses on growls. Everyone in my town wants to scream. I wanna growl!

EDIT: and about joining the band. I didnt want to be pressured into growling when i didnt want to, like if it starts to hurt. Thats why i wanted to wait a few months so i can develop it so i can have more stamina.

Oh, it's about growling.. ahg, I hate growling. But if that's your thing, that's cool. I haven't listened to it yet, because I don't like to do anything vocal related whenever my mom is home. But I probably will, anyways.

Hmm. Do you know of any tutorials that focus more on a Norma Jean type scream? That's kind of what I'm going for.

[url]http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=228211[/url]
well just follow merkabas rules. And always scream through something with reverb. it sounds sooo much better. Without it it just sounds dry. The amp gives you the scream. But I thought that growling would be kinda original. That way i could maybe get my voice on some of my friends awesome guitar records. I play guitar also but i would like to learn this.

Yeah im to shy to do vocals around my parents. Maybe since im setting up in the basement they wont be able to hear me. Thats another think i like about growling, it doesnt require extreme loudness, you can do it without an amp and still sound fine.

Whenever I scream I don't use an amp. One, because I don't need it, and two, because my mic is broken.

Because of this I have built myself a very powerful and loud screaming voice. I really should start though, so I can have better mic/amp judgdement. I don't want to be at a gig and totally blow everybodys ears out from the first scream. I need to get myself a new mic first though.

Does your voice hurt after your scream? Oh and after doing anything vocal through a mic you can hear yourself and fix your mistakes.

Nope, never hurts.

What do you mean? I don't have any recording equipment. =[ I wish I did..

[QUOTE=wkd]Nope, never hurts.

What do you mean? I don't have any recording equipment. =[ I wish I did..[/QUOTE]
have you ever called your house and left a message, then came home and heard it. You sound different. Thats because when you talk you are hearing sounds in your head and through your ears. But people dont hear the inside voices, just whats on the outside. so if you amplify your voice you can hear yourself better. give it a try sometime. recording would be best though. (im not a professional at this its just what i have read on this forum.)

Makes sense. I want to get some recording equipment for my band. We have a myspace and want to get some songs up. But we all don't have very much $$$. =\