well, i have my falsetto scream down fairly well now, but the only problem is i have no air. Like my scream will start out good, then i run out of air and my scream dies. are there any excercises that will help me get more "wind"? like the book on your stomache exercise? and will singing full voice help my falsetto screams? i dont really have much desire to do anything vocally beside backup and scream(i play lead guitar).

thanks a ton for all the help and adive you have given me and everyone else. I greatly aprecciate all the help, without you merk, i would have no idea how to scream properly. thanks.

i think you should sing loud regardless of what the family thinks

[QUOTE=Merkaba-1]Well that scream sounds awesome. I clicked a few more links to hear anything else but didnt. As far as As I lay dying...I'm not familiar with them that well but i've heard them and them and everyone else are doing the same things just about . Some use more tone than others but as I always say...there's really not much you can do with the cords. But if youre experiencing pain youre using incorrect technique and probably pushing too much as well if I had to guess. If you havent read the isolation thread at the begining of the this thread then I suggest you do.[/QUOTE]

Alright thanks for the info, Merk, I'll read up on that thread. Also do you know if what exactly types of screaming as i lay dying does because I know he must use a lot of falsettos but my friend informed me that it's an all natural scream. The problem I have is that I can reach those high notes when I scream but not when I sing. What I need is to be able to reach those lower tones when I scream so I can sound more like As I Lay Dying;s vocalist. I'm guessing he pushes a lot of air from his gut but I'm not sure. If you can, could you help me with being able to reach lower notes/tones in screaming, because I know I have the higher notes pretty much down pat.

[QUOTE=AcidQueen]No matter what I do, I can't get the right technique down. My larynx moves a lot when I change pitch, meaning I am using my throat to change pitch instead of my vocal cords (which you probably know.) I've read all of your posts but I still don't know how to do it right. I plan on taking vocal lessons SOMETIME, but for now is there anything I can try?[/QUOTE]
Well for now...remember these two keys.No pain. Ever. And No effect to your speaking voice. If you wake up the next morning and youre hoarse you need to reevaluate and make sure youre warming down good. If you ever get one of the two...remember what you were doing so you can analyze it later to remove the incorrectness. I did this on my own for a while learning the hard way before I got some coaching. I meditate everyday so maybe its just me, but i pay attention when I'm singing. It doesnt take away from the enjoyment...but I know that when I'm reaching for something new, I have to watch out and pay attention when I'm trying to drive a note, especially head. I've actually been doing that a bit lately and I do make some mistakes and have to practice what I preach. I did really well tonight though.

Remember to practice with minimal push and dont equate push with pitch. (I still do this ALOT! But I know my limits even when i do, and I usually catch myself before It gets the best of me.) This will help you keep good technique because youre not trying to over do anything. With time you add a bit more and bit more, all the while keeping the same position you instilled by not overdoing anything and memorizing bad techniques. Start off simple if you dont know if you have good technique. Do some simple notes, just hold them, try to sound like youre singing opera without moving your mouth much.

Stay smart. NO pain, no affect to your speaking voice. And warm down.

[QUOTE=FinalAwakening]Alright thanks for the info, Merk, I'll read up on that thread. Also do you know if what exactly types of screaming as i lay dying does because I know he must use a lot of falsettos but my friend informed me that it's an all natural scream. The problem I have is that I can reach those high notes when I scream but not when I sing. What I need is to be able to reach those lower tones when I scream so I can sound more like As I Lay Dying;s vocalist. I'm guessing he pushes a lot of air from his gut but I'm not sure. If you can, could you help me with being able to reach lower notes/tones in screaming, because I know I have the higher notes pretty much down pat.[/QUOTE]
Youre welcome. But As I always say. There isnt really any types of screams. What exactly is a scream anyways? A loud note with some extra push behind it and some rasp. That rasp comes from the back of the throat, not the cords. Then theres whatever register youre in. Chest and low notes are usually "guttoral"...mid range is just...well...a yell...or a hard raspy note...upper range head notes are usually what most people call falsetto screams. I dont bother differentiating the two because I know what people mean when they say falsetto scream. Usually a "falsetto" scream is really a head voice note or a low power falsetto note. You just rasp it all to hell so it doesnt matter. Dont think about different types of screams but think about the cords. Is a matter of how much tone you can get with your cords which lends its hand to your level of strength and flexibility. The more you have the more versatile you can be, and over time you can just dial up whatever type of sound you want. But if you pay attention theres really not much going on. Different people have different voices, and of course different natural ranges. But all in all youre just gonna be hitting a note and then letting the air hit against the inside back of the throat. (technically the false vocal cord region, but does that mean anything to anyone). Maybe I should start re-recommending everyone listen to "Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong. Rasping while crooning a ballad. its all bout being able to isolate your cords from your throat so that you can have the cords at one tension and the degree of throat involved at another.
And I promise you you can get any type of scream sound without pushing alot of air. Yes it will come from the diaphragm, but it doesnt have to be alot, and you'll help yourself if you remember that even if you cant do it yet.

[QUOTE=CDoasis]Hey Merk, did you ever listen to my recordings?

And about singing/screaming like Alexi, I think it would be hard to alter your tone to sound like him. He basically does the same thing as Chad from Mudvayne though, he jumps from raspy singing to screaming and makes the two sound very similar and smooth in transition. I think my screaming sounds alot like Alexi's actually, very overrasped and uhh, European-metal-like, but I'm still working on trying to get my raspy singing to sound "similar" and not so nasal, I guess.[/QUOTE]
Yea, just did today. Sounds like youre heading in the right direction. I would suggest you get some more cord activation in your guttoral. Meaning sing it a bit more. And your falsetto sounds pretty good. Keep working it man! :thumb:

[QUOTE=Merkaba-1]Youre welcome. But As I always say. There isnt really any types of screams. What exactly is a scream anyways? A loud note with some extra push behind it and some rasp. That rasp comes from the back of the throat, not the cords. Then theres whatever register youre in. Chest and low notes are usually "guttoral"...mid range is just...well...a yell...or a hard raspy note...upper range head notes are usually what most people call falsetto screams. I dont bother differentiating the two because I know what people mean when they say falsetto scream. Usually a "falsetto" scream is really a head voice note or a low power falsetto note. You just rasp it all to hell so it doesnt matter. Dont think about different types of screams but think about the cords. Is a matter of how much tone you can get with your cords which lends its hand to your level of strength and flexibility. The more you have the more versatile you can be, and over time you can just dial up whatever type of sound you want. But if you pay attention theres really not much going on. Different people have different voices, and of course different natural ranges. But all in all youre just gonna be hitting a note and then letting the air hit against the inside back of the throat. (technically the false vocal cord region, but does that mean anything to anyone). Maybe I should start re-recommending everyone listen to "Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong. Rasping while crooning a ballad. its all bout being able to isolate your cords from your throat so that you can have the cords at one tension and the degree of throat involved at another.

And I promise you you can get any type of scream sound without pushing alot of air. Yes it will come from the diaphragm, but it doesnt have to be alot, and you'll help yourself if you remember that even if you cant do it yet.
:thumb:[/QUOTE]

Hey thanks merk, I'll go practice my screaming for now and I'll see what happens. Also I need to learn how to sing those higher pitch notes and tones so if you could help me with any singing techniques that would be great. thanks. I'm kind of wanting to be able to scream like Tim Lambesis(As I Lay Dying lead vocalist) and sing like Pete Loeffler (Chevelle's lead vocalist). I would really appreciate any information on being able to sing like Pete from Chevelle and what styles of singing he uses. thanks

Awesome, thanks so much Merk! :D It's awesome to hear complements from vocalists who actually.. know their stuff!

I'll keep working on it. Hopefully sometime this year I'll get a decent soundcard and vocal mic and record some more original material.

[QUOTE=FinalAwakening]Hey thanks merk, I'll go practice my screaming for now and I'll see what happens. Also I need to learn how to sing those higher pitch notes and tones so if you could help me with any singing techniques that would be great. thanks. I'm kind of wanting to be able to scream like Tim Lambesis(As I Lay Dying lead vocalist) and sing like Pete Loeffler (Chevelle's lead vocalist). I would really appreciate any information on being able to sing like Pete from Chevelle and what styles of singing he uses. thanks[/QUOTE]
chevelle plays alot of songs in c tuning If i hear correctly, or at least the ones I've heard seem to be. Its definitely dropped, which makes it easier to hit the higher ends. Pete does the typical "falsetto" type of raspy notes. He just has pretty good strength and can close up the higher stuff tight enough to push harder and get plenty of rasp. Its the same as Deftones, Mudvayne...etc. But you will have to be able to isolate. As far as building upper range...thats in my voicehelp hotline too...but it takes time.

[QUOTE=CDoasis]Awesome, thanks so much Merk! :D It's awesome to hear complements from vocalists who actually.. know their stuff!

I'll keep working on it. Hopefully sometime this year I'll get a decent soundcard and vocal mic and record some more original material.[/QUOTE]
Sure thing...I hope to get some more samples up in a few days.

help please... anyone
 

hi merkaba

thanks to you my screams have improved significantly and i truly thank you for that.
however in my normal singing voice i feel something is lacking, perhaps tone.... if you or anyone could give me some advice i would really appreciate it.

i recorded helloween's dr. stein and you can find it here:

[url]http://rapidshare.de/files/2856106/dr_stein-04.mp3.html[/url]

thanx in advance. any help/criticism appreciated.

ok, i have kind of asked this question in various manners before, but haven't really gotten that good of a response. I would like to learn how to sing higher, like James from Metallica on the early albums. I can get into the range that James sings in, but it's quite hard. I know my voice isn't too deep, cause James voice is way deeper then mine. Will it get easier to hit the high notes if I practice more, or is it just a matter of me not being able to hit those notes?

Ah, I pretty much totally forgot about this forum, I've been too busy in D&P.

anyway, merkaba, i'm not sure if you ever remember talking to me, but I was trying to scream, and I still can't really. It always ends up being a whisper scream, no matter how hard I try not to. If it's not, it's not really a good scream and it hurts. I've tried doing it from the gut and all that, but its just the whisper stuff. Also, if I try to do it not whisper, it sounds bad.

Basically, how do I get past this annoying whisper barrier?

I scream from the gut, and I'm a really good screamer now, I'll try to get some samples up, soon. I now can mostly be compared to grindcore "singers" or Jake Bannon from Converge (but lower).

Anyway, since a couple of days ago, I feel like I have to throw up. How come? What am I doing wrong and what can I do to prevent this?

New to screaming
 

First i'd like to thank merkaba, your tips have got me on my way to becoming a screamer. I've got a few questions tho...
1. I know I read about other people having an irritated throat when they first started trying to scream, and i've had the same thing happening. My throat has felt very scratchy for the last day, and I was wondering if i'm doing something wrong, and/or how to fix it?
2. When I scream, it feels like something is vibrating in the back of my throat/vocal cord area. Is this the right feeling?
3. When I try to push the scream harder to make it more intense, or if i try to hit a higher note or scream words (rather than just noise), I often end up in a coughing fit. How can I fix this?

Thanks everyone

And here is my first ever scream i tried to record. The link is [url]http://www.soundclick.com/?station=1698410[/url] (give it 24 hrs to clear)

Would you mind checking this out and letting me know how it is merk? Thanks much. Oh and everyone else, you can cut it up if you feel like lol.

Cheers

oops
 

My bad, wrong URL
Here's the real one:
[url]http://www.soundclick.com/bands/1/mikeyess_music.htm[/url]

THe back of your throat will get irritated more than likely due to the excessive air. Hopefully you will get used to this and that area will toughen up. That can be done if you have correct enough technique so that you can work out long enough to do that.

I cant really describe what it feels like, but of course its gonna be a degree of vibration...in the back of the throat in the same area youre feeling...?? i cant tell over the net. Pretty much the same area as if you grunted or mimicked a lion roar.

If you need to cough..you did something wrong. Couldve been your extra push with a squeezed up tense throat that didnt let the cords vibrate properly. The harder you push, the more you relax....everything but the cords. So if you cant isolate the cords from the throat then there's problems. And if you dont normally hit higher notes then you have to work up to it slowly because there is no muscle memory yet...so youre more likely to botch it up. If its not natural..then you will have to notice a difference in the feel of holding the throat open while squeezing the cords closed. You have to kinda work two sets of muscles in opposite...

[QUOTE=Merkaba-1]THe back of your throat will get irritated more than likely due to the excessive air. Hopefully you will get used to this and that area will toughen up. That can be done if you have correct enough technique so that you can work out long enough to do that.

I cant really describe what it feels like, but of course its gonna be a degree of vibration...in the back of the throat in the same area youre feeling...?? i cant tell over the net. Pretty much the same area as if you grunted or mimicked a lion roar.

If you need to cough..you did something wrong. Couldve been your extra push with a squeezed up tense throat that didnt let the cords vibrate properly. The harder you push, the more you relax....everything but the cords. So if you cant isolate the cords from the throat then there's problems. And if you dont normally hit higher notes then you have to work up to it slowly because there is no muscle memory yet...so youre more likely to botch it up. If its not natural..then you will have to notice a difference in the feel of holding the throat open while squeezing the cords closed. You have to kinda work two sets of muscles in opposite...[/QUOTE]

hey merka what about me!!

use the rapidshare link:

[url]http://rapidshare.de/files/2856106/dr_stein-04.mp3.html[/url]

you scroll down, put "free" and then scroll down again and wait a couple of seconds and then download.

[QUOTE=Ibanex0110]ok, i have kind of asked this question in various manners before, but haven't really gotten that good of a response. I would like to learn how to sing higher, like James from Metallica on the early albums. I can get into the range that James sings in, but it's quite hard. I know my voice isn't too deep, cause James voice is way deeper then mine. Will it get easier to hit the high notes if I practice more, or is it just a matter of me not being able to hit those notes?[/QUOTE]

can anyone help me with this?

Thanks for the reply merk
One more thing though, i can only seem to scream a certain note. If i try to go higher, it comes out more like a ... gurgling... or something lol. Is it because my throat it tensing up or something?
[url]http://www.soundclick.com/bands/1/mikeyess_music.htm[/url] <- this should be cleared by now, lemme know how it sounds, thx

Merkaba,
so your supposed to feel irritation if your doing the rasping right from the back of the throat?

[QUOTE=Screamin_Demon_Auz]Merkaba,
so your supposed to feel irritation if your doing the rasping right from the back of the throat?[/QUOTE]
I didnt say that! hehe. But its more likely. I get it alot if if Dont do alot of raspy vocals and I suddenly do like one or two hours of it or something. My cords would be relatively fine, but the throat itself will be all scratchy and whatnot. Kinda pay attention to what youre feeling. Do lots of buzzing and glisses and ee's if you cant figure out whether or not your cords are irritated as well. You'll know because your notes will be affected or harder to get.

[QUOTE=Ibanex0110]can anyone help me with this?[/QUOTE]
Thought I replied to this...dang..I dont have much time. Basically if you cant get into his range its probably a combination of two things. One its just out of your range for now...and youre using and have been using improper techniques that make it harder to get there "naturally" . Or....it just could be permanently out of your reach. I dont like to say that much because with time and practice you can surprise yourself but i dont know how your larynx and cords are set up, so you are the only one who can with proper technique and practice.

[QUOTE=luciano]hey merka what about me!!

use the rapidshare link:

[url]http://rapidshare.de/files/2856106/dr_stein-04.mp3.html[/url]

you scroll down, put "free" and then scroll down again and wait a couple of seconds and then download.[/QUOTE]
I'll try to get to it after work...gotta go!

hey merkaba, i used to come on here alot, but i gave up on music for a while, but now im back. I just got some stuff for recording on my Pc and i wanted to work on my vocals a bit. But i'm not sure wether what i hear on the radio and my Cd's is screaming or just rasp. The sounds that i would like to achieve are off of the audioslave - self titled album. Im guessing you have this since u like cornell (my favorite singer), but yeah off of that song Shadow On The Sun there is a break down where he does half normal and the other half either screaming or raspy, i cant tell. Can you tell me?


shapes of every size
moves behind my eyes
doors inside my head
bolted from within
[screaming starts here]
every drop of flame
lights a candle in
memory of the one
who lived inside my skin

but yeah, is taht screaming or rasp. ALso if you could, could u record taht and put it up or email it to me.... [email]loki_cmr@hotmail.com[/email] THAT WOULD BE SOOOO FREAKING AWESOME. thanks man

[QUOTE=Merkaba-1]I'll try to get to it after work...gotta go![/QUOTE]

thanx merka!!! i am eagerly waiting.

i uploaded another version, this one is ogg vorbis file, so you need winamp 5 to read it. it is also rapidshare.

[url]http://rapidshare.de/files/2914031/dr_stein_lu.ogg.html[/url]

[QUOTE=loki_cmr]hey merkaba, i used to come on here alot, but i gave up on music for a while, but now im back. I just got some stuff for recording on my Pc and i wanted to work on my vocals a bit. But i'm not sure wether what i hear on the radio and my Cd's is screaming or just rasp. The sounds that i would like to achieve are off of the audioslave - self titled album. Im guessing you have this since u like cornell (my favorite singer), but yeah off of that song Shadow On The Sun there is a break down where he does half normal and the other half either screaming or raspy, i cant tell. Can you tell me?


shapes of every size
moves behind my eyes
doors inside my head
bolted from within
[screaming starts here]
every drop of flame
lights a candle in
memory of the one
who lived inside my skin

but yeah, is taht screaming or rasp. ALso if you could, could u record taht and put it up or email it to me.... [email]loki_cmr@hotmail.com[/email] THAT WOULD BE SOOOO FREAKING AWESOME. thanks man[/QUOTE]

Hey no fair...using cornell to get at me. Dammit. Thats one of my faves too. Gees. That part is typical rasp technique...but you have to have some control and flexibility to get an even tone like he does. Its just not impossible if you learn technique which...lets face it...is hard to do over the net. I cant stress enough the ability to isolate. You should practice it until you get what I'm talking about. I'll try to record that soon....It takes alot of push to get it to sound like he does though. I would do it now but its 8 in the morning and its way loud.

"Once upon a time..."

*referign to my first post on this page*

So.... how [b]do[/b] I stop that feeling? Y'know, like, if I have to throw up while I scream. Although I don't actually throw up.

Yeah, the back of my throat feels scratchy/discomfort if I sing raspy or scream without warming up first. I mean if I only do it for a couple of minutes I don't feel anything, but if I push at it, it feels that way. So I guess it's normal, but it's only my fault for not warming up in the first place! I hardly ever do that, but every now and then I'll really get into a CD on the drive home from work or something, and it'll feel scratchy from singing along with the raspy thrash stuff. :D

[QUOTE=Merkaba-1]Hey no fair...using cornell to get at me. Dammit. Thats one of my faves too. Gees. That part is typical rasp technique...but you have to have some control and flexibility to get an even tone like he does. Its just not impossible if you learn technique which...lets face it...is hard to do over the net. I cant stress enough the ability to isolate. You should practice it until you get what I'm talking about. I'll try to record that soon....It takes alot of push to get it to sound like he does though. I would do it now but its 8 in the morning and its way loud.

"Once upon a time..."[/QUOTE]

cool! I'll just sit here and wait...



"i was of the mind..."

[QUOTE=Kosta]*referign to my first post on this page*

So.... how [b]do[/b] I stop that feeling? Y'know, like, if I have to throw up while I scream. Although I don't actually throw up.[/QUOTE]
You might be pulling down with the root of your tonque, and doing it forcefully as you go about the scream forcefully. If you pull with the root of your tongue its like if you were sayin "ew" really hard at something gross. Thats really the only way i can describe it. Many people do this to open the throat but Its considered a nono as well because you can pull the tongue back and add pressure as your block the air flow again. Pay attention to your tongue and see what its doing. If you pull it back and in really hard it might could cause your feeling...that and overpushing.

Sing a word that ends in "ee"ng. Like singing. what your tongue does to hold the ng...(or should do) is kinda like home base for alot of mid to head notes. Feel how the sides of the tongue want to press against the teeth. Or more than likely they will. If not then try to find this feeling, but dont overmanipulate anything to get there if you dont do it naturally. But if you do do it...you might can notice a big difference. It keeps your tongue out of your way and looser. The point is to make sure the tongue is out of the way. Other than that its either over push or you contracting part of the tract out ot tension issues. Some people have stomach problems and acid reflux from singing. So its not impossible that youre tensing some wrong muscles.

Hello Merkaba, congratulations on the excellent job you're doing here. It's good to see people willing to share their knowledge with patience and kindness.

I would like some information on growling or "singing from the gut" as you call it, so I was wondering if there are other resources besides page 5 of this thread.

First off, I wanna thank you for all the helpful tips. The warm ups, the breathing techniques, and the screaming advice. I've been struggling for the last couple of weeks to get a good scream down that doesn't hurt my voice. And I finally have one. You have no idea how excited I was after I had been using this certain screaming technique for awhile, went to go swallow, and it didn't hurt. lol But I have a question. The scream that I have is kinda...I dunno...high pitched maybe? Nothing like falsetto or anything like that. It reminds me of Brock Lindow (from 36 Crazyfists) on the song "At The End of August". lol I imagine that doesn't help if you don't know the song. And it's not like I dislike the scream, so the you knowing what the pitch sounds like isn't my concern. I wanna know how to make it lower. 'Cause I tried holding it like I was singing a note, then just trying to lower it like I would normally lower a note while singing, and my voice ended up cracking and it hurt. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated from anyone. But thanks again for all the great tips you have given.

Screaming
 

Thanks for the reply merk
One more thing though, i can only seem to scream a certain note. If i try to go higher, it comes out more like a ... gurgling... or something lol. Is it because my throat it tensing up or something?
I also can't seem to scream words just... sounds. What is the trick to doing that?
[url]http://www.soundclick.com/bands/1/mikeyess_music.htm[/url] <- this should be cleared by now, lemme know how it sounds, thx