Ok, I want to improve the tone of my voice. I'm fine with pitch. I would say I hit the correct notes more than 95% of the time. My voice sounds awful though.

I guess what I'm asking it if it's possible, or will I always be stuck with a crappy voice?

screaming.
 

i was just wondering....if anyone is interested in telling me how to scream longer, without loosing breathe and without damaging anything.
Tell me, does honey affect/help anything? if so tell me why and are there any other options besides honey:confused:

alright, i can scream, just not that loud. when i scream it sounds good, but i just want it to be louder, so if i were to scream through a microphone it would be loud as hell, underoath style, maybe im not doing something right in my mouth. help me

[QUOTE=xmaximum566]i was just wondering....if anyone is interested in telling me how to scream longer, without loosing breathe and without damaging anything.
Tell me, does honey affect/help anything? if so tell me why and are there any other options besides honey:confused:[/QUOTE]
Don't drink honey. You want your body to be as clean as possible. Drink water. In order to scream longer, look up Merkaba's Voice Helpline and do the breathing exercises. Your not going to damage anything by screaming longer if you do it right. Make sure to warm up and warm down.


[QUOTE=Everyones_anti_hero]alright, i can scream, just not that loud. When I scream it sounds good, but i just want it to be louder, so if i were to scream through a microphone it would be loud as hell, underoath style, maybe im not doing something right in my mouth. help me[/QUOTE]
Don't worry about volume, let the microphone do the work. [URL="http://www.dogpile.com/info.dogpl/clickit/search?r_aid=28D31EC99FB54F28BB3F50D55AEC0070&r_eop=1&r_sacop=1&r_spf=0&r_cop=main-title&r_snpp=1&r_spp=0&qqn=cVya7L0d&r_coid=372669&rawto=http://xscenesterx.org/Tony_Bullard_-_Metal_Vocal_Tutorial.mp3"]This[/URL] helped me a lot, but I'm not sure if it is safe, but I do it anyway and it sounds good.I would would just build up untill it is loud. Make sure to warm up and warm down.

[QUOTE=Frenchy1511]2.I'm having alittle trouble actualy signing after i growl. is there anything i can do to solve this?[/QUOTE]
Listen to [URL="http://www.dogpile.com/info.dogpl/clickit/search?r_aid=28D31EC99FB54F28BB3F50D55AEC0070&r_eop=1&r_sacop=1&r_spf=0&r_cop=main-title&r_snpp=1&r_spp=0&qqn=cVya7L0d&r_coid=372669&rawto=http://xscenesterx.org/Tony_Bullard_-_Metal_Vocal_Tutorial.mp3"]this[/URL] it should help. Also make sure to warm up and warm down.

[QUOTE=even if they were canadian]Ok, I want to improve the tone of my voice. I'm fine with pitch. I would say I hit the correct notes more than 95% of the time. My voice sounds awful though.
I guess what I'm asking it if it's possible, or will I always be stuck with a crappy voice?
[/QUOTE]
Nah, you can change it. I don't know much about it though. Wait for someone else.


/You're welcome. :smoke:

Alot of professionals say you can't change the tone of your voice, then alot say you can. Which one is it?

i didnt see any posts like this, so i was just wondering,

what are some excersises that help you increase your range?

[QUOTE=Music as a Weapon]i didnt see any posts like this, so i was just wondering,

what are some excersises that help you increase your range?[/QUOTE]
Do a search for Merkaba's voice help.

[QUOTE=Everyones_anti_hero]alright, i can scream, just not that loud. when i scream it sounds good, but i just want it to be louder, so if i were to scream through a microphone it would be loud as hell, underoath style, maybe im not doing something right in my mouth. help me[/QUOTE]
I wish I had this problem.

Mine is: I can scream loud, with a lot of breath.
When I reduce volume my voice returns to clean.
grmpf

I guess thats not pretty healthy for the cords.
And i can't practice/record in my flat since I'm too loud.

[QUOTE=Fretboardninja]how in the world does this guy scream?

hes frikin insane.. does anyone one know what technique he uses?

[url]http://www.soundclick.com/bulb[/url]

the song is called "The walk rerecorded"

any help is appreciated![/QUOTE]
sounds typical to me. Everything does though because there's only a few things you can do with the cords and larynx. Its the same thing I talk about around here.

THe last three or four posts...Its pretty much all been covered...ad nauseum by myself and others. So please read the hotline. Its a long but very very important read.
[URL="http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=219911"][SIZE="7"][B][COLOR="Blue"]
Merkaba's Voicehelp Hotline[/COLOR][/B][/SIZE][/URL]

I think I have a strained vocal chord. I was screaming and it hurt, because I was trying something new. I stopped it after about one minute and started playing guitar and didn't swallow that much during that time. Mainly because of concentration. I did not taste blood at all I don't think. After I was done my throat still hurt and it feels like a light pinch in my upper right adams apple area. My friend who is a screamer informed me that this has happened to him and that it is most likely a strained vocal chord. So right now I am drinking a lot of water and reducing my talking/singing/and definately screaming. It hurts when I swallow and a little bit when I talk. Mainly because when you talk your adams apple moves up and that is when it hurts me. I am almost positive it is a strained chord. Is there a way to make this heal faster? I took an Ibuprofen for the pain and I am drinking water. Anything else that could help?
Thanks
EDIT: Would drinking sleepy time tea help. No caffeine.
Edit: I am drinking tea and it helps.

Fuzzyhair,
You have strained your cords so:
No ibuprofen or anything like that. They can cause major damage to your vocal cords so avoid them. Same with chloraseptic and other throat numbing sprays. It's fine if your not going to speak or sing, but you could be pushing your voice to an extreme and you wouldn't feel a thing which is not good.
Do light scales starting on the highest falsetto you can COMFORTABLY hit right now. 5 notes, downward. Do this until you reach the bottom. Do some lip trills and humming as well. It's better (unless you have laryngitis) to keep your voice flexible than to just go totally quiet. Going totally silent will cause even more mucus to form which will result in even less of a voice.
Tea will help as long as there is no caffeine but quit drinking it and switch to water. Drink a gallon of it tomorrow. Breath some steam as well to loosen mucus.

[QUOTE=Screamin_Demon_Auz]Fuzzyhair,
You have strained your cords so:
No ibuprofen or anything like that. They can cause major damage to your vocal cords so avoid them. Same with chloraseptic and other throat numbing sprays. It's fine if your not going to speak or sing, but you could be pushing your voice to an extreme and you wouldn't feel a thing which is not good.
Do light scales starting on the highest falsetto you can COMFORTABLY hit right now. 5 notes, downward. Do this until you reach the bottom. Do some lip trills and humming as well. It's better (unless you have laryngitis) to keep your voice flexible than to just go totally quiet. Going totally silent will cause even more mucus to form which will result in even less of a voice.
Tea will help as long as there is no caffeine but quit drinking it and switch to water. Drink a gallon of it tomorrow. Breath some steam as well to loosen mucus.[/QUOTE]
Okay I read this right after I took 3 Ibuprofen. I will stop taking it though. I havent been singing for the past 2 days. I drank a whole lot of water last night and I am going to carry around a water bottle today. What exactly are lip trills? I know I'm going to have to talk in class today. I hope that's okay. Thanks

Lip trills are sounds little kids make when they are playing with cars and motorboat toys. The BBBBBBBBBBBBBB sound with your lips flapping.

[QUOTE=Screamin_Demon_Auz]Lip trills are sounds little kids make when they are playing with cars and motorboat toys. The BBBBBBBBBBBBBB sound with your lips flapping.[/QUOTE]
Okay. I drank a lot of water today. Not quite a gallon, but a lot. I pissed for like 3 minutes in the school bathroom. 'twas quite a show. My throat is feeling a little better today, even though I know it will take time to heal. I'm hoping it will feel better in the next couple of days. Thanks for your help.

Glad to hear its working out. Just keep doing the lip trills and drinking pleanty of water and you'll be fine. A few weeks ago I strained while I was recording some stuff for about 6 hours with about 2 hours of sleep and because I did everything I suggested to you my voice was back to normal in two days. If you can get some at a GNC or something, get some Throat Coat Tea. It takes a bit to get used to because its pretty bad but have a cup of that every once in a while with some honey in it and it helps too.

I disagree. I think you need to shut it up unless you really need to talk. Thats what I learned. Plus, we dont know what you did. You could have residual pain from swelling affecting one of your vocal nerves, or a damaged or partially paralyzed a nerve, which is quite common as far as vocal injuries go. With a nerve injury or partial block, the cord cant get the proper signals it needs to attempt to vibrate properly. However, if its not very painful or excrutiating then youre probably in the clear. I'm just not a fan of any drinks. Someone tell me what it is in a tea or concoction that when swallowed and digested ends up being circulated to the cords for a benefit...?? I say eat lots of raw vegetables and fruits as they pack the most nutritional punch, and take a multi. If you heal in two or three days then I'm willing to bet that it was a minor injury and your body needed that time to deal with it and repair it with its resources, not because you drank any over the counter anything. Otherwise it would probably have active ingredients listed. I dont know of any vocal help concoction or tea that has active ingredients....
"These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA"

And dont forget about mid to medium low E's....
Nutrition and water. You violated....The body heals itself when its ready.

[url]www.thevoiceconnection.com[/url] has a review on Throat Coat Tea. It has tons of herbs in it that are meant to help the voice in many ways. Totally shutting down will make it worse. Unless he has done major damage which he isn't considering he can still talk, do exercises, etc. This happens to artists all the time on the road. If you keep on pushing like it, yea it will do damage but its going to take a lot to do something major and you'll know right away if you did something bad like rupturing a cord or something of that nature.

Was he to just sit around and go silent it would take longer for his voice to recover because the inactivity is going to cause extra swelling and mucus because the lack of blood being circulated to the area. If he was to keep on just singing like he was when he messed up this time it would be even worse because it would just add to the injury. However, vocalizing the lip trills, humming, EE's, everything will help to thin everything back out and get back to normal. The tea is just really an alternative to water if you get sick of drinking nothing but water; it isn't needed but it does help.

I am starting to feel better today. My throat barely hurts in that spot. It hurt a little bit this morning, but sore throats usually hurt worst in the mornings anyway. It feels WAY better now then it did 2 days ago. I could proboably scream again if I wanted to, but I'm going to hold back on that for now.

hi tonight i was singing along to some gamma ray and suddenly i was able to hit those high falsetto sections note for note with power and without tension or discomfort. but the side effect was that i felt like a tiny part of my adams apple was sticking into my throat, even though this was not sore or unfortable it is strange because ive only being trying to sing REAL falsetto stuff for about a month and ive never expierenced anything like being able to sing that high!! now for all the singers out there did you ever get things like this happening when you first started singing??? my voice seems to have gone back to normal now but it was cool being able to do this for a while! something similar happened a few days ago aswell but maybe it is just my voice getting stronger im not sure at all?!

[QUOTE=Screamin_Demon_Auz][url]www.thevoiceconnection.com[/url] has a review on Throat Coat Tea. It has tons of herbs in it that are meant to help the voice in many ways. Totally shutting down will make it worse. Unless he has done major damage which he isn't considering he can still talk, do exercises, etc. This happens to artists all the time on the road. If you keep on pushing like it, yea it will do damage but its going to take a lot to do something major and you'll know right away if you did something bad like rupturing a cord or something of that nature.

Was he to just sit around and go silent it would take longer for his voice to recover because the inactivity is going to cause extra swelling and mucus because the lack of blood being circulated to the area. If he was to keep on just singing like he was when he messed up this time it would be even worse because it would just add to the injury. However, vocalizing the lip trills, humming, EE's, everything will help to thin everything back out and get back to normal. The tea is just really an alternative to water if you get sick of drinking nothing but water; it isn't needed but it does help.[/QUOTE]
Well there's definitely a line to walk here. I just prefer to play it on the safe side. And lets not forget that mucus is created for a reason. Its not a poison. The cords don't care about our agendas or desires to blast this or that pitch. If they are damaged they will produce more mucus, and if they are swollen they wont vibrate properly, which means that further vibrations could, possibly, result in more aggrivation. The mucus is to protect the swollen area from being infected. The pain is from, hopefully, swelling, which will limit activity as the area heals. If you hurry this natural process along you can be doing yourself an injustice. Its not the same as mucus created from dairy or general aggrivated technique. If you suddenly blew something out, you need the protection. No matter what one does the cord won't vibrate properly until's normal, especially if its one side thats affected more than another. Right now...who knows what the issue really was? And if it was hurting mostly on one side, then you really need to watch it. Because sometimes that can be nerve related. Good to see you doing better though Fuzzy. Lets just all be careful, regardless.And yea...I would hold off another day or three from the screaming. Time to practice the clean voice singing. hehe

[QUOTE=metalmaniac87]hi tonight i was singing along to some gamma ray and suddenly i was able to hit those high falsetto sections note for note with power and without tension or discomfort. but the side effect was that i felt like a tiny part of my adams apple was sticking into my throat, even though this was not sore or unfortable it is strange because ive only being trying to sing REAL falsetto stuff for about a month and ive never expierenced anything like being able to sing that high!! now for all the singers out there did you ever get things like this happening when you first started singing??? my voice seems to have gone back to normal now but it was cool being able to do this for a while! something similar happened a few days ago aswell but maybe it is just my voice getting stronger im not sure at all?![/QUOTE]
I've never gone through all of these bizarre sensations that people describe thats for sure. Mostly I would just get hoarse, or lose range for a while. You could be feeling god knows what because frankly, I dont think anyone knows what you mean. If you feel anything in your adams apple, thats your larynx. So you could have aggrivated a muscle, fatigued a muscles, you could be feeling irritation from the winds of singing...who knows. If its not uncomfortable and theres no affect to your speaking voice, its probably just a stepping stone. But I would keep an eye on it. How about giving us a better description?

[QUOTE=Merkaba]Well there's definitely a line to walk here. I just prefer to play it on the safe side. And lets not forget that mucus is created for a reason. Its not a poison. The cords don't care about our agendas or desires to blast this or that pitch. If they are damaged they will produce more mucus, and if they are swollen they wont vibrate properly, which means that further vibrations could, possibly, result in more aggrivation. The mucus is to protect the swollen area from being infected. The pain is from, hopefully, swelling, which will limit activity as the area heals. If you hurry this natural process along you can be doing yourself an injustice. Its not the same as mucus created from dairy or general aggrivated technique. If you suddenly blew something out, you need the protection. No matter what one does the cord won't vibrate properly until's normal, especially if its one side thats affected more than another. Right now...who knows what the issue really was? And if it was hurting mostly on one side, then you really need to watch it. Because sometimes that can be nerve related. Good to see you doing better though Fuzzy. Lets just all be careful, regardless.And yea...I would hold off another day or three from the screaming. Time to practice the clean voice singing. hehe[/QUOTE]
lol my mom is begging me to clean sing. My whole, "Screaming is safe" with her is gone now lol.

:lol: yep... It really can help add strength. Consider it...before she whips that azz!

I have a question. There's this death metal band, Origin, and their singer has this really high screech. I've never heard anyone scream as high as this guy can (I'm talking a non-pitched scream). It almost sounds like he's doing it through his nose or something. If he's using any sort of different technique, could someone tell me what it is and how to do it?

This link leads to some downloads from the band, the very last one (The Burner) has a good example near the beginning.

[url]http://shop.relapse.com/artist/artist.aspx?ArtistID=10076[/url]

sounds like the typical "falsetto" scream to me. Dude probably can hit some pretty high notes. Its definitely not inhaled which is the only other way.

Damn it, heh.. I was hoping for some different technique. I can't do a falsetto scream. :(

[QUOTE=Merkaba]:lol: yep... It really can help add strength. Consider it...before she whips that azz![/QUOTE]
lmao

[QUOTE=Toaster]Damn it, heh.. I was hoping for some different technique. I can't do a falsetto scream. :([/QUOTE]
THeres not much you can do with the cords. REmember that. Justkeep practicing.

Hey Merkaba,

I've been practicing this past month on linking my bridges. I still haven't had any good results. How much time will it take me to start seeing some noticable changes if I'm practicing for 20 mins/day?

Shouldnt take long to get somewhere. Just pay attention to yourself and dont overthink. Its ok to miss notes and if youre gonna miss them, working on transition and bridge breaks is THE time to do it! Back off of the push and volume and go for a feeling of rolling, or flipping. It will be a shift in throat musculature....very minute. And dont search for it. Once you've got it down you'll know why its called flipping or rolling into the next register. Lovely.I'm sure youre glissing...and dont forget to do them from highest to low.

Hello everyone,

i have recently be roped into singing for my band........i have developed a decent scream but i found at practise yesterday i wasnt able to find it,

was it just an off day? or do i really need to work on it a lot more?

i still get slightly sore throats from it but much better than when i started about 3 months ago.
also my singing voice, the more i practise will it become better??


thanks

I've been doing a lot of screaming for the past two years in a ton of different local acts (mostly black metal), but more recently I've been doing more variations between gutteral growling and really high pitched shrieking... basically I'm trying to push to a higher range, but I can't seem to do so without closing my throat off... how could I get that little bit higher without damaging my voice?

[QUOTE=peteallen]Hello everyone,

i have recently be roped into singing for my band........i have developed a decent scream but i found at practise yesterday i wasnt able to find it,

was it just an off day? or do i really need to work on it a lot more?

i still get slightly sore throats from it but much better than when i started about 3 months ago.
also my singing voice, the more i practise will it become better??


thanks[/QUOTE]
You cant ask us if it was an off day or if you need to practice more. Time will tell. If you get sore throats, youre pushing too much for your current level....ala the reason why you couldnt "find" your scream. ..... read the next reply:

[QUOTE=Eleventeen]I've been doing a lot of screaming for the past two years in a ton of different local acts (mostly black metal), but more recently I've been doing more variations between gutteral growling and really high pitched shrieking... basically I'm trying to push to a higher range, but I can't seem to do so without closing my throat off... how could I get that little bit higher without damaging my voice?[/QUOTE] This is why I stress clean voice singing. If youre not a "natural" at whatever youre trying to do then overpushing to scream will make whatever tone/note youre trying to aim for become more and more difficult, naturally. Because it all boils down to being able to hold a note at a specific pitch. If you can't sing that pitch, you sure as hell can't sing it hard enough to blow twice as hard to get a "proper" scream sound.

So basically, I don't want to push too high because I'll be f[color=silver]ucked[/color] otherwise?

[QUOTE=fuzzyhair]I think I have a strained vocal chord. I was screaming and it hurt, because I was trying something new. I stopped it after about one minute and started playing guitar and didn't swallow that much during that time. Mainly because of concentration. I did not taste blood at all I don't think. After I was done my throat still hurt and it feels like a light pinch in my upper right adams apple area. My friend who is a screamer informed me that this has happened to him and that it is most likely a strained vocal chord. So right now I am drinking a lot of water and reducing my talking/singing/and definately screaming. It hurts when I swallow and a little bit when I talk. Mainly because when you talk your adams apple moves up and that is when it hurts me. I am almost positive it is a strained chord. Is there a way to make this heal faster? I took an Ibuprofen for the pain and I am drinking water. Anything else that could help?
Thanks
EDIT: Would drinking sleepy time tea help. No caffeine.
Edit: I am drinking tea and it helps.[/QUOTE]


For you, and anyone else who reads this. The best cure is to SHUT UP for 24 hours. Absolutely no noise. If something absolutely has to be said, write notes. Tell your teacher/boss what you've done and that you won't be able to speak for the day.

Remember, absolutely NO NOISE. Luckily, the mouth and throat heal much, much quicker than most body parts. So let it sit still for 24 hours, and then slowly and carefully get yourself back to where you were. Strained cords are not fun at all.

[QUOTE=Eleventeen]So basically, I don't want to push too high because I'll be f[color=silver]ucked[/color] otherwise?[/QUOTE]
Well I wouldnt say Fu[I]c[/I]ked, but it will be harder if you cant simple get the hang of going up to hit higher notes. This is way easier to do without the complications of overblowing to get a scream. The tension it takes to hold the cords position is higher for a higher pitch, then it takes even more to hold this while extra air is blowing over them. I would just practice trying to relax and sing normally whatever pitch youre trying to scream first. At least half and half. It doesnt have to be a day long thing. Try it for five minutes or so at least.

I think I finally found my "screaming" voice. I've been doing beginner vocal excersizes (sp) like those lip trills and some stuff off Melissa Cross' video, and I just made my normal singing voice raspy enough so that there's no note in them. It hurts a lot more than the normal growling technique I use, and it's less loud, but I can definitely go higher, and it sounds much smoother.

The thing is, I can't do it every time. Sometimes I try to rasp really hard and it just comes out as a stupid-sounding (and painful) note. The rasp is also helped a lot by phlegm, even though the normal technique I use isn't.

Can someone tell me if this sounds "correct"? I'll post a few clips if it helps.

No, it doesn't sound correct. Don't do it. Phlegm shouldn't be doing anything for sound, and it should not hurt. Don't do itttttt.


You're getting your rasp the wrong way. Remember in the special features for Melissa Cross' video, it shows her vocal cords while she screams, then she shows you how people are doing it the wrong way, and it's nothing but a closed throat with a bunch of bubbling? Yeah, that's probably what you're doing to get your rasp. And it's really, really wrong.

You should be getting your rasp before the vocal cords. Rasp should be air hitting and rolling up your throat, before your cords. You'll know when you get rasp right, because you'll be doing it over and over and over again, and it won't feel itchy, scratchy, or painful at all(unless your throat is dry).

Also remember that you don't need to scream your heart out, because when you're actually screaming, you'll be doing it into a microphone which will make you louder. So when you practise, you should be trying to sound as loud as you would if you were screaming properly through a mic.


Remember that a scream is a yell, with heat and fire. Heat is that crunch, and fire is that woof. Put them together, with a yell, and you're screaming.

When you first learn how to scream, it's not smart to do it for four hours, as although it won't directly be screwing with your cords, I assume you aren't a singer, so your cords aren't exactly strong. So they will get overused, and it will feel poopy afterward.

So, even if you're rasping properly, don't walk around talking to everyone using your rasp all day long, because, come night, it won't feel too nice.

Oh, and one more thing. Drink lots of water or Gatorade while you're screaming. You've gotta keep it wet. It's the same as talking. Nobody likes talking with a dry throat, and eventually it will get irritated. So don't scream with it, either.

And also, there's a really good chance you're going to stress your cords atleast a few times while learning to scream. When this happens, just shut the @#%$ up for 24 hours. It'll heal, then carefully get back to where you were before screwing them up. And don't do what you were doing when you screwed them up. Learn control, and don't be stupid about it.

[QUOTE=Merkaba]I'm sure youre glissing...and dont forget to do them from highest to low.[/QUOTE]

i already have my registers smoothed out....and i always did it lowest to highest and found that humming made it easer to work on...

but why do you say to do it highest to lowest???



extra tip: after you smooth out your registers you'll probably feel good about holding long notes and sliding into notes...but the next step would be to get out a piano/keyboard and just try to hit individual notes without sliding....

right now i can beautifully slide into high notes and hold them...but in my normal range i have trouble just going straight to a note...i imagine practicing scales with a piano accompanment will help???

Okay. This first clip is of me yelling very loudly in an attempt to scream. I love the sound that I get, but I can't do it too often or my vocal cords get very sore.

[url]http://s54.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=38IYVNICRWFL121B7G74D8F6GE[/url]

This next clip is of me doing the scream I mentioned a few posts up. It doesn't really hurt unless I do it for a long time (and I've been improving my stamina), but it sounds far weaker, isn't as loud, and I can't do it every single time (unlike the scream above).
[url]http://s54.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2FGNWNJKHZEPL2AS182F9XVVRG[/url]

Is it possible for me to rasp as hard as I do in the first clip without ripping my cords to shreds? Sorry about all the questions, but I'm getting very frustrated with my voice.