Yo Merkaba. I'm finally trying to give this whole singing thing a shot. I'm trying to bridge the gap between my regular & falsetto voice with little success. I've read through the isolation thread a couple times, and I'm trying to keep my larynx low, but I'm having a hard time doing this without sounding like Kermit the frog.:confused:

^ Bridging the head and falsetto voice is a great place to start, it takes some time and practice, but it'll smooth over eventually. I had it down for awhile but now I only sort of do, because I'm trying to increase my head voice range, which is working a little.

Merkaba, I've been reading the rock n' roll singers book, so far I'm to the breathing exercises part. All is going well so far; but I have a few questions. Should I be breathing in through my nose, or my mouth? Or does it not matter? Normally I like breathing through my nose throughout my day, but when I sing I'm pretty sure I automatically breathe through my mouth. I don't think the book has specified if that's good or bad (at least not yet), just wondering if you knew.

Also, I'm having trouble keeping my larynx down too. I never knew this was a big problem until recently. Is it supposed to stay in one place? How much movement is really bad? I haven't gotten to any exercises concerning that, but I find that I can sing different pitches without it moving. :confused:

Hey Merk, since you're a personal trainer hopefully you can help me...

I'm a wrestler and I can't cut the weight I need to cut before my matches start and stay hydrated, so I'm going to try some Stacker 2. I was wondering what problems may arise from taking this, since I'm 17. Will this affect my singing voice? That is my main concern, but I was also wondering what other side effects this may have.

Is it possible to teach yourself how to sing? I can't afford lessons, and guitar is my main thing, but I'm thinking about giving vocals a shot. Do you think it's possible to be a decent singer just by following this thread, and practicing what it says? I just don't want to learn bad habits. At least with guitar, I was taught proper technique, so I don't hurt myself. I don't want to damage my voice due to bad habits, you know, since I don't know proper technique for vocals.

Hi i love opeth, and would love to be able to death growl like mikael, but im not quite sure how to do this. Any help? I caN Seemingly get it but i cant sustain the growls long enough, they seem to take alot out of me. Am i doing them wrong?

Voice
 

hey i was wondering if you guys could help me out on the singing in my band.
I need some pointers on what to do and how i could improve.
Please be kind with the comments lol:lol:
heres the link if it doesnt work just copy and paste it into the address bar
[url]www.myspace.com/euphoriavis[/url]
any other comments on the music are welcome to.

Ok so I can sing ok and everything from what I've been told so it's not the quality that's the problem. I don't really even have a problem as such but I'd really love to extend my vocal range. I have a really low voice compared to most girls and I'd like to just get higher. Any tips on how to do it?

[QUOTE=CDoasis]^

Merkaba, I've been reading the rock n' roll singers book, so far I'm to the breathing exercises part. All is going well so far; but I have a few questions. Should I be breathing in through my nose, or my mouth? Or does it not matter? Normally I like breathing through my nose throughout my day, but when I sing I'm pretty sure I automatically breathe through my mouth. I don't think the book has specified if that's good or bad (at least not yet), just wondering if you knew.

Also, I'm having trouble keeping my larynx down too. I never knew this was a big problem until recently. Is it supposed to stay in one place? How much movement is really bad? I haven't gotten to any exercises concerning that, but I find that I can sing different pitches without it moving. :confused:[/QUOTE]
When i sing i normally breathe through my mouth when doing faster stuff, when its applicable I try to breathe through my nose because it moistens and warms the air. I think it mentions this somewhere in the book. Technically it would help the cords, but in front of a mic it can be a little noisier to breathe in quickly through the nose. And its slower. So other than timing and sounding issues, I wouldnt really worry much about it. But technically I'd try to breathe through in through the nose when applicable.

[QUOTE=BenCJ]Yo Merkaba. I'm finally trying to give this whole singing thing a shot. I'm trying to bridge the gap between my regular & falsetto voice with little success. I've read through the isolation thread a couple times, and I'm trying to keep my larynx low, but I'm having a hard time doing this without sounding like Kermit the frog.:confused:[/QUOTE]
Are you doing glisses? (hold a lower note and slide up continuosly to your highest falsetto....or vice versa) Do lots of them. And if you havent read the section on finding your head voice. Over time you have enough strength and flexibility that you can hit your bridge or break in either voice. But it will take time and working out.

[QUOTE=panthersfan16]Hey Merk, since you're a personal trainer hopefully you can help me...

I'm a wrestler and I can't cut the weight I need to cut before my matches start and stay hydrated, so I'm going to try some Stacker 2. I was wondering what problems may arise from taking this, since I'm 17. Will this affect my singing voice? That is my main concern, but I was also wondering what other side effects this may have.[/QUOTE] Well its probably got caffeine, bitter orange,guarana, or some combination of the sort. If so it will dehydrate you to some degree. It can be hard to cut weight quickly without being dehydrated. Its usually one in the same since much of quick weight loss is water. I've had a lot of caffeine over the past few weeks. I havent had any in three days and on the second day I could really tell my voice was more supple and smoother, and I didnt have to warm up as much. The big thing is to watch the caffeine and stimulant intake as that will sap water. Other than that, I couldnt tell ya much other than don't over do it.

[QUOTE=randomthought9]Is it possible to teach yourself how to sing? I can't afford lessons, and guitar is my main thing, but I'm thinking about giving vocals a shot. Do you think it's possible to be a decent singer just by following this thread, and practicing what it says? I just don't want to learn bad habits. At least with guitar, I was taught proper technique, so I don't hurt myself. I don't want to damage my voice due to bad habits, you know, since I don't know proper technique for vocals.[/QUOTE] Sure. Take it slow and learn the fundamentals as boring as it is. Do the "rudimental" exercises. We all know they are boring. If you can't afford a teacher you need to read as much as possible so you can learn the basic idea of what the cords are and what they're doing. Then take it slow and dont try to be chris cornell tomorrow.

[QUOTE=Subete]Hi i love opeth, and would love to be able to death growl like mikael, but im not quite sure how to do this. Any help? I caN Seemingly get it but i cant sustain the growls long enough, they seem to take alot out of me. Am i doing them wrong?[/QUOTE]
If its taking alot out of you then youre tensing up the throat, and probably much of your body, and pushing too hard. Practice singing the note without screaming it, holding it longer than he does. then slowly add more push over time. For me, time would be a few minutes in this case...once I've relaxed and made sure I wasn't tensing up.


[QUOTE=Herbert_da_fish]Ok so I can sing ok and everything from what I've been told so it's not the quality that's the problem. I don't really even have a problem as such but I'd really love to extend my vocal range. I have a really low voice compared to most girls and I'd like to just get higher. Any tips on how to do it?[/QUOTE]
First page of this thread, "Exercises for strength and flexibility"
Range increase can take a long time. BUt be sure you read the isolation thread as well because you could add a note or two simply by using better technique.

Cool, thanks Merk. That makes alot of sense too. I never thought that it would help to breathe through the nose when possible.

ok ......... could it be that my voice just isnt developed enough ........ or is it because i have too deep of a voice........ because im 15 but i cant reach high notes...... and it strains me so much no matter how much i try using my gut n breathing out and relaxing n stuff...im sooo confused :upset:

Merk, you are the Omega of vocals. Omega is the last letter of the greek alphabet, and you are the last word on vocals round this place.

I'm still at the Alpha. I'm just starting.

Now, I'm 14. My voice has fully broken, I'm 6'2", I'm skinny but i aint tiny.

I do not want to be able to scream like [crap, sceney band]. I dont even want to shout that much.

What I aspire to, is Chris Cornell-esque style vocals. They amaze me, I dont like Soundgarden but his voice is amazing. To be honest, my real hero is Peter Shoulder of Winterville, but you don't know him. [url]www.wintervilleonline.com[/url], check them out. Other than that, fairly generic rock anmd blues vocals is all I want.

Any basic groundwork I can do to get a good start? How can I start off on the good foot? etc.

[QUOTE=Screamin_Demon_Auz][url]http://www.melissacross.com/news_detail.php?articleID=12[/url]

That may be what your dad was talking about UsefulIdi0t[/QUOTE]

here's the link i just found it!

[URL="http://www.publicradio.org/tools/media/player/publicradioweekend/2005/10/22/22_prw_02?start=41:03.0&end=48:21.0"]http://www.publicradio.org/tools/media/player/publicradioweekend/2005/10/22/22_prw_02?start=41:03.0&end=48:21.0[/URL]

hahah sorry Screamin_Demon_Auz, didn't realize your link lead to it!

[QUOTE=Acey13]ok ......... could it be that my voice just isnt developed enough ........ or is it because i have too deep of a voice........ because im 15 but i cant reach high notes...... and it strains me so much no matter how much i try using my gut n breathing out and relaxing n stuff...im sooo confused :upset:[/QUOTE]
Sing with less push. Everything you do should be comfortable.

You very well could be a bass. Who knows. At 15 you might just be at one of those periods of time where your singing voice could be hard to find due to your larynx being shifted a bit in size and shape by puberty. In general though, I would bet that its your technique. Sing softer and do glisses. Perhaps a sample posted could help out too.

[QUOTE=RobJones]Merk, you are the Omega of vocals. Omega is the last letter of the greek alphabet, and you are the last word on vocals round this place.

I'm still at the Alpha. I'm just starting.

Now, I'm 14. My voice has fully broken, I'm 6'2", I'm skinny but i aint tiny.

I do not want to be able to scream like [crap, sceney band]. I dont even want to shout that much.

What I aspire to, is Chris Cornell-esque style vocals. They amaze me, I dont like Soundgarden but his voice is amazing. To be honest, my real hero is Peter Shoulder of Winterville, but you don't know him. [url]www.wintervilleonline.com[/url], check them out. Other than that, fairly generic rock anmd blues vocals is all I want.

Any basic groundwork I can do to get a good start? How can I start off on the good foot? etc.[/QUOTE]What do you mean by "has fully broken"?
Cornell is one of my faves. You've really got to be able to relax the throat and keep open without squeezing up anything. This gives you the ability to keep the sound "warm" with resonance. There is no real trick other than breath support from the diaphragm so you dont tense the throat as much, and to practice like youre in an opera. And dont over push! So many people push way harder than they need to because of watching videos and listening to overpushed vocals. Til you find your voice you need to sing without a lot of push so your throat doesnt run the risk of tensing up to resist the air. And as i say if you sing in an auditorium or post office you'll realize that voice can carry without alot of push.

And don't forget about the first page of this thread.

Thanks for the advice mate. But i was wondering, how would i go about getting mikael from opeths growling tone? I love the way he can go from a really low death growl to a higher screaming one, but i have no clue how to do either! Any help

Have you read this thread?

Yeah, but didnt find anything too helpfull. Did i miss any nuggets of info on growling in this thread?

What page of this thread is "Singing from the gut" i checked out page 5 but i cant find it. If anyone could post a link it would be greatly appreciated.

I just checked that out and I didnt see it on there either! Dam, who made this silly thread?

I'll try to find it if not I'll post a bit about it. I have a lot of work to do so if you dont see anything over the next few days then ask again.

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 kinda working toward a norma jean styled scream like in memphis will be layed to waste.

[QUOTE=Merkaba-1]I just checked that out and I didnt see it on there either! Dam, who made this silly thread?

I'll try to find it if not I'll post a bit about it. I have a lot of work to do so if you dont see anything over the next few days then ask again.[/QUOTE]

ok thanks Merkaba

just need a bit of direction....
 

Alright, first off i will start by stating i have indeed read just about everything on screaming contained in this website... and believe that i understand a majority of it. The knowledge isn't the problem, but i have a little question on the application......

I am screaming, but hoping on range. Most of all, i want to do it right. Listening to all styles of 'screaming' vocals i noticed they ALL sound relatively the same, like they are coming from the same area (As Merkaba has said...) but here is my problem. First off, i can't gliss a scream very far at all, is this me or just how it works? Next, when i do a deep, lower ended scream it has a quite resonating, airy, kind of rumble to it... no problem with the sound (which, if i had to relate would be like Tim Lambesis, As I Lay Dying lows) it is just how long i can hold it... maybe 15 seconds... top. My friends say it is SUPER open, and that i believe is the problem, but closing it, even slightly, alters the sound for the worse. Next, my higher ended screams. I either get a whiny-rasp that i feel in the back, upper part of my throat (i really don't like it), or, recently, i have been able to obtain an airy, more open scream which i feel coming rumbling in my larynx slightly. Niether cause pain, but both require a decent amount of push... the worse part is the airy, larynx based high pinches every once and a while into a quite unpleasant screachy noise (like slamming on your brakes...) Anyone have any assistance????

Finally, one more note.... mid-ranged styled screams (Norma Jean, Stars Are Falling, The Chariot, Fear Before the March of Flames, Dead to Fall.....) when i attempt them it seems i can always get a quit scratchy, nasty sound.... that doesn't sound open at all


i need help, please........ just advice

Dont have much time right now to get too long. BUt If you can, post a sample of your screams...and then of you trying to sing the same note. High, mid and low. If you can't sing it, you cant scream it well.

i want to get a good vibrato going, a la 'opera'. Think you can help me out?
thanks

I would love to record some samples, as i understand this would make critiquing much easier, and more accurate but.... i only have a mic and no knowledge of how to get my sound onto the internet. I am familiar with computers, so if someone could quickly decribe to me what i need and how to get it up on the internet, that would be great... I have a mic (PG 58 is the model, if it matters), and the only method of transfering voice onto the computer, that i have, is one of those cheap microphones that allow you to talk to someone else on the internet.... how do i record? like what program would i need, and what is the best way to record onto the computer?

...anyone? just need a bit of advice, it would be greatly appreciated.

Dont know much about it all.

Do you have anything to power the mic up? Like a stereo or mixer? If so plug it into that and run out from their into the comp. You might need a converter depending on what type of connection you have in the back of your comp. I'm pretty sure its not a 1/4" jack! If you dont have anything to power up your pg 58 mic then I'm not sure if you can just run it directly into the comp...maybe someone else will know if you need it powered up or not.

In any event, go here [url]http://audacity.sourceforge.net/[/url] and get audacity. Its decent. Then see if you can at least get some input even if its with the crappy computer mic. Just dont get too close.

Alright, i will get those samples hopefully put up in the next couple of weeks... but in the mean-time i have a quick question for Merkaba, or anyone else who would like to take a stab at it:
Alright i noticed that i get the rasp/change in tone from the same portion of my throat in both highs and mid-ranged styled screams but, no matter how hard i tried i notcied a gliss was impossible. Then i found that i am pushing in 2 completely different ways... with the high is has pressure, and dare i say i am tense while i do it, a bad thing. My larynx is raised slightly, and sometimes i get that squeely brakes "chirp" squeak which i believe is the cords closing off due to the pressure, which i understand is bad. No pain has ever evolved from it, but on to the mid-ranged style. They have little volume, about say a raised speaking tone. They also, seem to derived from a very feeble singing not. If i add more air, the blast causes problems. Could it be that i just need to work on the mid-ranged more to allow for more volume and cleaness of tone?

Merk,

I've been following your thread for a couple months now trying to improve my vocals. I'm making progress, but I was wondering if you had advise on a daily practice routine.

Right now, I spend about 30 minutes singing major scales. I am doing a pretty good job of hitting the notes acending and decending the scale with my guitar. I can also sing the the scales doing 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 1-5, etc. intervals. I'm getting pretty good at this, but need a good deal of practice still. I sing these as "do-re-mi" "moh, may moo", etc. sounds with these exercises. That's really all I'm doing, though.

Are there other things I should be doing to round out my practices?

I have a few songs posted here: [url]http://onetrickpony.dmusic.com[/url]

Please take a listen (and anyone else reading this) and offer your advise if you can. I am happy with the improvements I'm making, but have a long way to go.

Thanks.

hey merkaba/anyone else who can help:

i haven't read this whole thread, so forgive me if my question has already been addressed.

i currently play guitar, been playing for about a year, and i'm working on singing and playing at the same time. i have no real singing experience at all. i'm not interested in advanced singing techniques like screaming or falsetto really, i just want to be able to hit notes in my own range and be able to sing a song in key. i don't really have any idea where to start; what kind of stuff should i work on as a complete beginner? thanks :thumb:

I forgive you

If you cant stay in key you need to work on singing along with single notes as you do scales. Then play three two five note scales where you play the scale first, then repeat it by singing it without playing. Staying in key with an instrument on your lap is the easiest way to stay in key. If you cant do this then you might be tensing up around your vocal bridges which makes it hell trying to stay in key if you dont know which voice to use(this should be automatic after enough practice to realize where your chest voice really ends and your head voice begins, and the same for head to falsetto. The first three sections at the first page's "menu" can help you alot. And just relax and sing.

Funny thing, i love singing but i think i am doing it entirely wrong. It seems no matter what my throat tenses slightly when i try and hit odd notes. i can sing completely comfortable, loose, relaxed etc. but i don't always think it sounds right. Before i am warmed up a few have told me it actually sounds more like an aired talking note.... anything to remedy this?

If it matters my falsetto is decent, i just think i am not doing something right in head/chest... of which i can't discern the difference when i am singing.

Not much info here. But you might be having trouble releasing into head voice. A sample would be better.

merka i get a 404 error trying to download your samples

[url]http://www.soundclick.com/bands/1/merkabastarmusic.htm[/url]

please, can you re-upload them into something like rapidshare.de or something??

thanx

I'll look into it. I dont know if I have those files still...but I can make somemore sometime. I don't know what happened to my account. I'll try to contact soundclick to see.

It's here [url]http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=228211[/url]

I think soundclick changed their linking system or something.

Hey Merkaba

Please visit [url]www.purevolume.com/thevaliantaus[/url] and listen to the clips "The Scare - Cry Junkie" and "At The Drive-In - Cosmonaut". Now how would you go about switching from singing to screaming demonstrated in both of these clips? Because I have trouble going from singing clean to singing with a rasp or screaming. How can I make it so that the transition from singing to screaming present and make it smooth?

Regards,
Jan

I'll have to check it later. Got to get to bed now..but I must say that Cedric sounds very tenor...so if youre baritone it will be way harder for you to relate to how easy it is for him.

Be sure you can isolate and stay in head voice, if its head voice. The best thing is to practice the screaming passage by singing it normally...gradually increasing push and rasp. Otherwise it might make you tense up the throat in an attempt to get it all in one blow, if youre not used to it.

Hey, Im a newbie to this ****in site!!! rock the **** on...
My question is, how to get a louder bellow? i got ur tips and its working and all, but I want to get louder, like Cannibal Corpse, Disturbed, ummm Drowning Pool, like loud ****! lol...
I love hardcore and have my own band, Human Slaughter House, I need to get louder and a little bit better for my band and my fans...
thanks in head of hand for your tips..

Whats isolate? sorry...