[QUOTE=Merkaba]Play another melody on top of it with the guitar. Make that your singing melody. Or put some reverb and chorus on the track and play it from another room. This works alot of times for me. Or used to back when I actually wrote a good bit. The lingering of the tones gave me lots of ideas.[/QUOTE]


Good idea, eventually hopefully i wont have to do that.

Whats going on?
 

I'm Derek I'm 19 and a musician I've been singing since as long as I can remember but for some reason my voice is becoming higher pitched than lower. When I was 16 or 17 It was a very deep low pitched voice, and now it's starting to sound like I'm about 14 again.

Merkaba, I've got a theory I've been working with, and I'm not really sure how to explain it... but I'm gonna try...

If you've noticed, a lot of the singers who scream with their throats closer/tense, voices sound much more... throaty and painful the higher they push, whilest their lower stuff, specifically growling sounds a lot better... examples being George Fisher, Matt Heafy, the dude from Benighted, etc.

Would this have anything to do with it possibly being easier to be relaxed while doing lower vocals? Like, is it easier to keep your throat open doing a low note than a high note?

[QUOTE=Eleventeen]Merkaba, I've got a theory I've been working with, and I'm not really sure how to explain it... but I'm gonna try...

If you've noticed, a lot of the singers who scream with their throats closer/tense, voices sound much more... throaty and painful the higher they push, whilest their lower stuff, specifically growling sounds a lot better... examples being George Fisher, Matt Heafy, the dude from Benighted, etc.

Would this have anything to do with it possibly being easier to be relaxed while doing lower vocals? Like, is it easier to keep your throat open doing a low note than a high note?[/QUOTE]
Thats basically it in a nutshell. The cords are longer and less tense when doing lower pitches, again, like the low E on a guitar. The problem comes from the natural feeling of wanting to raise the larynx with the pitch to keep resonance on the sound, which again, is akin to playing a tweeter in a bass box. The natural voice is setup to sound best within the given parameters of the voicebox. Trying to go higher than normal is the same thing as previously stated, and like tuning up the high e string. Sure you can get it to an F, maybe a G, But keep going, and strum harder(more push) and see what happens.... so to speak.

Ok i got the biggest show that i've ever had coming up in like a little over a month. So i want to be the best i can be so i can get more like this or bigger.
And i think i could put like a good 2 hours of voice practice maximum a day.

Whats the BEST 2 hour schedule you could think of?
Be very descriptive.

Thanks.
Yes i know i ask alot of questios in here hah.

[QUOTE=Merkaba]Thats basically it in a nutshell. The cords are longer and less tense when doing lower pitches, again, like the low E on a guitar. The problem comes from the natural feeling of wanting to raise the larynx with the pitch to keep resonance on the sound, which again, is akin to playing a tweeter in a bass box. The natural voice is setup to sound best within the given parameters of the voicebox. Trying to go higher than normal is the same thing as previously stated, and like tuning up the high e string. Sure you can get it to an F, maybe a G, But keep going, and strum harder(more push) and see what happens.... so to speak.[/QUOTE]

Ahh, thank you.

But doesn't bad technique also consist of not "singing the scream"? Meaning that the singer doesn't change the pitch of his voice when he screams. I know that I don't change pitch at all, I just open my mouth wider, and I'm sure that many other singers do the same thing (George Fisher, who you mentioned, Glen Benton, among many others). That would make sense if you were talking about normal singing, but I don't think that vocal cord tension varies that much from growling to screaming.

hey, ive been singing for about 2 years, and over the last week my voice has gone to s**t. if i sing for over 10 minutes my voice gets very hoarse and im kind of concerned that it might be a permanent thing. Im not doing anything different so im a bit confused. perhaps im just sick or something? :confused:

but if i were sick. i would think that my voice would be hoarse to start with.... but it happens after about 10 minutes...

[QUOTE=Toaster]But doesn't bad technique also consist of not "singing the scream"? Meaning that the singer doesn't change the pitch of his voice when he screams. I know that I don't change pitch at all, I just open my mouth wider, and I'm sure that many other singers do the same thing (George Fisher, who you mentioned, Glen Benton, among many others). That would make sense if you were talking about normal singing, but I don't think that vocal cord tension varies that much from growling to screaming.[/QUOTE]
I'm saying that technique wise you should go for the note first. So many people try to get this raspy scream that they close the throat off and push like a mother because they are thinking RASP and SCREAM instead of NOTE. If one goes for the same feeling that they normally would then they can bypass alot if not all of the trouble and dangerous areas. As far as pitch...Pitch shouldnt change just because someone is screaming verses singing. The pitch should be whatever pitch is wanted to stay in key. I don't really know what your relevance is with that. But to me the only difference between growling and screaming is screaming is a high pitch thing.

Merkaba, I don't know if you know anything about clean vocals, but I have been playing guitar for a while, and I would like to learn to do some vocals as well. The trouble is I am god awful :( . I can't seem to keep in key and am just in generally a bad singer. Do you have any suggestions for practicing to eventually at least be able to sing in key? Thanks.

I can aproximatly sing the right note, but I can't seem to have a bit of intonation. I could sing rap...:angry: lol

But what's the trick to have more expression, I think I'm a bit shy, so I don't want to sing very loud, in case I might sing out of scale...

I have that problem as well .

do you got a solution near you?

[QUOTE=groomits]I can aproximatly sing the right note, but I can't seem to have a bit of intonation. I could sing rap...:angry: lol

But what's the trick to have more expression, I think I'm a bit shy, so I don't want to sing very loud, in case I might sing out of scale...[/QUOTE]
There is no trick....not to much of this. The trick is maybe in understand a few things about the cords and larynx and how when you go up in pitch you can actually back off of push a little, and that you shouldnt be able to "blow out a candle" when you sing. Its not about a large amount of air, its about the pressure you keep behind the cords. Little understandings could be tricks. But for the most part if you can't sing with expression its because you "can't sing" If youre worried about anything , especially about your singing, then this will always lead to a tense larynx. A "trick" in the understanding, like I say. Again, remember the cartoons, when they are about to get killed or clobered, they always gulp....swallow, that sound. Its because the larynx naturally gets ready to close up and the breath gets shallow due to the tense situation, even in real life situations, like getting pulled over by the cops are a near miss in a car. You can feel it in your throat. This to some degree will occur when youre tense on stage as well. This is why you need to practice and be able to get into muscle memory what it feels like to sing normally, with noone around to judge you. So you can break as many notes as you need in order to learn....especially if youre "worried" or if youre not a "natural". A high tense larynx will always lead to reduced range and inconsistent if not shltty tone, etc. The larynx raises when you swallow to block airflow so you dont choke...so naturally you dont want any part of this if you want easy airflow for singing. Isolating the cords movement from the larynx through practice and normal singing scales,glisses, etc is key.

[QUOTE=chorbalan]Merkaba, I don't know if you know anything about clean vocals, but I have been playing guitar for a while, and I would like to learn to do some vocals as well. The trouble is I am god awful :( . I can't seem to keep in key and am just in generally a bad singer. Do you have any suggestions for practicing to eventually at least be able to sing in key? Thanks.[/QUOTE]
Singing in key is simply muscle memory if youre not a "natural". All you can do is sing scales along with an instrument of choice while playing notes and scales, then try to replicate it without the instrument. Legatto and staccatto. (continuously smooth, and broken) Play around with it, and also try to sing extra melodies.lyrics, fills, scat, whatever, to your favorite songs in between verses or song breaks. And yes, a tense larynx will increase a chance of being out of tune.

Meh, I've completely ravaged my voice from arguing with my parents, and I have a show this Saturday, is there any way I can help my voice out aside from just not talking or screaming, because my band is practicing every night, so I can't really just cop out on practices, and I really need to make this show.

Talk through the practices, or get an overdrive pedal and whisper through it. If you give it 'till Saturday without screaming once you'll be healed I should think.

guys lately ive lost the ability to scream. i can sing cleanly the way i normaly would be able to, but when i go to scream it just sounds like gurgly and like very dry. im not doing anything different than what i used to do. i did have a sore throat and still do a little bit when i wake up in the morning (prob cause i have a cold and the mucus is dripping down my throat from lying down) but ive always been able to scream before when ive had a cold. Has anyone else had this problem before when they lost their scream for more than a couple of days? please let me know, im a bit worried sinse i have to finish up a couple of tracks for my band's EP. Oh, and let me know if you think maybe i should jsut rest my voice for a couple of days or something. Thanks you very much!

[QUOTE=Eleventeen]Meh, I've completely ravaged my voice from arguing with my parents, and I have a show this Saturday, is there any way I can help my voice out aside from just not talking or screaming, because my band is practicing every night, so I can't really just cop out on practices, and I really need to make this show.[/QUOTE]

deff rest your voice as much as possible. show up to practice and do what you can. if you scream deff dont do that! do some of the clean vox but dont go full out! turn your PA or w/e you use for vox louder than usual so you dont have to use as much effort.

[QUOTE=Toaster]Talk through the practices, or get an overdrive pedal and whisper through it. If you give it 'till Saturday without screaming once you'll be healed I should think.[/QUOTE]
ANNNNNKKKKKK!!!!!!


If your voice is shot you need to eat lots of raw fruits and veggies and drink lots of water. You need to rebuild and recover tissue. Call it overkill but the quickest most abundant and readily available source of what you need is in RAW fruits and vegetables. Just like at the other end of the spectrum, no coach or teacher or doctor will EVER tell you "eat a few slices of Extra cheese pizza to help you recover." Its the same reasons. Just different ways of putting them. You can say the sky is blue, or the sky is not green. Both are true of the same subject.

At the VERY least drink lots of water and no caffeine or sugary drinks. Just water. You also need to talk as little as possible and whispering is worse than talking. Any vocal teacher or doctor will tell you the same.

If your cords are sore then they could be inflammed from overexertion, etc, or if you have a cold(or even if you don't, though moreso if you do) they could actually be infected, as in laryngitis. This is one of the few times that you want to do absolutely nothing vocally. If you have a cold and your cords hurt but you don't want to go to a doctor to find out if they are infected, then youre rolling the dice. Just know that. You also pretty much want to avoid medicines that end in INE. Such as Pseudoepenephrine,(good luck) a very common one, because INE is basically a way of saying CaffeINE in some medical formula type of way, and it will help flush water out of your system, including your cords, thus the reason why they are in decongestants and the like, because it unclogs your congestion by thinning it out with extra water from your body.

Everyone wants an easy way out in situations like this but sometimes there are none, unless you can afford/arrange steroid shots and the like.

^

Ya

I only get a tired voice when I don't warm up. If I warm up(following your guide) I can do like an hour/two & a half. The start to lose depth.

Tonight, I was pissed off and decided to fukk my voice up for fun. (lols, I know). I intentally used the worst tech(throat), out of my range and very loud. It took about 15 minutes before my harsh vocals sounded dry, sratchy and just awful. heh. Good times though. My clear and talking voice is fine and no pain with anything, so I'm good. My harsh vox sound terrible though. haha.

How long should I rest, not just now, but really more so, when I'm practicing? It seems like several hours everyday is a bit much, for consistancy.

Ok i got the biggest show that i've ever had coming up in like a little over a month. So i want to be the best i can be so i can get more like this or bigger.
And i think i could put like a good 2 hours of voice practice maximum a day.

Whats the BEST 2 hour schedule you could think of?
Be very descriptive.

Thanks.
Yes i know i ask alot of questios in here hah.

[QUOTE=Merkaba]ANNNNNKKKKKK!!!!!!


If your voice is shot you need to eat lots of raw fruits and veggies and drink lots of water. You need to rebuild and recover tissue. Call it overkill but the quickest most abundant and readily available source of what you need is in RAW fruits and vegetables. Just like at the other end of the spectrum, no coach or teacher or doctor will EVER tell you "eat a few slices of Extra cheese pizza to help you recover." Its the same reasons. Just different ways of putting them. You can say the sky is blue, or the sky is not green. Both are true of the same subject.

At the VERY least drink lots of water and no caffeine or sugary drinks. Just water. You also need to talk as little as possible and whispering is worse than talking. Any vocal teacher or doctor will tell you the same.

If your cords are sore then they could be inflammed from overexertion, etc, or if you have a cold(or even if you don't, though moreso if you do) they could actually be infected, as in laryngitis. This is one of the few times that you want to do absolutely nothing vocally. If you have a cold and your cords hurt but you don't want to go to a doctor to find out if they are infected, then youre rolling the dice. Just know that. You also pretty much want to avoid medicines that end in INE. Such as Pseudoepenephrine,(good luck) a very common one, because INE is basically a way of saying CaffeINE in some medical formula type of way, and it will help flush water out of your system, including your cords, thus the reason why they are in decongestants and the like, because it unclogs your congestion by thinning it out with extra water from your body.

Everyone wants an easy way out in situations like this but sometimes there are none, unless you can afford/arrange steroid shots and the like.[/QUOTE]

Well thank god the show's been postponed... I've already been drinking a lot of water, and my voice has made a bit of progress, I was actually able to scream in my full range last night, though I probably shouldn't have so soon... I think I'll just give myself a break and drink a lot of water... is green tea acceptable, or no because it has caffine in it? and what if you're allergic to both apples and strawberries? should I just go with grapes/bannanas/watermelon... and I stay away from meat in the first place because of digestive issues, so that's probably good... I'm guessing no alchohol for a while, right?

[QUOTE=Eleventeen]Well thank god the show's been postponed... I've already been drinking a lot of water, and my voice has made a bit of progress, I was actually able to scream in my full range last night, though I probably shouldn't have so soon... I think I'll just give myself a break and drink a lot of water... is green tea acceptable, or no because it has caffine in it? and what if you're allergic to both apples and strawberries? should I just go with grapes/bannanas/watermelon... and I stay away from meat in the first place because of digestive issues, so that's probably good... I'm guessing no alchohol for a while, right?[/QUOTE]
Well like I always say....its not THAT big of an issue, but I just state what I know so that you can moderate your intake if you want. Green tea has caffeine in it. You can get decaf. But it doesnt have as much as many other common teas, usually...if I remember correctly. Yes alcohol is bad.

And it would be a real feat to eat too much raw fruit or vegetables. So whatever you like. If its fresh eat it. Stay away from dried fruits and stuff like that. Good luck. Do lots of EE's at speaking pitch and speaking push....hold them for a while. You can also learn to do....I forgot what they are called. I'll try to look it up. But you take a small amount of water in and hold your head down. Now inhale through the water keeping it from spilling out. This helps moisturize a little. This and normal gargaling. I seldom do such but if my cords are blasted or something I will do alot of this. I also have a mist inhaler that heats up water and has the little mini mask you put half of your face down in to breath the steam. I dont like it much though because I think it irritates my lungs a bit. Of course I usually over do it though.

Best wishes. Be careful. You only get one set of these strings!

i think ive strained my voice....because my screams arent working, but my singin voice is fine. so, i have a question. would it be ok to sing but not scream, or should i just not do any singing what so ever for a couple days? take note that my whole voice isnt shot just my screaming

I think I'm having some problems. I'm able to hit some pretty high notes (think Saves The Day) but after singing for a good time, my forehead hurts. Is it improper technique? Cheers!:chug: <- Those are mugs filled with water.:thumb:

[QUOTE=Xero09]I think I'm having some problems. I'm able to hit some pretty high notes (think Saves The Day) but after singing for a good time, my forehead hurts. Is it improper technique? Cheers!:chug: <- Those are mugs filled with water.:thumb:[/QUOTE]


maybe your not breathing enough/ pushing hard there will be times when im singin a song that involves singing/screaming at back to back lines ill get lightheaded and get a head ache so i would say it prob lack of air.....or you could be pushing to hard to hit those notes

[QUOTE=Merkaba]Well like I always say....its not THAT big of an issue, but I just state what I know so that you can moderate your intake if you want. Green tea has caffeine in it. You can get decaf. But it doesnt have as much as many other common teas, usually...if I remember correctly. Yes alcohol is bad.

And it would be a real feat to eat too much raw fruit or vegetables. So whatever you like. If its fresh eat it. Stay away from dried fruits and stuff like that. Good luck. Do lots of EE's at speaking pitch and speaking push....hold them for a while. You can also learn to do....I forgot what they are called. I'll try to look it up. But you take a small amount of water in and hold your head down. Now inhale through the water keeping it from spilling out. This helps moisturize a little. This and normal gargaling. I seldom do such but if my cords are blasted or something I will do alot of this. I also have a mist inhaler that heats up water and has the little mini mask you put half of your face down in to breath the steam. I dont like it much though because I think it irritates my lungs a bit. Of course I usually over do it though.

Best wishes. Be careful. You only get one set of these strings![/QUOTE]

Yeah, I ended up eating a ton of grapes and watermelon and drinking tons of water yesterday, and when I woke up today my voice was a LOT better, the EE thing helped out a lot too, my falsetto range sounds less like a screach bursting through phleghm and more like an actual voice than it has for a while, and that's after only one day of working on it... I'm glad it's finally starting to heal up, I really need to keep my cool from now on :lol:.

I have an odd liquid question.

A large part of my diet is Top Ramen soup. Now! I don't know for sure, however I can't imagine all this MSG and Sodium is good for my voice?

What's the experts take?

[QUOTE=The 57th Medical Failure]I have an odd liquid question.

A large part of my diet is Top Ramen soup. Now! I don't know for sure, however I can't imagine all this MSG and Sodium is good for my voice?

What's the experts take?[/QUOTE]


I'm no expert but, here is what i'm assuming.
Drink alot of water so you dont get dehydrated from the mass amount of sodium.

[QUOTE=Xero09]I think I'm having some problems. I'm able to hit some pretty high notes (think Saves The Day) but after singing for a good time, my forehead hurts. Is it improper technique? Cheers!:chug: <- Those are mugs filled with water.:thumb:[/QUOTE]


You're straining your forehead (... Sounds odd).. I used to do the same thing when hitting high notes... Go here for the fix:
[url]http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4360701[/url]

[QUOTE=kidthatplaysguitar91]I'm no expert but, here is what i'm assuming.
Drink alot of water so you dont get dehydrated from the mass amount of sodium.[/QUOTE]
Yeah. I'd agree.

I've been noticing, even though I haven't sung in the last several days. My voice has very little depth/volume/projection. It was alright and I was going to rest it for a while, since I was practicing too much. However, since switching my main diet to top ramen, I've noticed that. I'm not sure, but it could make sense.

hheyyy guys whats goin on.

im wondering how important warming up is?

i warm up for about 20 minutes, not everytime i sing, but sometimes, just to see if it makes a difference..... but ive noticed that its not making much difference at all....

im voice still gets hoarse after a short period of time, even quicker because warming up uses up my "in the zone" time, ive noticed that im in the zone for about 10 minutes, where i can sing awsome then my voice goes to ****, basicly if i warm up my higher register.... im blowing those 10 minutes and by the time im jamming, i already suck.

people have told me that warming up helps you hit your higher range more smoothly and accurately....... not working.

im fairly certain that im warming up properly..... going up and down scales and doing "ees, aas, oos" but if anything, its hurting my performance.

so am i missing something? what is warming up supposed to accomplish?

Merk, I seek your almighty knowledge!

Several days ago, I was rested somewhat (from too much practice) and able to sing/scream/growl decently. etc etc. Then I kept resting, but today I couldn't do jack s[size=2]hi[/size]t vocally. I've lost all depth, tone, warmth and such on my voice. I haven't been practicing though.
So I was thinking maybe it's my diet?
My diet = Top Ramen, Mac & Cheese, Chips, Cheez its, Juice Squeze, Soda, Snapple, Burittos, tons of water,string cheese and other stuff like that. You get the idea. OJ too

No meat, chicken, fish.
No booze.
No cigs or any drugs.

It really just feels dry. I think the sodium (Top Ramen is like mostly salt seriously) as much of those things listed have. tbh. My body is feeling really dry to.

It didn't happen until I started eating horrid, all of a sudden.

So my question for the almighty expert: How much does diet impact the ability to sing? I know it wasn't practicing, since I haven't been doing anything vocally.

Hello everyone, I've got a couple of questions about singing.

First of all, where do you start? I've read Merkaba's Voice Help Hotline, but I can't seem to find where to start. Should I try to find my Head Voice, work on Chords Isolation, do some exercises... I'm a complete beginner when it comes to singing (I can sing some ballads, nothing awesome, but I think I'm not hopeless). If you could just show me how and where to start learning, it would be great!

Also, I can't seem to understand the concept of Head Voice and Chest Voice. (Probably because the english terms differ from the french ones. French is my primary language).

I want to first be able to sing correctly before even trying to move to Screaming.

So, if anyone could help me, or even the All-Mighty Merkaba himself, it would be awesome!

Thanks in advance!

[QUOTE=Big_Bret]Hello everyone, I've got a couple of questions about singing.

First of all, where do you start? I've read Merkaba's Voice Help Hotline, but I can't seem to find where to start. Should I try to find my Head Voice, work on Chords Isolation, do some exercises... I'm a complete beginner when it comes to singing (I can sing some ballads, nothing awesome, but I think I'm not hopeless). If you could just show me how and where to start learning, it would be great!

Also, I can't seem to understand the concept of Head Voice and Chest Voice. (Probably because the english terms differ from the french ones. French is my primary language).

I want to first be able to sing correctly before even trying to move to Screaming.

So, if anyone could help me, or even the All-Mighty Merkaba himself, it would be awesome!

Thanks in advance![/QUOTE]


The very first thing you want to learn is breathing control/exercises
[url]http://www.vocalist.org.uk/[/url]

look around in there.

[QUOTE=The 57th Medical Failure]I have an odd liquid question.

A large part of my diet is Top Ramen soup. Now! I don't know for sure, however I can't imagine all this MSG and Sodium is good for my voice?

What's the experts take?[/QUOTE]
Anything bad for the body is bad for the cords. Thats the general truth, obviously. Some people are more sensitive to some things than others. Theres just so much that goes on in the body with sodium and it always involves water. I don't know enough to write alot about it without possibly sticking my foot in my mouth at some point. I would say at least try to get more potassium to help balance out the sodium/potassium pump systems. If we remember from science class potassium and sodium are buddys in the body and its usually the lack of potassium that causes sodium problems(besides the extra work that so much sodium puts on the kidneys)

Bananas are pretty cheap. I recommend eating at least four a day for anyone, but for you ...hehe. Who knows. Kiwi also have a good bit.

[QUOTE=Big_Bret]Hello everyone, I've got a couple of questions about singing.

First of all, where do you start? I've read Merkaba's Voice Help Hotline, but I can't seem to find where to start. Should I try to find my Head Voice, work on Chords Isolation, do some exercises... I'm a complete beginner when it comes to singing (I can sing some ballads, nothing awesome, but I think I'm not hopeless). If you could just show me how and where to start learning, it would be great!

Also, I can't seem to understand the concept of Head Voice and Chest Voice. (Probably because the english terms differ from the french ones. French is my primary language).

I want to first be able to sing correctly before even trying to move to Screaming.

So, if anyone could help me, or even the All-Mighty Merkaba himself, it would be awesome!

Thanks in advance![/QUOTE]
chest is simply your mid to low notes, make a low e and you feel it in your chest, yes? Head voice is basically your upper range, but not falsetto. Head voice notes resonate in the head and you can kinda feel the note vibrating around the temples. The frequency of the resonance of the vibrational patterns of the cords provides for these sympathetic vibrations. Falsetto is the airy high girly sound. Think prince or the beegees. Head voice requires a bit of coordination between some muscles groups and as such many people either can't really use it and skip over it, or try to "pull" the chest voice mechanism into higher notes. Head voice is considered true voice and falsetto isnt because falsetto doesnt vibrate in a full cycle and doesnt produce as much resonance, buzz and warmth.

Start off with funner things. Just sing. but remember to relax and stay open like when youre saying ahh for the doctor. As a matter of fact you can sing your favorite song with only Ah's. Sounds crazy but I still do it at times with all vowels. Just sing normal songs(not alot of screaming or overpushed notes). Post a sample or three. I would say get the motor boat drills down. you should be able to hold a lip trill on any note and slide down or up to your next ones. Get your foundation strong, which is breath support. You could have the best vocal setup in the worl but with no breath support youre useless. Next work on doing glisses silky smooth from lowes to highest and highest to lowest. No falsetto until you know your head voice. Working on glisses and finding your head voice is very important. But hopefully you like lots of clean normal vocals to sing along to and work with. so go with breath support first, then head voice. Relax, ahhh's, and keep the lower jaw loose and think about forming your words with your lower jaw.

[QUOTE=hollowpainting]Merk, I seek your almighty knowledge!

Several days ago, I was rested somewhat (from too much practice) and able to sing/scream/growl decently. etc etc. Then I kept resting, but today I couldn't do jack s[size=2]hi[/size]t vocally. I've lost all depth, tone, warmth and such on my voice. I haven't been practicing though.
So I was thinking maybe it's my diet?
My diet = Top Ramen, Mac & Cheese, Chips, Cheez its, Juice Squeze, Soda, Snapple, Burittos, tons of water,string cheese and other stuff like that. You get the idea. OJ too

No meat, chicken, fish.
No booze.
No cigs or any drugs.

It really just feels dry. I think the sodium (Top Ramen is like mostly salt seriously) as much of those things listed have. tbh. My body is feeling really dry to.

It didn't happen until I started eating horrid, all of a sudden.

So my question for the almighty expert: How much does diet impact the ability to sing? I know it wasn't practicing, since I haven't been doing anything vocally.[/QUOTE]
It doesnt take an "expert" to realize your diet sucks. yess....horrid is a nice word. You are what you eat. Your cords run off of the same thing the rest of your body does and repairs the same. Who knows what's going on. Sometimes you have a fluke day or two. Are you trying to be vegetarian and using everything else under the sun to eat just so you can say youre vegetarian? Believe me, any doctor would tell you youre better off eating lean meats, than half of the stuff you listed. Who knows if your vocal status is directly related to it now. But come on. And yea, dairy and vocal cords are like water and oil.

[QUOTE=The 57th Medical Failure]I have an odd liquid question.

A large part of my diet is Top Ramen soup. Now! I don't know for sure, however I can't imagine all this MSG and Sodium is good for my voice?

What's the experts take?[/QUOTE]
Anything bad for the body is bad for the cords. Thats the general truth, obviously. Some people are more sensitive to some things than others. Theres just so much that goes on in the body with sodium and it always involves water. I don't know enough to write alot about it without possibly sticking my foot in my mouth at some point. I would say at least try to get more potassium to help balance out the sodium/potassium pump systems. If we remember from science class potassium and sodium are buddys in the body and its usually the lack of potassium that causes sodium problems(besides the extra work that so much sodium puts on the kidneys)

Bananas are pretty cheap. I recommend eating at least four a day for anyone, but for you ...hehe. Who knows. Kiwi also have a good bit.

[QUOTE=Chrisman69]hheyyy guys whats goin on.

im wondering how important warming up is?

i warm up for about 20 minutes, not everytime i sing, but sometimes, just to see if it makes a difference..... but ive noticed that its not making much difference at all....

im voice still gets hoarse after a short period of time, even quicker because warming up uses up my "in the zone" time, ive noticed that im in the zone for about 10 minutes, where i can sing awsome then my voice goes to ****, basicly if i warm up my higher register.... im blowing those 10 minutes and by the time im jamming, i already suck.

people have told me that warming up helps you hit your higher range more smoothly and accurately....... not working.

im fairly certain that im warming up properly..... going up and down scales and doing "ees, aas, oos" but if anything, its hurting my performance.

so am i missing something? what is warming up supposed to accomplish?[/QUOTE]If your "warmup" is causing detrimental affects, its not a warm up and youre doing something wrong.

Intensity and Duration. Are you pushing too hard with your warmup notes? are you holding notes too long or warming up too long?

Do you really think youre doing things write if you can only be "in the zone" for ten minutes? And what type of vocals are you doing during performance?
IN general the longer the performance the shorter your warmup, and vice versa. It will take time to figure out what you need but there are no set in stone rules. If you really want to try it without warming up do it. You won't die. But I recommend at least five minutes.

[QUOTE=Merkaba]Anything bad for the body is bad for the cords. Thats the general truth, obviously. Some people are more sensitive to some things than others. Theres just so much that goes on in the body with sodium and it always involves water. I don't know enough to write alot about it without possibly sticking my foot in my mouth at some point. I would say at least try to get more potassium to help balance out the sodium/potassium pump systems. If we remember from science class potassium and sodium are buddys in the body and its usually the lack of potassium that causes sodium problems(besides the extra work that so much sodium puts on the kidneys)
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Alright. Thanks. I've cut out the top ramen for a couple days and it seems to make a difference.
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Bananas are pretty cheap. I recommend eating at least four a day for anyone, but for you ...hehe. Who knows. Kiwi also have a good bit.
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Ohhh gawd. I hate those things. :p I've been eating plenty of apples though.


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It doesnt take an "expert" to realize your diet sucks. yess....horrid is a nice word. You are what you eat. Your cords run off of the same thing the rest of your body does and repairs the same. Who knows what's going on. Sometimes you have a fluke day or two. Are you trying to be vegetarian and using everything else under the sun to eat just so you can say youre vegetarian? Believe me, any doctor would tell you youre better off eating lean meats, than half of the stuff you listed. Who knows if your vocal status is directly related to it now. But come on. And yea, dairy and vocal cords are like water and oil.
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haha. I've been a vegetarian my entire life. However, until recently, my diet was very healthy. None of that crap I listed above. I used to eat tons of fruits, veggies and such, every day. I'm just lazy with my diet. I don't eat meat/fish because I think it's just nasty. Smell & taste. Right now, I'd call myself a heart attack in the making, though I'm only 18. lol. I really gotta get with it. (I have a health smart/food smart/etc mother, hahah, who says it's a miracle I'm not ultra sick).


[quote]
If your "warmup" is causing detrimental affects, its not a warm up and youre doing something wrong.

Intensity and Duration. Are you pushing too hard with your warmup notes? are you holding notes too long or warming up too long?

Do you really think youre doing things write if you can only be "in the zone" for ten minutes? And what type of vocals are you doing during performance?
IN general the longer the performance the shorter your warmup, and vice versa. It will take time to figure out what you need but there are no set in stone rules. If you really want to try it without warming up do it. You won't die. But I recommend at least five minutes.[/QUOTE]
This was my problem for a while. I'd scream/growl for a while without warming up. It starting taking a toll, so I stopped. Now anything past singing along to a tune, I warm up following your guides. It makes a world of difference. I really notice the biggest difference in comfort, volume and projection when I warm up with your guides.

I was singing earlier and clears felt pretty good. My voice is sorta 85/90 % for clears now, so I went really light. For harshs it's like 60 or 75 % , so I only did two songs, really light.
I don't want to push anything and hurt myself.

While I was taking a break over the last few days, I worked on breath exercises ALOT, espiecally last night. Isolation and such. It cannot hurt to improve on something, even if already solid.

Thanks for all your help and time.
btw. I'm Charming, 57th Medical Failure, hollowpainting. I get banned alot and make many accounts frequently. ^)^

If I could ask one question, how does one do a voice like the following:
[url]http://www.myspace.com/lightthiscity[/url]

My growls are sorta a lighter version of Amon Amarth/TBDM, screams are hard to compare, but I still need less rasp.

haha. This will take years to grasp perfectly.

THanks again.

Thanks a lot guys.

I've read about the breathing, and I'm starting to exercise as much as possible.

If anything ever comes up, I'll let you know!

Thanks again!

[QUOTE]If I could ask one question, how does one do a voice like the following:
[url]http://www.myspace.com/lightthiscity[/url][/QUOTE]

i know little about screaming, so im not posotive, but that guy sounds alot like cradle of filth to me. and they do it by inhale screaming