[QUOTE=kidthatplaysguitar91]I am having a big writers block. Just for singing though. I can write lyrics fine, I can write guitar parts fine, but recently i've been in a singing writers block. Is this because i've been playing guitar for way longer and I can come up with it better than singing?[/QUOTE]
I have no idea what youre talking about....:confused:

Thx for the tip.Also I've been told by my friend who take vocal lesson that to go down I should lower my tounge until it goes down on the base of the mouth.Is it true?can anybody give me an insight on that.

I have one more problem,when I go down low I cant seem to lower my jaw.

Hey, Merkaba... I wondering if you check this out.... it's just an example of how I scream. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.....

[url]http://media.putfile.com/My-Screaming-Example-sorry-for-quality[/url]

hey i posted this in merkabas voice hotline but i thought id post it in here too :)

so, i sing with some rasp, against me! style. but to be able to do get the raspy sound, i have to be singing for a while first. usualy after singing a few songs at the very top of my range the raspy stuff just naturaly sets in. but ive found that even if i warm up for an hour i cant get the rasp, i have to sing high and really loud for 10-15 minutes before i can get any kind of rasp.

this is lame because the only way i can warm up for a show or something is to go into the bathroom or something and yell randomly for like 10 mins. which can be embarrising and im guessing not to great for my voice.

so is there any way i get this sound without just screaming my *** off?

thanks :)

[QUOTE=Merkaba]I have no idea what youre talking about....:confused:[/QUOTE]

I think he/she means that they're having trouble coming up with a melody for their vocals.

I say:
a) go along with the music
or
b) do something to contrast the music

i was curious what happened to the avenged sevenfold singer. not sure if anyone knows specifically but wanted to see if it was from inhale screaming or something...

thanks.

[QUOTE=buenokid]i was curious what happened to the avenged sevenfold singer. not sure if anyone knows specifically but wanted to see if it was from inhale screaming or something...

thanks.[/QUOTE]

Oh God... no, it is not from inhale screaming, his screaming was all exhale.

His major issue is that he has a low ranged voice, yet he continued to scream in a high range, which he just didn't have. He kept forcing and forcing high notes from his thraot that he couldn't hit cleanly, and eventually his throat and voice took damages from it.

[QUOTE=Eleventeen]Merkaba... anything you think I should work on with my screaming?

[url]http://www.myspace.com/ofthedyingbreed[/url][/QUOTE]

who else is playing at the brenda and jerry's show?

[QUOTE=Merkaba]I have no idea what youre talking about....:confused:[/QUOTE]


I cant write vocal melodies but i can write stuff on guitar and i can write lyrics. This block has been happening for like a month. I've written like 3 songs since then but their not as good as my other stuff.

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=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