Sputnik Music Forums - The**OFFICIAL**Voice/Singing Help Thread

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I'm having a hell of a time developing a more raspy metalcore/emo type scream. I can death growl rather easily but every time I try to metalcore scream I tear my throat up. Anybody got any advice on how to develop this technique?

Don't use your throat?

Believe me, I don't try to. Ok, basically my scream amounts to that sort of gurgly thingy that your death growlers use. It's just a basic daiphragm motivated gurgle. I don't want that. I want a raspy scream. But I cannot figure out how to develop a raspy scream without using my throat. That's what I need advice on. I need to develop something along the lines of Avenged Sevenfold, A Static Lullaby, ect. without hurting my throat.

So I've tried relaxing my throat and just pushing air out faster with my diaphragm but it still hurts my throat. Obviously I'm doing something wrong.

Hi

I'm relatively new to singing (I'm 15). I have a pretty good and clear voice but I can't seem to get it to sound raspy and cool like my favourite bands (Alice in Chains and Soundgarden). I've posted on some other forums but I can't get a good answer. One guy told me to use my diaphragm. I'm not sure how to do that. :confused:

If anyone could give me tips on how to sing like Chris Cornell or Layne Staley, that would be great. Anything past the "go to a teacher nub" really helps :)

Thanks

Make an angry type sigh. Kinda like "Uhhggh!" Like you are ....ed off or frustrated. Congrats, you have just activated your diaphragm. If you are doing it right you should feel no pain coming from your throat. Now experiment with various levels of this and you should eventually be able to sing like a grunge singer. When you activate your diaphragm you should be screaming or gurgling without using your vocal chords. Your throat could be totally relaxed but a scream will be coming out. Doing this partway instead of in full is the only way I know to achieve a rasp. Some people use their diaphragm to push a more intense volume of air through their throat achieving a more perfect rasp, but I'm still trying to figure this one out (see my above posts).

[QUOTE=punknmetal4lyf;15002278]Make an angry type sigh. Kinda like "Uhhggh!" Like you are ....ed off or frustrated. Congrats, you have just activated your diaphragm. If you are doing it right you should feel no pain coming from your throat. Now experiment with various levels of this and you should eventually be able to sing like a grunge singer. When you activate your diaphragm you should be screaming or gurgling without using your vocal chords. Your throat could be totally relaxed but a scream will be coming out. Doing this partway instead of in full is the only way I know to achieve a rasp. Some people use their diaphragm to push a more intense volume of air through their throat achieving a more perfect rasp, but I'm still trying to figure this one out (see my above posts).[/QUOTE]

What I'm about to say may be all wrong, because I have had no professional traning, just horus of reading material of the net. I once asked merkaba about the technique you described above and he said it actually dosen't pressurize the diaphram but relaxes it, so i'm not sure about how far you go about activating your diaphram.

Well, I don't know about the difference between a pressurized diaphragm and a relaxed diaphragm is, but I do know that that was how I learned how to scream, and from there I fiddled with it till I was able to add various different inflections and get different kinds of harsh vocals out. But maybe it's not a good way to do it. I dunno.

The thing I noticed with the technique you decribed was, I can not hold any pitch while doing it. Sure I can get a growl or something, but singing is always going to involve the vocal cords. You can't bypass them by "using the diaphram". The diaphram is there for support, it can't actually make the sound for you. So when you actually do activate the diaphram, you ARE actually using your vocal chords to make the sounds anyway. For me to get a rasp, I sorta control the air from my stomach to make it come out of the top of my head, as opposed to coming out of my mouth, well that's the feeling anyway. I have to control the air carefully otherwise I'll end up tightening my throat and my voice will sound like it's breaking or something. That's how I do rasp anyway.

Hmm, I'll have to try that.

[QUOTE=exodus;14940606]Just wondering what I am?

My range goes from the low bass E string to E on the B string, i can hit F but for a little bit before my voice cracks.

Am I a bass or a tenor?[/QUOTE]

Baritone probally, I know i'm a tenor and I go from 3rd fret low e string, to 7th fret high E string. My comfortable range is open A string to 5th fret high E string.

[QUOTE=Lockshock;14997794]Hi

I'm relatively new to singing (I'm 15). I have a pretty good and clear voice but I can't seem to get it to sound raspy and cool like my favourite bands (Alice in Chains and Soundgarden). I've posted on some other forums but I can't get a good answer. One guy told me to use my diaphragm. I'm not sure how to do that. :confused:

If anyone could give me tips on how to sing like Chris Cornell or Layne Staley, that would be great. Anything past the "go to a teacher nub" really helps :)

Thanks[/QUOTE]

I can get some type of rasp that sounds decent and I can get one of those "screamo screams" and inhale screams without any pain. I cant describe it though. But make sure you warm up first alot! And Make sure your full hydrated, and keep water with you. No matter how you do it it puts more strain on your voice. If you feel any pain stop. I'm sure you've heard all this and if you havent, LISTEN TO IT. Get mark baxters 5 secrets of screaming, Zen of screaming 1 and 2. Download them if your too ghetto to afford it haha.

Hey everyone, I'm 15 and I've been trying to record myself recently. When I sing normally it sounds like I'm getting the desired sound and it sounds like me, but when I sing into a mic it sounds like a little kid. What's with that?

[QUOTE=csyn;15032024]Hey everyone, I'm 15 and I've been trying to record myself recently. When I sing normally it sounds like I'm getting the desired sound and it sounds like me, but when I sing into a mic it sounds like a little kid. What's with that?[/QUOTE]

Hey Csyn

I have the same problem. I think it's just the way I want to perceive my voice, or the way my head perceives it. I think I sound like a little girl singing when I hear recordings, but my friends all say I sound fine. And if I sucked, they wouldn't be afraid to say so either. Get a second opinion, maybe. :chug:

[QUOTE=Lockshock;15033326]Hey Csyn

I have the same problem. I think it's just the way I want to perceive my voice, or the way my head perceives it. I think I sound like a little girl singing when I hear recordings, but my friends all say I sound fine. And if I sucked, they wouldn't be afraid to say so either. Get a second opinion, maybe. :chug:[/QUOTE]

You might not sound so bad as you may think when you listen to yourself on recordings, its just you're not used to actually hearing what everybody else hears of your voice so its usually always a total shocker to new comers, as time goes on, the more recording/singing you do, the better you'll come to terms with your "actual voice"

Hey, I'd like to thank anyone who gave me advice on screaming, but quite by accident I stumbled upon the secret. I can't really explain well what I'm doing, but I just know that all of a sudden I can do everything from rasp in a Nirvana type fashion to scream brutally like A7X with pretty much no pain whatsoever. In the end I just ended up figuring it out on my own. I guess from now on I pretty much just need to work on improving my technique and trying for a deeper heavier death growl and work on my clean singing technique.

[QUOTE=csyn;15032024]Hey everyone, I'm 15 and I've been trying to record myself recently. When I sing normally it sounds like I'm getting the desired sound and it sounds like me, but when I sing into a mic it sounds like a little kid. What's with that?[/QUOTE]

I'm 15 too.....anyways, the song in your head is different because the sound is inside you. Also recordings will lose a bit of quality but their still pretty close. Unless your recording ways suck......

Record more and try to get a good sound you like. Also your voice could have not changed yet....Also your voice doesnt officially STOP changing completely till your somewhere around 22 i think it was? Dont worry about sounding older, just try to get the best tone for your voice.

Hey, i just went 15 about two months ago and...

Well, heres my problem :

1. When i "sing", i get various opinions, some people SAY i can sing and others say i can't... People who can include my brother, dad, mother, old teacher. Others who can't well, they have'nt REALLY listened to me, i just sung randomly about something and i don't know if i was tring, but they include "Sister, A friend"... i just have a distinct feeling my mother/father are just saying i can sing because they don't won't to say i suck, but she says she would tell me if i was bad.

2. Whenever i try to hit High notes, they just turn into well... wind, and whenever i try to hit Very high notes i can, i used to be able to do both when i was about 12/13, will i be able to do this again if i pratice or wait till the worst of my voice breaking is over? :confused:

3. Is the Flem sensation in my throat effecting my voice much?

Help is appricated :)

Heya folks.. Awesome stuff here, I've been a long time lurker. I hope everyone gets the help they need.

I've been trying to figure out this whole screaming/rasp bit for a long time now, I wanted to make sure I got a faint idea of what I was doing before I posted asking for help, and I wanted to try to get it on my own but I've been having a lot of trouble.

At first I could never understand how you could get any kind of rasp without using your throat, and that it all came from the gut. I could never ever get that. Then while reading through the forum today I saw a bit where merkaba talked about singing an "ahh" sound, then start to grunt and activating the diaphragm. I tried this, and I think I might have had some success. I think I understand now what it means to have the distortion come from the gut.. When I attempted it I just kinda squeezed my abdominals while making the attempt and something raspy came out and I dont believe I felt it in my throat. I'm going to work on it more after my chords heal, I damaged them at a show I went to the other night.. Human Abstract. Great band, check them out!

Anyway, I'd appreciate it if the vocal buffs around here like Merkaba can confirm that what I'm doing is on the right track, and if thats really what the key behind rasping/screaming is. Thanks again for all the helpful advice, and I hope that everyone gets what they're looking for.

Btw, all the links are broken for Merkaba's voice help hotline, I dont know if anyone noticed

[QUOTE=irondragons;15050380]Hey, i just went 15 about two months ago and...

Well, heres my problem :

1. When i "sing", i get various opinions, some people SAY i can sing and others say i can't... People who can include my brother, dad, mother, old teacher. Others who can't well, they have'nt REALLY listened to me, i just sung randomly about something and i don't know if i was tring, but they include "Sister, A friend"... i just have a distinct feeling my mother/father are just saying i can sing because they don't won't to say i suck, but she says she would tell me if i was bad.

2. Whenever i try to hit High notes, they just turn into well... wind, and whenever i try to hit Very high notes i can, i used to be able to do both when i was about 12/13, will i be able to do this again if i pratice or wait till the worst of my voice breaking is over? :confused:

3. Is the Flem sensation in my throat effecting my voice much?

Help is appricated :)[/QUOTE]

1. Not everyone is going to like your voice. Some people don't naturaly have a good voice, but they take singing seriously and practise correct technqiues and work their way up, until they do figure out how to get different tones and sounds from their voice. If you're serious about it, don't give up and keep practising. Post some samples of your singing and we'll give you tips on how to improove it.

2. Your vocal chords grow more as you go through puberty. This does however, affect your voice and your ability to reach higher notes. If i'm correct, higher notes usually mean smaller vocal chords, which children have. As you reach puberty, your vocal chords are growing bigger, making them more deep. Don't loose sleep over that, keep working on your range, but remember, range isn't ALL THAT important. Also with high notes, make sure you back off the pressure and relax your throat. If i remember correctly, higher notes require less pressure and air. Just keep your throat relaxed.

3. Yes, mucous does affect your singing ability. It stops the vocal chords from viabrating clearly and as a result, many people try to push harder to get a better tone. This only damages their voice. Avoid dairy products, soft drink, citrus to minimise mucous.

[QUOTE=Ksama;15066976]Heya folks.. Awesome stuff here, I've been a long time lurker. I hope everyone gets the help they need.

I've been trying to figure out this whole screaming/rasp bit for a long time now, I wanted to make sure I got a faint idea of what I was doing before I posted asking for help, and I wanted to try to get it on my own but I've been having a lot of trouble.

At first I could never understand how you could get any kind of rasp without using your throat, and that it all came from the gut. I could never ever get that. Then while reading through the forum today I saw a bit where merkaba talked about singing an "ahh" sound, then start to grunt and activating the diaphragm. I tried this, and I think I might have had some success. I think I understand now what it means to have the distortion come from the gut.. When I attempted it I just kinda squeezed my abdominals while making the attempt and something raspy came out and I dont believe I felt it in my throat. I'm going to work on it more after my chords heal, I damaged them at a show I went to the other night.. Human Abstract. Great band, check them out!

Anyway, I'd appreciate it if the vocal buffs around here like Merkaba can confirm that what I'm doing is on the right track, and if thats really what the key behind rasping/screaming is. Thanks again for all the helpful advice, and I hope that everyone gets what they're looking for.

Btw, all the links are broken for Merkaba's voice help hotline, I dont know if anyone noticed[/QUOTE]

Best way for us to see if you're doing it right or wrong is to post some audio samples. The thing with screaming/rasping is, tone does actually come from the throat. You can't get "tone" from your stomach. Your stomach is just your damn stomach. You use the stomach to support your voice so that minimal tension is placed in your throat. Figuring out which muscles in your throat do what is essential to learning how to rasp/scream. If you try to do it all from the gut, you're going to get next to no tone at all. If you try to do it from all the throat, you'll be literally squeezing and forcing the sound out. You need to move your throat back a bit so it scrapes the air coming up from your diaphram, sending air into your soft pallete. That's how you're going to get a rasp tone. Post a sample, we'll give you some feedback.

I hope I got my info right and my advice helps a little. I am by no means a professional but I am continually working on my voice. Most of the stuff I learn is from reading over and over again Merkaba's posts and practising it.

[QUOTE=Ksama;15066976]Heya folks.. Awesome stuff here, I've been a long time lurker. I hope everyone gets the help they need.

I've been trying to figure out this whole screaming/rasp bit for a long time now, I wanted to make sure I got a faint idea of what I was doing before I posted asking for help, and I wanted to try to get it on my own but I've been having a lot of trouble.

At first I could never understand how you could get any kind of rasp without using your throat, and that it all came from the gut. I could never ever get that. Then while reading through the forum today I saw a bit where merkaba talked about singing an "ahh" sound, then start to grunt and activating the diaphragm. I tried this, and I think I might have had some success. I think I understand now what it means to have the distortion come from the gut.. When I attempted it I just kinda squeezed my abdominals while making the attempt and something raspy came out and I dont believe I felt it in my throat. I'm going to work on it more after my chords heal, I damaged them at a show I went to the other night.. Human Abstract. Great band, check them out!

Anyway, I'd appreciate it if the vocal buffs around here like Merkaba can confirm that what I'm doing is on the right track, and if thats really what the key behind rasping/screaming is. Thanks again for all the helpful advice, and I hope that everyone gets what they're looking for.

Btw, all the links are broken for Merkaba's voice help hotline, I dont know if anyone noticed[/QUOTE]

what about the wrong answer "annk" deal. tried that feel yet, on the ahhh vowel? aaannnnk

Hey guys, I have a problem.

Last sunday was the warped tour, so I was able to sing along with my favorite bands (Coheed and Circa Survive). However, when cheering them on, I'd do the high pitch scream "Hell Yeah!"

Now, I'm sure I learned my lesson but my voice can no longer sustain notes between my chest and head voice. Also, my vocal chords hurt for like 3 days after and now I'm noticing my voice is feeling a bit more strained. I can hit the higher notes but as I've mentioned, sustaining them is much harder now and my feels as if it got deeper but not much. It's just that the mixed register seems to be harder to access and my voice my squeek/crack in the first attempt. I'm 18 1/2 years old and my family's genes make sure we're done by the age of 17.

Merk,

when I do "annnk" it seems like its the most damaging noise I could possibly make.. Is that where having more air from the diaphragm comes in to make it not hurt?

I would post a sample of what I'm doing but its like you gotta sell your ****in soul to get any damn audio hosting anywhere

[QUOTE=Ksama;15087154]I would post a sample of what I'm doing but its like you gotta sell your ****in soul to get any damn audio hosting anywhere[/QUOTE]

Of course not. You can use:

[url]www.putfile.com[/url]

[url]www.soundclick.com[/url]

[url]www.yousendit.com[/url]

[url]www.megaupload.com[/url]

[url]www.newgrounds.com[/url]

All of which are free :thumb:

Forlorn Hope, thaaank you friend.

Well here is a small clip of me doing what I consider my low scream, it could be considered a growl.. but there are some ways that I do it that hurt and some ways that dont, usually it just hurts after a while though.. but is it anywhere near to what I'm supposed to be doing? I'll record what I consider my high scream when its not 1am.

[url]http://media.putfile.com/Low-Scream-or-Growl[/url]

Thank you for all your help guys, again I hope everyone gets the help they need.

So, I've been singing/screaming for about a year, but my deep growls just turn to air after a couple of seconds. I really want to be able to hold my growls for as long as my screams (which is basically as long as I can hold a normal note, over a minuete if I want to, but no one needs to scream that long >_>;;..)

Also, I would love to be able to scream as high as Dani Filth. I know he has a freakish voice that lets him do whatever he pleases with it -_- but I can almost hit as high as him, any tips on working on it?

Wow what happened, did everyone die?

All right I didn't feel like reading all of those pages, so an answer to a simple question is appreciated greatly: Does screaming hurt your larnyx? I know there's a proper way to do it, but it doesn't seem healthy.

I can sing from my diaphragm and sing really loudly using my diaphragm but I won't even attempt to get it raspy. Well, is it healthy?

[QUOTE=KurtCobain2902;15146647]All right I didn't feel like reading all of those pages, so an answer to a simple question is appreciated greatly: Does screaming hurt your larnyx? I know there's a proper way to do it, but it doesn't seem healthy.

I can sing from my diaphragm and sing really loudly using my diaphragm but I won't even attempt to get it raspy. Well, is it healthy?[/QUOTE]

Yes it can hurt if you dont do it correctly. Even if you do it correctly, consistently doing it will cause some wear and tear. Not really permanent damage but maybe a loss of range is certain areas such as your break or falsetto range, because the cords will always be somewhat swollen and irritated from screaming.