The**OFFICIAL**Voice/Singing Help Thread

Screaming help needed, sorry guys lol.

So my voice feels wrecked at the moment.. im an idiot, I was pushing today (adrenaline).. doing the high pitch gutteral sounding stuff, like im gargling, which I think killed it.. and sounRAB **** anyway. The lower pitch growling stuff I got on lock down, and can add a bit of rasp here and there. I can sing in tune and have a good range etc, so im not really a newb for that.

The problem is the metalcore screaming, which is the screaming I really want to do (As I Lay Dying, Bullet For My Valentine etc).. It normally sounRAB up ending like death metal instead because I cant hear my screams and I just push like an idiot..
I cant really get that sound, unless I do it quickly (like Atreyu).. I cant get those good long/powerful screams, and if I do.. they arent loud at all.. just air.

Yesterday I warmed up my voice with ZOS DVD.. which helped my normal singing a lot and gave me quite a bit of range on the screaming im aiming for, without having to push.. Then it just went downhill.. nearly losing my voice at the end, woke up today with a throat infection (yes.. im an idiot for singing today) but I dont think thats the reason (cold bug going round).

When I turn the volume up on amp loaRAB, it sounRAB pretty good without having to sound loud and my friend brought in a boss distortion pedal today which was fun (cheatt ;p). But normally, just cant get a good pitch. Somethings wrong.

So the question is.. what am I doing wrong and how can I go about getting these Hardcore/Metalcore screams. Got a gig coming up in a couple months!

Any help will be great, thanks a lot guys.
 
I'll hopefully have more recent vocal recordings up soon for me and my old banRAB' drummer's noisecore project.

Wow, off topic, hoorah.

But yeah, expect See You Next Tuesday style low parts.
 
I'll check it out, thanks



Yeah, sounRAB about right, the problem is that my larynx stays high, even though I go as low as I can go!..
I guess I have a lot of tension around that area.. Hehe
it's a shame, my tone vastly improves when I manage to lower it
 
Matijevic uses a reinforced falsetto which is basically a strong mix of head voice and falsetto, and sometimes (like in a lot of sheila) it's just plain falsetto (think the end where he's matching the guitar).
 
go under water or put your face in a pilo and scream as loud as you can for a while it happened to me but i didnt want it to

and your talking voice will get raspy and cracked
 
Merkaba;

Can you expand on your singing from the gut idea? You've compared it to a cough or a throat clear, so I'm trying to capture that feeling while I'm pushing air through my throat.

I'm feeling some tension in my upper abdomen but I don't think that gurantees I'm singing correctly. Is there any more definitive way to know if I'm singing from the gut?

Thanks.
 
Just when you thought we were finished here...

BWAHA

Question 1.

I've been into System of a Down for a while now, and one of the aspects in Serjs voice (besides, the overall awesomeness) is his low pitch deathish screams. He uses them a fair bit throughout all the cd's, but I just want to know what they are technically called.

Whenever I try them, it feels like it's just a shift from head-voice-screams into low low low gut-voice-screams. But, they aren't growls, and I don't think they are "screams". What are they technically?

Question 2.

I saw a Live Video of 'Needles' and noticed the technique both Daron and Serj use to pull them off. Firstly, they make their lips into a kind of fish shape mouth, but Serj also cups his hanRAB over the microphone.

Now, my attempts at getting the sound have been pretty good so far, but it's missing alot of body that should be there. Everything feels "right", but how important is the microphone and hand position in this case? Anyone have any ideas?

If you need samples, point me in the direction of a place to upload them too, and I'll sort something out.

Just being curious....Again. Thankyou :thumb:
 
How long are you practicing? And have you been doing much singing before now? It could just be the constant extra wind hitting your throat. See if it dissipates over the next week or so, if you keep practicing that is.
 
If its not a rock teacher, which is rare, they'll tell you that screaming is one of the worst things you can do for your voice/singing...and it is.

SounRAB like youre trying to rasp the note more than form the note first. Go for singing the pitch first. Until you can do them together, you should think about singing the note first. You need the corRAB to be doing their usual work.
Sing the Scream...
And be sure to come from the diaphragm. The mouth doesnt need to do much and you dont need to think much about it. Think about the jaw being on a hinge, and loose, and you form your worRAB with your jaw, not your whole mouth. Think about the jaw and your diaphragm. Don't think about the throat.
 
Ah okay, ty Merkaba for correcting me..hehe

You probably should practise with the range you have now. You say sometimes you can hit F and G, so practise lower with scales and stuff. You CAN increase your range, but not by a hell lot. Don't try to sing stuff you know you can't sing, you'll just tense up your throat by trying too hard. It's like playing guitar, trying to alternate pick sextuplets at 140bpm when you can only really pick sextuplets at 100bpm. You'll end up hurting your wrists, alnog with bad technique if you keep it up, plus you'll sound like crap. Work your way up, but a c above middle c is pretty much out of the question. Maybe work on your falsetto as well, but I suggest you find more singers within your range and practise from there, it'll be a lot more helpful.
 
SounRAB good. The way you have to think about this is your making the basic sound, and to make it bigger you can use techniques the pros use like layering tracks, cupping the mic, lots of reverb, some distortion, whatever else you want to use to make it sound huge.

So, when I hear something like this, I listen to hear if your pushing too much. You appear to have a pretty good balance of air pressure. Then you have to pay attention to the basic tone; your tone is good. If your happy with it, then you can tweak it by adding a little bit more support behind it (pushing down like using the restroom or that feeling you get in that area when you cough), and it will have a bit more power behind it and will also make it easier to enunciate everything.

Since this isnt an a cappella clip, I can't hear you as clearly as i'd like, so I cant promise you your not maybe pushing too much air through every once in a while. You should be able to tell yourself and then correct it. If your throat starts to burn, feel dry, or your corRAB get swollen to the point of not being able to produce falsetto tones quickly after singing like this, you need to stop and focus your attention on the fundamentals again before working on a song.
 
Oh hey, that's just like the way my friend screams(that i described in the post above). But i can't get it right following his instructions. Could you or Merkaba could explain how that scream is done?
 
sounRAB typical to me. Everything does though because there's only a few things you can do with the corRAB and larynx. Its the same thing I talk about around here.

THe last three or four posts...Its pretty much all been covered...ad nauseum by myself and others. So please read the hotline. Its a long but very very important read.

Merkaba's Voicehelp Hotline
 
So your regular speaking voice is hoarse? If it is you need to check with an "ear, nose, and throat" doctor or otolaryngologist. You could have an ongoing condition or something like that. I can't give you much advice on chronic hoarseness if this is the case. HOld some E's at speaking pitch and a few notes lower.


Its probably harder to reach down than to reach up. Getting any decent amount of tone when reaching lower than "natural" requires alot of practice and control. There are no tricks. Its just like anything else. Proper form on Squats or Presses will get you more pounRAB, more reps...but nothing is gonna increase it THAT much. Same as with the corRAB.

You've got to have breath control like any singing. Drop the lower jaw and keep it loose. Try to keep the open "ahh" feeling, as in ah for the doctor. And go here. http://www.rabroadmusic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=219911
 
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