Tips on singing/growling?

[Bored Tomatoe]

I think the singer for Cannibal Corpse has a Screaming/Growling instructional DVD... Buy it on Ebay I guess?

 

[SonicKoala]

Wow, I never realized how complex that vocal technique was - I have a new found respect for death metal singers. Anyway, I don't really have any tips apart from be careful; I know guys in metal bands who have really fucked up their voices trying to sing that way.

 

[Arkhangelsk]

Also take up smoking and drinking.

Dear God, I hope you're kidding. Smoking will only damage your voice and give you problems breathing, something that is vital when growling. And drinking is just bad. It won't do anything to help.

Well I sing for a punk band and occasionally descend into growling, try to bring it from your chest as opposed to your throat or you'll bugger up your voice.

Oh and for free singing lessons try and get involved with any musical productions at school/local clubs, thats how I learnt got excellent advice and training from a very nice and eccentric women and remember only real men sing in musicals

I hear people say "growl from the chest" but could you describe it more? Should I just tense my muscles and make sure the breathing is lower down?

First try not to tense your muscles as that can a. strain your vocals and b.make your voice scratchy, to bring it from the chest think of when you burp and you can feel it brought right up from your lungs and through your throat, so try and bring your voice through like that building it up as it travels through the body. The breathing is also important but you have to learn to regulate that when you want to change the tone. I'd recommend you try and find someone to teach you in person as its hard to explain with just words (requires lots of waving around of the arms and examples .

I got many tips from my brother's fiancée, who has growled before in metal bands.

 

[SimuLord]

thought 1: Growling is not singing unless you're the Cookie Monster singing "C is for Cookie."
thought 2: SikOseph is right. Just look what cigarettes did for Barack Obama's voice. If you're going to growl, that's how you want to do it.
thought 3: Here's a crazy thought. Try learning about concepts like "melody" and "tonality" and learn how to properly sing so you stand out from the legions of no-talent assclowns littering the metalcore genre.

 

[Arkhangelsk]

thought 1: Growling is not singing unless you're the Cookie Monster singing "C is for Cookie."
thought 2: SikOseph is right. Just look what cigarettes did for Barack Obama's voice. If you're going to growl, that's how you want to do it.
thought 3: Here's a crazy thought. Try learning about concepts like "melody" and "tonality" and learn how to properly sing so you stand out from the legions of no-talent assclowns littering the metalcore genre.

1. Opinions, I say.
2. Cigarettes will only fuck up your breathing and ruin your voice. In the long run it's not good.
3. You don't think I will learn that?

 

[ZSF]

On the subject of screaming from the chest, as i understand it, the idea is to learn to contract your diaphragm so that you can force the air out a certain way. Just get in front of a mirror, take off your shirt, and breath out really hard using the muscle right where your stomach and chest meet. If you do it correctly you should see a small bulge in that spot. If you do it perfectly, you'll hear a low raspy sound coming out. Once you can get that sound to come out, you just need to distort it, if you do it right, you should feel yourself making strong vibrations in the back of your throat. Once youve got that you tighten your throat to distort it further. Then instead of just forcing all the air out quickly, force it out slowly to make the growl longer.
On the subject of Melissa Cross, and Arch Enemy, I will admit that vocal fry is a legit technique however, i simply dont think it sounds anywhere near as good as other techniques.
On the subject of cigs and alchohol, cigs are fine for singing but definately not a good idea for growling. Also i find beer makes my growls sound better.

And another tip, next time you get a stuffy nose, try snorting it all and swallowing it instead of spitting it out. It'll coat the inside of your throat and change the sound. A lot of people dont like the feeling of having mucus stuck in their throat though. And youve got to keep getting colds to maintain it. If your screaming correctly the mucus will come out on its own.

 

[Arkhangelsk]

On the subject of screaming from the chest, as i understand it, the idea is to learn to contract your diaphragm so that you can force the air out a certain way. Just get in front of a mirror, take off your shirt, and breath out really hard using the muscle right where your stomach and chest meet. If you do it correctly you should see a small bulge in that spot. If you do it perfectly, you'll hear a low raspy sound coming out. Once you can get that sound to come out, you just need to distort it, if you do it right, you should feel yourself making strong vibrations in the back of your throat. Once youve got that you tighten your throat to distort it further. Then instead of just forcing all the air out quickly, force it out slowly to make the growl longer.
On the subject of Melissa Cross, and Arch Enemy, I will admit that vocal fry is a legit technique however, i simply dont think it sounds anywhere near as good as other techniques.
On the subject of cigs and alchohol, cigs are fine for singing but definately not a good idea for growling. Also i find beer makes my growls sound better.

And another tip, next time you get a stuffy nose, try snorting it all and swallowing it instead of spitting it out. It'll coat the inside of your throat and change the sound. A lot of people dont like the feeling of having mucus stuck in their throat though. And youve got to keep getting colds to maintain it. If your screaming correctly the mucus will come out on its own.

I still don't get the whole 'breath through your chest/stomach' thing. I think I get a small bulge when I try to breath that way. But I don't think the sound I get can be defined as raspy.

And I always swallow the mucus when I have a cold. It's a weird habit I've had my whole life.

 

[BonsaiK]

This is a two-way thread. Firstly, I've been during a long time thinking of learning how to sing. I've decided recently that I want to at least try it. I've gotten some tips from people I know who've practiced for a long time. But I want to get tips from all possible sources on how to best learn, how to hear yourself, etc.

Secondly, as I'm a huge "melodic death metal" fan and metal-core fan, I will of course start a band with growling. However, finding a good singer is hard. And singers who growl is an even smaller group. So I thought I might learn in case, and who knows? It might be my thing. So anyone with experience on how to growl, how to keep your voice unharmed, how to perform it loud, please give some tips. (If you're wondering what kind of growl I'm aiming at, it's a "new" In Flames-esque growl, and maybe a Soilwork-esque sound.)

So give me all help you can give on this subject.

Get a vocal teacher. Techniques for singing vs growling are more or less the same across the board and if you don't learn the right way you will fuck your throat right up. Yes you can internet search it but without a physical teacher there to observe how you're doing it no-one is going to pull you up on your mistakes. Don't put all your eggs into the 'growling' basket though because your music taste will change as you grow and you want to be able to sing other things too.

 

[Karlaxx]

On the subject of screaming from the chest, as i understand it, the idea is to learn to contract your diaphragm so that you can force the air out a certain way. Just get in front of a mirror, take off your shirt, and breath out really hard using the muscle right where your stomach and chest meet. If you do it correctly you should see a small bulge in that spot. If you do it perfectly, you'll hear a low raspy sound coming out. Once you can get that sound to come out, you just need to distort it, if you do it right, you should feel yourself making strong vibrations in the back of your throat. Once youve got that you tighten your throat to distort it further. Then instead of just forcing all the air out quickly, force it out slowly to make the growl longer.
On the subject of Melissa Cross, and Arch Enemy, I will admit that vocal fry is a legit technique however, i simply dont think it sounds anywhere near as good as other techniques.
On the subject of cigs and alchohol, cigs are fine for singing but definately not a good idea for growling. Also i find beer makes my growls sound better.

And another tip, next time you get a stuffy nose, try snorting it all and swallowing it instead of spitting it out. It'll coat the inside of your throat and change the sound. A lot of people dont like the feeling of having mucus stuck in their throat though. And youve got to keep getting colds to maintain it. If your screaming correctly the mucus will come out on its own.

I still don't get the whole 'breath through your chest/stomach' thing. I think I get a small bulge when I try to breath that way. But I don't think the sound I get can be defined as raspy.

And I always swallow the mucus when I have a cold. It's a weird habit I've had my whole life.

I can't add too terribly much to this, being more of a clean-belt type myself, but I can say that the reason people avoid (or welcome) dairy is because it facilitates mucus in your throat. Other than that, not much else to say that hasn't been said at least twice already.

 

[bluebrino]

i suggest mabey looking into other genres of music that are like meatalcore that use gravely voices and screaming. My suggestion, look into early grunge. Esepecially Nirvana's Bleach. Listen to it and try to mimmick it. It shouldn't be too hard since you're going for something much harder than screaming for about ten seconds and singing the whole song in a gravely voice. And the screaming is more like actual screaming like you would do in real life and not really for singing.(no i dont hate Nirvana. In fact they are my favorite band.) But this is just a suggetion. Help you if it could.

 

[Arkhangelsk]

This is a two-way thread. Firstly, I've been during a long time thinking of learning how to sing. I've decided recently that I want to at least try it. I've gotten some tips from people I know who've practiced for a long time. But I want to get tips from all possible sources on how to best learn, how to hear yourself, etc.

Secondly, as I'm a huge "melodic death metal" fan and metal-core fan, I will of course start a band with growling. However, finding a good singer is hard. And singers who growl is an even smaller group. So I thought I might learn in case, and who knows? It might be my thing. So anyone with experience on how to growl, how to keep your voice unharmed, how to perform it loud, please give some tips. (If you're wondering what kind of growl I'm aiming at, it's a "new" In Flames-esque growl, and maybe a Soilwork-esque sound.)

So give me all help you can give on this subject.

Get a vocal teacher. Techniques for singing vs growling are more or less the same across the board and if you don't learn the right way you will fuck your throat right up. Yes you can internet search it but without a physical teacher there to observe how you're doing it no-one is going to pull you up on your mistakes. Don't put all your eggs into the 'growling' basket though because your music taste will change as you grow and you want to be able to sing other things too.

I'm well aware that my taste may change. I made this thread for both singing and growling tips. I want to growl, but I find music with only growl a bit stale and boring. I will learn both. And I know someone who's been in a metal band where she was the singer. She's given me a few tips on how to learn and how to take care of my voice.

 

[DemonicVixen]

I use a keyboard and work my way up the scales. If i can get my voice into the same pitch then im on the right path. You do not need a teacher unless you are extremely bad. I admit i wasn't brilliant but i had been told that with some work i could actually be good. So i am self taught and doing ok. Put it this way, i can sing most the songs on Sweeny Todd (Johnny Depp version) with near perfection, though certainly not Helena Carter's Worst Pies In London as her accent and squawk is hard on the throat.

 

[Scrythe]

[HEADING=3]Buy this DVD.[/HEADING]

[HEADING=3]You can thank me later.[/HEADING]

 

[Arkhangelsk]

[HEADING=3]Buy this DVD.[/HEADING]

[HEADING=3]You can thank me later.[/HEADING]

Have you watched it? What do they basically go through?

 

[Scrythe]

[HEADING=3]Buy this DVD.[/HEADING]

[HEADING=3]You can thank me later.[/HEADING]

Have you watched it? What do they basically go through?

Mouth/throat exercises, warm-ups, techniques on how not to destroy your vocal chords, and the most badass vocal instructor ever [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melissa_Cross].

 

[Arkhangelsk]

[HEADING=3]Buy this DVD.[/HEADING]

[HEADING=3]You can thank me later.[/HEADING]

Have you watched it? What do they basically go through?

Mouth/throat exercises, warm-ups, techniques on how not to destroy your vocal chords, and the most badass vocal instructor ever [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melissa_Cross].

For some reason, someone in this thread told me to avoid her.

 

[TheDaringDragoon]

Also take up smoking and drinking.

Dear God, I hope you're kidding. Smoking will only damage your voice and give you problems breathing, something that is vital when growling. And drinking is just bad. It won't do anything to help.

Well I sing for a punk band and occasionally descend into growling, try to bring it from your chest as opposed to your throat or you'll bugger up your voice.

Oh and for free singing lessons try and get involved with any musical productions at school/local clubs, thats how I learnt got excellent advice and training from a very nice and eccentric women and remember only real men sing in musicals

I hear people say "growl from the chest" but could you describe it more? Should I just tense my muscles and make sure the breathing is lower down?

First try not to tense your muscles as that can a. strain your vocals and b.make your voice scratchy, to bring it from the chest think of when you burp and you can feel it brought right up from your lungs and through your throat, so try and bring your voice through like that building it up as it travels through the body. The breathing is also important but you have to learn to regulate that when you want to change the tone. I'd recommend you try and find someone to teach you in person as its hard to explain with just words (requires lots of waving around of the arms and examples .

I got many tips from my brother's fiancée, who has growled before in metal bands.

thought 1: Growling is not singing unless you're the Cookie Monster singing "C is for Cookie."
thought 2: SikOseph is right. Just look what cigarettes did for Barack Obama's voice. If you're going to growl, that's how you want to do it.
thought 3: Here's a crazy thought. Try learning about concepts like "melody" and "tonality" and learn how to properly sing so you stand out from the legions of no-talent assclowns littering the metalcore genre.

I think someone is being bias towards a vocal technique. Very foolish.

 

[Docjrag]

Smoking does help abit, not going to lie.

I've been singing since 4th grade. All state choir, duets, solos yadda yadda *tooting horn* and I can say honestly that smoking DOES help. Health-wise no, vocally, yes. My only real advice would be to find a band you really enjoy listening to and try and imitate it as much as you can. Everyone has a different voice so, on your imitation quest you will discover your own "style" of growling. Its not my cup of tea but, good luck!

 

[Arkhangelsk]

This is a two-way thread. Firstly, I've been during a long time thinking of learning how to sing. I've decided recently that I want to at least try it. I've gotten some tips from people I know who've practiced for a long time. But I want to get tips from all possible sources on how to best learn, how to hear yourself, etc.

Secondly, as I'm a huge "melodic death metal" fan and metal-core fan, I will of course start a band with growling. However, finding a good singer is hard. And singers who growl is an even smaller group. So I thought I might learn in case, and who knows? It might be my thing. So anyone with experience on how to growl, how to keep your voice unharmed, how to perform it loud, please give some tips. (If you're wondering what kind of growl I'm aiming at, it's a "new" In Flames-esque growl, and maybe a Soilwork-esque sound.)

So give me all help you can give on this subject.

Soilwork/Inflames are not melodeath, also they now use metalcore screams instead of growls...

In Flames still have some of their melo-death aspects left. And I never said that they really were during this new period of theirs. (But I still love their new albums.) I said I'm a fan of both melo-death and metal-core. But if I'm to state an example on how I want to sound, listen to March To The Shore.

Smoking does help abit, not going to lie.

I've been singing since 4th grade. All state choir, duets, solos yadda yadda *tooting horn* and I can say honestly that smoking DOES help. Health-wise no, vocally, yes. My only real advice would be to find a band you really enjoy listening to and try and imitate it as much as you can. Everyone has a different voice so, on your imitation quest you will discover your own "style" of growling. Its not my cup of tea but, good luck!

Read what I said to the guy above. But I won't take up smoking for the sake of growling. I'd rather take the normal way. I just don't want to gradually fuck up my health.