Extreme Vocalists...

[heBAY]

Anyone here have to scream/yell/wail/growl (with a band) for extended periods of time?

Any tips to pass or training exercises so you don't end up sounding like you had throat cancer a few years down the line?

A good handful of my favorites either had to stop due to vocal problems, or now have that scratchy/burnt out whisper effect when they either speak or perform nowadays (Sam Mcpheeters (Born Against/MRP/Wrangler Brutes), Charles Maggio (Rorschach), Dez Cadena (Black Flag))...yeah.

[FUCK]

using your voice like that for extended periods of time will pretty much cause damage no matter what.

[RFKorp]

Yeah, there isn't a "safe" way to do that stuff but "damage" is also a relative term.

Traditional Corean pansori training is all about working yourself until your vocal cords are all torn up and bleeding and then continuing to sing through all that pain until they re-heal stronger. But western medicine and musical tradition will both try to tell you that's insane.

[kunk75]

thought thread was about the band extreme and i had the neg rep clicker ready.

[julianREE]

yeah theres right and wrong ways to yell, the singer from killing the dream had to take almost a year hiatus before writing their new cd cause his voice was so fucked up.

as for me, my throat just got used to it and i dont really lose my voice anymore. just put it all out there and you'll be good.

[heBAY]

thought thread was about the band extreme and i had the neg rep clicker ready.

HA!

True...some cats I know talk about drawing it all from the pit of the stomach/diaphragm...shit like that is beyond me.

[FUCK]

yeah i agree with taking breaks. If you're on tour, there is no way to do that. but like practice wise...maybe keep it to a week once you have your style down. Diaphragm breathing is basically "forcing" air into your stomach and basically using that to generate the "force" rather than it being chest up. Its a technique thats used with most, if not all, brass instruments, singing and acting. Basically, take a breath and make sure your stomach expands. Theres lots of different methods to achieve this and plenty of free sources online.

I still feel that even with that method, you risk serious damage to your throat/vocal chords.

[heBAY]

Well put. I used to play trumpet so I guess that may be a bit more natural as far as breathing and upper body usage. Weird, sometimes I'm fine, other times I'm done after going through a few takes of a song (well once...with a new song...more due to experimenting with the vocal part).

[Maxim Tomato]

If you haven't watched it yet, you could check out The Zen of Screaming.

[heBAY]

^^Do you think that is really a worthy sit-down and view session? Supposedly there's at least two volumes...seen any?

[xh0llyw00dxx]

HA!

True...some cats I know talk about drawing it all from the pit of the stomach/diaphragm...shit like that is beyond me.

This is true.

Also it's definitely worth watching.

I also drink honey (buy the kind that comes in the plastic bear shaped thing and squeeze it straight down your throat.) This probably does nothing but it's a psychological help.