VOCAL PRACTICE (The Oversized Tea Kettle)

Well... yeah... how do you stretch those vocal chords? I've got some frustrated time by myself of my vocal range. I can only go for 3 octaves usally when I'm singing... and I can go for 4 octaves once in awhile... but it's not quite on the key. I can hit every low-notes on piano like that *snaps finger*. But it takes me atleast two tries to hit quite high notes. I can hit pretty high note... but it's hard for me to recogonize notes between them.

So are there any tips for me? I know that some of you sing especially Curt.

Dont sing. SCREAM!

Screaming alone does give you a very dynamic sound. If you have the right voice you might be able to pull it off. I like the balance between melody and brutallity.
But it's hard for me to explain how I do/did things to get where I am. I just practice. Vocalist have it rough because other musicians can buy their instruments we have to work hard to earn ours. Unless of course you are naturally a great singer which is a gift not to be taken for granted. All I can say is practice dude because thats all I have ever done. I guess I always intitially stive to sound like someone because that gives me a goal, then I expand from that. I never actually try to copy someone, I just think of them as a guide.

Well.. see.. I can "scream" in either low or high pitch. But I don't want to be known as a screamer.

@Curt: I also mix brutality and melody together but what I'm trying to acheive is high-pitches. I know that most of the guys these days, you and I, use low notes most of the times when we want to sing melody. I do that all the time. But I'm seeing repetation in my vocal range. I don't like that.

My role models used to be Jon Davis, and Corey Taylor. Jon has a sopreno voice... I believe and Corey is more of a bass (in Stone Sour, in Slipknot all he does is groan and scream)... which I know well of and specialized in. But right now I want to open my eyes (or vocal chords lol) and try to learn the traditional vocal, you know like Axl Rose, Robert Plant, the dude from Queen. I somehow find them to be talented these days which they are.

I don't pretty much idolize any singer who can groan or scream... I mean anyone can, period. All you need is anger to build it up. I don't mean to offend any of the singers who does the groaning things until they bleed... but like I've said... I don't want to be known as a screamer. I'll still do that in a few of the songs.. but I'd rather use real voice than a fake voice.

High pitched is good too, I am starting to be able to do it. It's pretty tough to do and at this stage I am sounding like 3 Inches of Blood, hehe.
Corey does plenty of singing with his singing, a little in Slipknot but mostly Stone Sour.
And I don't buy the whole, "Anyone can growl or scream" because the truth is they can't. And in my opinion anytime I have tried to scream while pissed off it's not as good because I am forcing too hard. I just try and feel the music, the brutality of the vocals should just go with the feeling of the song. And I really don't know many singers who do it untill they bleed, and if they DID bleed then they are doing it all wrong and are in great danger of losing their ability to talk. And how is growling or screaming a fake voice? It's just a different sound but it doesn't make it fake. I guess I know what you are saying though.
Like I said, it's the balance that I think is important, I don't think screaming, growling, or singing is better. It's how you balance them together in a song.

I dunno, I'm probably out of place with this, but in my opinion, certain songs call for certain vocals styles, right? So the balance deal in each song might not work. Some songs just call for singing, others for screaming/growling. Plenty of songs you can do both in, but..eh.

QUOTE (Nitty @ Aug 20 2005, 12:44 AM)

I dunno, I'm probably out of place with this, but in my opinion, certain songs call for certain vocals styles, right? So the balance deal in each song might not work. Some songs just call for singing, others for screaming/growling. Plenty of songs you can do both in, but..eh.

Thats what I am saying though....the balance means that both can co-exist equally. It doesn't have to be in one song. It's just that I find it useful to use both when the songs call for it.

QUOTE (Curt @ Aug 20 2005, 05:38 AM)

High pitched is good too, I am starting to be able to do it. It's pretty tough to do and at this stage I am sounding like 3 Inches of Blood, hehe.
Corey does plenty of singing with his singing, a little in Slipknot but mostly Stone Sour.
And I don't buy the whole, "Anyone can growl or scream" because the truth is they can't. And in my opinion anytime I have tried to scream while pissed off it's not as good because I am forcing too hard. I just try and feel the music, the brutality of the vocals should just go with the feeling of the song. And I really don't know many singers who do it untill they bleed, and if they DID bleed then they are doing it all wrong and are in great danger of losing their ability to talk. And how is growling or screaming a fake voice? It's just a different sound but it doesn't make it fake. I guess I know what you are saying though.
Like I said, it's the balance that I think is important, I don't think screaming, growling, or singing is better. It's how you balance them together in a song.

You took me in the all the wrong way. By fake voice, I mean not on piano. Ya know, it's neither low or high.

About the bleeding though, perhaps i've exaggerated a little too much. But I've "heard" people telling me that some people bleed and they thought it was "bad ass" so I'm not quite sure.

I can do high pitches... it's just not the strongest point of me.

Anyone can scream and growl... if you're feeling the music, of course. I don't mean it as in Mariah Carey can also groan or scream even though I've never heard of her scream in a brutal way. Some people's vocal chords aren't made for screams and groans. But it's easier to train yourself to scream than training improving your vocal range (from low to high).

EDIT: I'm not talking about certain songs... I'm talking about vocal in general.

QUOTE (Curt @ Aug 19 2005, 11:26 PM)

QUOTE (Nitty @ Aug 20 2005, 12:44 AM)

I dunno, I'm probably out of place with this, but in my opinion, certain songs call for certain vocals styles, right? So the balance deal in each song might not work. Some songs just call for singing, others for screaming/growling. Plenty of songs you can do both in, but..eh.

Thats what I am saying though....the balance means that both can co-exist equally. It doesn't have to be in one song. It's just that I find it useful to use both when the songs call for it.

Ah, cool. ^_^

QUOTE (8892 @ Aug 20 2005, 01:27 AM)

QUOTE (Curt @ Aug 20 2005, 05:38 AM)

High pitched is good too, I am starting to be able to do it. It's pretty tough to do and at this stage I am sounding like 3 Inches of Blood, hehe.
Corey does plenty of singing with his singing, a little in Slipknot but mostly Stone Sour.
And I don't buy the whole, "Anyone can growl or scream" because the truth is they can't. And in my opinion anytime I have tried to scream while pissed off it's not as good because I am forcing too hard. I just try and feel the music, the brutality of the vocals should just go with the feeling of the song. And I really don't know many singers who do it untill they bleed, and if they DID bleed then they are doing it all wrong and are in great danger of losing their ability to talk. And how is growling or screaming a fake voice? It's just a different sound but it doesn't make it fake. I guess I know what you are saying though.
Like I said, it's the balance that I think is important, I don't think screaming, growling, or singing is better. It's how you balance them together in a song.

You took me in the all the wrong way. By fake voice, I mean not on piano. Ya know, it's neither low or high.

About the bleeding though, perhaps i've exaggerated a little too much. But I've "heard" people telling me that some people bleed and they thought it was "bad ass" so I'm not quite sure.

I can do high pitches... it's just not the strongest point of me.

Anyone can scream and growl... if you're feeling the music, of course. I don't mean it as in Mariah Carey can also groan or scream even though I've never heard of her scream in a brutal way. Some people's vocal chords aren't made for screams and groans. But it's easier to train yourself to scream than training improving your vocal range (from low to high).

EDIT: I'm not talking about certain songs... I'm talking about vocal in general.

Well, I have heard people say they thought it was cool because they heard Jamey Jasta would wake up and his pillow would have blood on it from him coughing up blood. But the vocalists themselves don't usually find it cool unless they think it's showing off and they are an idiot. But Jamey Jasta is stupid anyway so he may be one of those people who DOES think its cool. anyway.
I agree...anyway CAN scream or growl...but not everyone can make it sound good. Just like everyone can sing....but some people sing good and some people sing bad. And I don't think it is easier or harder to scream or sing. They both require practice to get better, they are both hard in there own ways. I can tell you right now I didn't sing the way I do now when I started.
Go to my old bands soundclick page and the old demo I did the supporting vocals and my voice sucked compared to the next demo on there. And now I am better than I was on the last demo.

Yeah I've heard your old stuffs... and I listened to that song that you recorded.. big difference. I was quite amazed.

I like Hatebreed but I don't like the vocalist alot... I mean the vocalist looks like Fred Durst in a "hardcore" version.

I guess we have the most complicated instrument.

-Cough- :P

Fuck you. Don't try to spam my thread, biatch!

Spam? The cough was there because EVERYONE thinks they have the hardest instrument. Think before you automatically assume "OMG NITTY'S POSTING IT MUST BE SPAM LAWLZ". Anyways, there isn't such a thing as a hardest instrument. People are always pushing the boundaries with everything.

QUOTE (8892 @ Aug 20 2005, 01:47 AM)

I guess we have the most complicated instrument.

I wouldn't say that, but we do have one of the harder to maintain instruments. And the fact that we can't just go buy it, we have to develop it.

QUOTE (Nitty @ Aug 20 2005, 07:02 AM)

Spam? The cough was there because EVERYONE thinks they have the hardest instrument. Think before you automatically assume "OMG NITTY'S POSTING IT MUST BE SPAM LAWLZ". Anyways, there isn't such a thing as a hardest instrument. People are always pushing the boundaries with everything.

Whoa Nitty... calm down man... you've changed... :blink:

@Curt: Yeah, well... I don't know... I'm out of thoughts... lol... anyhows... I found this out of some articles... thought it might be interesting to most of you guys:

QUOTE

1. Do vowels. Ay, ee, I, oh, uu, ahh. use the robot blank face isolation style. dont move your jaw for any change. Feel your internal muscles making the sounds. start with a moderate volume. Run all the vowels together like a chant and after a few times, raise the pitch. You want to stay on the same pitch and stay on the same volume. When starting at higher pitches,you still want to be relaxed and have the same feeling when you make the vowels. Go all the way up through falsetto.

2. Do scales. Like a five note major scale going up. start off on a moderate note and volume. after a few runs, raise the starting pitch. you want your volume to stay the same throughout this whole exercise. Doing so will help with isolating the pitch muscles from the volume/thickening muscles. The cords thicken when you go louder and are pulled thinner when you go higher. so if you want to go higher and louder, then you can see where this starts to counter affect one another.

3. Portamento. Start on a moderate level OO. Drop your jaw a bit and pull the jaws in so your lips make an O as well. LIke a typical opera style singer, like youre singing "swing LOWWW..sweet chariot..." Slide this note down slowly and when you get to the bottom slip it into an AH. You'll really have to open up to get that low ah. Keep your lips and face the same. Continue, starting on a higher pitch each time and not changing the volume. Yes it will get longer as you go. Thats the point. And you go slow. slow. This means breath control. keep the same volume as well. Feeling brave or need lung capacity work? return back up after holding the bottom ah for a second. turn it back into an OH and rise back up, keeping the same volume and face. Youll figure out a good volume because you will not be able to do this slowly with a loud volume. But over time you can increase it all.

4. Staccato. (broken) Do quick "ha"'s like four or five in a row. staccato, so its broken. like four seperate hand claps. If you put your hand on your stomach it shouldnt tense. you may have to adjust the pitch for this to happen. You should just feel like youre exhaling and returning to a normal breah. If you cant do it without tensing the stomach you can do what my coach says. Jump up and down while doing the ha. You can also do a staccato scale. Over time go up in starting pitch. Notice where your note quality starts to deteriorate. also do staccatoo De's

5. Hold a brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr sound like a boat or hoarse or car, for a whole breathe exahale. Try it holding a note, and then doing melodies. The idea is to keep the lip buzz the same. Then do the same with zzzzz . like a bee. then do staccato ze melodies. ze ze ze ze ze....going up and down scales in a staccato.

6. Glissando. A slide on a pitch. Start an EE in you highest falsetto and slide down through your break into head and down into your lowes chest. Do them going up as well. When going up you can work to feel the break as you go into falsetto and try to keep the cords from opening up. stay in head as you go up, try not to let the falsetto happen. your quality will go to hell , but dont push harder or strain. Remember if youre having trouble around a break it will take some time to get the feel for the proper amount of air that is needed. it will change as you go from falsetto to head and vice versa. keep that in mind.

7.to top off, Do loud and hard ha's HAH! ....HAH! at a normal pitch(not too hight) with a ton of push. You will have to find the optimal space so your throat is open and th sound is clear. you want the Ah vowel to be crisp and clean. not over blown. But it should be pushed as hard as you can while still getting a crisp vowel sound. The H sound is the dumbbell for the cords. The air is already passing through and when you clamp shut to make the vowel you are resiting more air than you would normally have to sing behind. Work mostly loud HAh's But also do all vowels. but be careful with E's. and go up in pitch. as you go up you will have to go down in push to get a good sound. This is when you want good sound. Do these at the end of the workout or your rehearsal or whatever. work to get them hard and loud and clear. If i know it is the end of my work i will do them alot until the quality deteriorates. Use rest in between sets so to speak. Do a few sets of thirty at least. For me i do lthem, then do normal ow pitched EE's for a few moments to bring the cords back to normalness again, then do more. The muscles that pull shut against this resistance have to pull harder to hold that pitch. over time you get stronger which helps you can pull further than you would before, resulting in more power and range. If you want to go past your current highest, then you want to work alot with your current highest pitch. Visit it alot and often. People think that this is solely how you get range but its not really. At a higher pitch your cords are thinner and they cant take alot of pressure and remain closed, so the muscles dont work as much. Youre not developing the muscles and tissue as much because they fatigue alot quicker. Work alot of chest and mid voice hard forceful notes, this will help buld up the force with which you can hold a note. this means your force of pulling the cords closed at a current pitch and volume gets greater, which spills over into more for the next higher pitch and volume.

I'm just tired of being called a spammer and all that shit. :P Seriously Freak, no hard feelings man. ^_^

i used to take singing lessons, and i'm starting again this fall. i realy really recommend it. you learn to use your voice in a better way, and especially to sing from your stomach, and not only from your throat is very important. you should always warm up properly before you strain your voice. it's kinda hard to explain singing techniques, so if you really want to get better, you should definitely take some lessons with a good teacher. at least to get the basics..

QUOTE (Nitty @ Aug 20 2005, 07:29 AM)

I'm just tired of being called a spammer and all that shit. :P Seriously Freak, no hard feelings man. ^_^

Then dont spam. spammer!

QUOTE (stine @ Aug 20 2005, 07:12 PM)

i used to take singing lessons, and i'm starting again this fall. i realy really recommend it. you learn to use your voice in a better way, and especially to sing from your stomach, and not only from your throat is very important. you should always warm up properly before you strain your voice. it's kinda hard to explain singing techniques, so if you really want to get better, you should definitely take some lessons with a good teacher. at least to get the basics..

You should ALWAYS sing from the stomach. I've thought about taking lessons with a teacher... but I don't have money to get a teacher. If i still have a job I'll totally take it. Right now I'm unemployed and fucked. I usually warm up with piano for like 20-30 minutes before we start practicing. I think I just want to be able to hit high-notes lol... or have my vocal range for about 4 octaves without struggling every times. I'd love to go up to 5 octaves but the only person that I know can go up to 5 octaves is Mariah Carey... :lol:

@ Nitty: I know... :(

View Full Version: VOCAL PRACTICE