I'd like to start singing.. and preferably the 'heavier' style of singing (raspy stuff moreso than full on screaming)..
My throat starts hurting quite soon.. if I'm trying to do raspy stuff or just singing higher notes.. what are some exercises I can do to build up vocal chord strength? Or am I just straining too hard or something? :/
You shouldn't be straining
full-stop. Your vocals chords are essentially muscles, and straining muscles causes injuries. Vocal fry (which is what creates the raspiness) actually takes less air pressure than to create than normal speech, and will sound worse the more you push it.
Like SMY says though, the best (and probably only) way to learn is with a teacher - you can't be
shown how to sing with videos etc. because you can't see how someone is using their diaphragm or abducting their vocal chords; you need someone in the room with you to give you instant feedback what you're doing.
As for Melissa Cross... her warm-up sets are nice and simple, and there's some really good exercises - and I dare say in person she's a great teacher (she clearly gets great results) - but her videos don't really teach you anything. I had 6 years of classical singing lessons, and I watched both her DVDs in complete bemusement. She uses lots of terminology without explaining it's meanings properly, and a lot of it is in the form of "do
this and it'll sound like
this", before cutting to a famous vocalist doing it - with very little explanation of
why you're doing it or talking about bad techniques you may employ trying to copy her. That's what you loose by not having someone in the room with you.
The other thing I don't remember her mentioning is monitor yourself with headphones whilst you're practising, and recording it all too - listening to yourself (as horrible as it may be) is a great way to hear what you're doing right and what you're doing wrong - what you hear in your head as you're doing it is not a realistic representation at all.
Steve
