Screaming tips? (since there's a thread about growling...)

Ben Johnson

Ben Johnson

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Jan 17, 2006
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...which is at the opposite end of the 'singing' spectrum to growling - or it seems that way to me at least. I have no problems with growling and not hurting myself (think Randy Blythe, Jens Kidman, etc - not really death metal, but I believe the technique is similar), but when it comes to high pitch screaming, like Phil Anselmo, Anders Friden, or even later Alexi Laiho singing, I'm lacking severely. It seems like all those guys are able to do a "smooth taper" from growling to screaming; is the same growling technique used for screaming? Are they using the same vocal register, or are they switching into falsetto somewhere in there?

I have the Melissa Cross dvd, and the books 'Pro Secrets of Heavy Rock Singers' and 'the Rock and the Roll Singer's Survival Guide'. I have noticed an improvement in my clean singing ability somewhat after getting through all that material, but the raspy singing / screaming is still a problem.

Any advice?
 
Listen to what Melissa says about "Heat and Fire." Also listen to what Andrew WK says on that same DVD. You're accentuating the harmonic overtones in your voice by directing the flow of air a certain way.

You'll find a place in your voice that's somewhere between growling and falsetto singing. It's hard for me to explain, but I could demonstrate it on video at some point. Devin Townsend makes heavy use of this technique, as does Peter Tägtgren. Getting enough sleep, exercise, and eating right are also critical for this technique more than any other style of singing, I've found.

This is a relatively new technique for me, and I have yet to use it on a recording anyone's heard, but there will be some of it on the upcoming BACKMASK CD.
 
If you could clip whatever you're talking about right there, it would be greatly appreciated. I fucking love Devin Townsend. Is it somewhere around the kind of less-guttural stuff Bjorn Strid does on Chainheart Machine, too, or am I thinking of the wrong bit?

Jeff
 
It is not that hard. At least not for me. It comes from below the throat. The throat almost acts like a plug in the passage way. Everyone tells me that I don't scream much higher then my talking voice.
 
I do the old Kreator throath. Over the years i learned there are do´s and dont´s to keep your throath fresh.

- Avoid alcohol:mad: , cigarettes and cheap fogmachines.
- Eat healthy, sleep a lot and shut your mouth.
- Don´t go over the top while screaming. Same as with guitargain, less is more.

Try to find your own voice, i hate the local deathgrunter without any identity.


Check out LARRY PORTELLI from Blessed Death. He can scream and sing in tune, i love the voice.
 
are you referring to the Dickinson, Halford, Gillian type screaming ?

Child in Time or number of the beast for example ?

part of it is keeping the throat moist, and not sacrificing tone and pitch for the sake of volume
 
KillDivision, this may not in fact what the thread is about, but you have to show me how to do the Kreator scream - Akerfeldt roars, and Tagtgren screams, and DT goes ballistic, but Mille incites fucking riots, and I was just listening to Pleasure to Kill and Enemy of God yesterday and... I like inciting riots. PM!

Jeff
 
I do, but I sound like a tired Mikael Stanne. Can you at least describe the part of your voice that you're 'targeting' (like in grunts you're using the stomach/diaphragm, falsettos are the 'head voice'), anything like that? That's about all most death metal guys I know get about how to get in the general ballpark of the scream, even that would be helpful.

Clip isn't working for me, for some reason, get a quick fraction of a second and it's out.

Jeff
 
There have been quite a few clips posted so far, but they all just show that you guys can scream. Could someone be kind enough to make a clip explaining how to scream? A demonstration of transitioning from speaking voice to scream would be helpful, as well as an explanation of what is going on in their throat.
 
Kazrog said:
You'll find a place in your voice that's somewhere between growling and falsetto singing. It's hard for me to explain, but I could demonstrate it on video at some point.
Click to expand...

...just reviving this old thread. If you're still thinking about demonstrating this on video it'll be very much appreciated... so ehhh... BUMP.

:Smokin:
 
There is no transition smoothly from speaking voice to screams. I find that screams take a lot more effort than speaking normally, and it takes different efforts in different areas depending on the kind of scream. I wouldn't mind recording a MP3 "tutorial" type crap thing for you guys but it will have to wait until the weekdays when I'll have some free, private time. A video tutorial really wouldn't help you at all except for a few giggles, as you get to see the wide opened mouths and pained faces of people screaming their balls off! :lol: You can't actually see inside their throat to see what is blocking and where it's hitting, so it wouldn't work out for you. I'll see what I can come up with, is there anything in particular you guys would like recorded?
 
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