Tips for melodic screaming?

BrettT

Member
Aug 29, 2006
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Austin, TX
When I say "melodic screaming," I'm talking about singing with vocal grit ala Gojira, Devin Townsend. I'm a decent singer and a decent screamer, but am really wanting to broaden my vocal abilities and was hoping someone here could offer some tips, techniques, etc. for being able to "scream" melodically.
 
Sing a clean note and slowly add some grit to it till it feels comfortable and sounds like what you're after. It should also be stated that a lot of vocalists that do this seem to have a totally clean version behind the melodic yell, and I've heard some that actually sound like a 100% scream take blended with a 100% clean take, giving the vibe of one take of a gritty melodic voice. I've had zero luck with this latter method however, probably because I can't do clean vox to save my life.

Edit: Oh, and don't be afraid to Dev it up with some layers.
 
Yeah, this one is a tough cookie, been trying to figure it out for some time. My example would be more like the latest comeback kid though.

It's kinda weird, when you sing a note and add grit you come of sound like hetfield or whatnot. The other way around is just full out screaming with lots of fry, i mean... when you scream it still carries an identifiable note, but i'm having a bit of a problem to control what note it is :/

 
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I'm not sure how he does it, but Chad from Mudvayne and Hell Yeah has an amazing melodic scream voice. Especially the last few albums.
 
It helps if you can sing a clear note, and take it from completely clean to full on scream seamlessly. Then it's just like a gain knob on an amp. You just set it where you want it. I suck at singing, but I find I have tons more luck hitting specific notes in a melodic yell mode than in a regular sing mode.

I can also do a pretty cheesy Hetfield impression when I want to though as well. :D
 
It's kinda weird, when you sing a note and add grit you come of sound like hetfield or whatnot.

THIS is my problem! When I try it it sounds like I'm doing a poor Hetfield impression and it makes me want to punch myself in the face.