vocal coaching/prep

[aramism]

i think most records live and die by the performance of the vocals. so i kinda wanted to have a database for vocal warmup techniques, any tricks/tips from producers, as well as any audio warmups or things of that nature.



i actually like to have plenty of different teas and honey and stuff laying around for vocalists to drink and like to limit them to anywhere from 30min-2 hours depending on the performer before they break or stop for the day.

obviously when time is of the essence you don't have that luxury but for getting great performances most of the time you want to condition the vocals properly i believe. i could be wrong, i go off my own methods here, was curious at others.

 

[JonWormwood]

Melissa cross boiiii

 

[aramism]

well except for her lol

 

[Executioner213]

I actually don't like her videos. Not that I'm a pro and can say otherwise, but (at least on the first one) there is a lot of just interviews with guys saying how bad ass it is, but little to gain from it. Plus, it just seems hard for me to take seriously. I've tried some of the exercises on it and either I'm not doing em right or they aren't explained fully or something...but yeah, I'm kinda put off by them.

 

[Damphire]

Melissa Cross is just a big fraud. Don't watch those videos

 

[jauernis]

IS there any videos out there worth watching or learning from because most one on one teachers seem to be hacks as well? How is the brett manning guy?

 

[John_C]

Having had a lot of singing tuition myself, in a variety of styles, i'd say mellissa know's her shit, and well she's doing something right, otherwise you wouldn't get Randy Blythe spouting praise

however the videos are balls unless you've had some previoius tuition as a lot of the techniques she breezes over aren't that easy to do properly. It's done wonders for me though, no more pain

 

[John_C]

no1 is lots of drinks but nothing cold. Other than that and a few warmups you're beyond what you can really do for someone in a short space of time in a studio. Look up singing warmups from classical people, they'll work fine for any singing (just dont get anyone doing their actuall singing technique for death metal haha)

Other tips are pull in the lower abdomen for a darker sound, use the muscles in the small of the back to "support" any really high notes, and keep the head facing roughly straight forward

 

[smy1]

I have to say again (I think I said it 3 times before on this forum): if you can't radically improve your voice on Melissa Cross' videos, then you are just too dumb or too lazy. And of course all the bands on DVD 1 are a bit annoying at times, but if you can't see through that, you probably have bigger problems to worry about than vocal lessons

The warm-ups are pure gold and the way she explains the techniques made me go from a terrible singer who would get hoarse after 3 screamed lines to having no problem after a 60 minute show.

 

[Damphire]

I have to say again (I think I said it 3 times before on this forum): if you can't radically improve your voice on Melissa Cross' videos, then you are just too dumb or too lazy. And of course all the bands on DVD 1 are a bit annoying at times, but if you can't see through that, you probably have bigger problems to worry about than vocal lessons

The warm-ups are pure gold and the way she explains the techniques made me go from a terrible singer who would get hoarse after 3 screamed lines to having no problem after a 60 minute show.

Have proper singing lessons and you'll see just how useless those videos are. There is some interesting stuff in the videos I give you that, but you pay for a full DVD and you get 70% of the time with people telling you how great the exercise is and only 30% with exercises that are very common and well known. As for the screaming goes, is a matter of taste, in DVD 2 she introduces various types of singing but she can only do vocal fry and a very crappy one... if you want to learn that thats fine, but for me that sound is very common, repeated and well... crappy. If you wanna sound like Opeth's singer, Unleashed's, or even Angela Gossow that appears on the video, that annoying vocal fry ain't going to help you.

Anyway I recommend Brett Manning Singing Success, its very POP oriented but it has hours of teaching, exercises and tips. The guy doesn't have a pretty voice but he gets the job done.

 

[smy1]

Damphire: the DVDs are so cheap that I really don't care for the 70/30 ratio. One lesson with a half-way respectable vocal coach costs you more than both DVDs.

 

[John_C]

basically, try everything and see what helps, melissa cross worked well for putting some grit in my voice, but not for screaming.........each to their own

smy1, which parts of the DVDs seemed most useful for screaming for you (other than the warmups) because its not getting me anywhere atm

 

[smy1]

skeksis: basically the things that I focus on are the "by-the-way" short breathe-in, singing above the pencil and dump/rotunda. Without the warmups I have huge problems though. I usually do the warmups for 30-40 minutes before the shows and I am good to go.

 

[nakedpotato]

well, depends what you are looking for , basically everyone says the same on the dvd's , I also dislike Melissas dvd, and the emo singers on the dvd ,
basic and a bit advanced stuff you can learn from some dvd-s that can be found on amazon , I got this one :

, the instructor is 100% gay and the vein on his forehead is about to burst , but not a bad dvd.

 

[WestCoastCrush]

I remember hanging around Dallas Green for a few days as part of a media thing a couple of years back and when he would be walking around backstage waiting to play he would warmup by singing the phrase "chocolate milk" (because I guess it's difficult to articulate pitches when singing those words or something) and he'd sing usually those words in an ascending harmonic minor or major scale, one note for each syllable. He'd warm up to that and then move everything up a half or whole step until he'd unlocked his range.

For screaming, yeah, go with Melissa Cross' shit.

 

[cooljoebay]

I just had to throw my 2 cents in this thread. Melissa Cross is a complete fraud. Stay clear of her videos. I have them and they are a joke. It's purely a gimmick. Yes, most of the content is just a bunch of guys praising her. And you see some short little woman throw out some grit death metal sounds like any woman can do. Silly really. There is NO SCREAMING on these videos. Don't belive the hype about saving your voice. The truth is that you are either a properly trained singer or someone who pulls and pushes to get there. Look at the famous singers who can't sing now (robert plant) and those who can (sammy hagar). Plant was an alcoholic who used pure attitude without respect to his voice. Hagar took great care of his and it shows. But the fact remains that the rest is up to nature. Some people have strong vocal folds, some don't. Many factors determine the outcome. There is nothing you can do outside of training properly and watching what you put into your body. Even the use of allergy medications can knock years off your voice.

But stay away from gimmicks like Melissa Cross. She's preying on the uneducating to sell a crappy product. With a title like Zen of Screaming, it sells itself. She should call it by what it is, Zen minus Screaming, because there is no screaming involved.

 

[exoslime]

i can rarely remember a concert where i have been where the singer of the band actually could sing properly
i think the "worst" ever that i can clearly remember, was fear factory back in 1994, at the chorus of "self bias resistor", that was miles away from the original

and a positive too,
chad kroeger of nickelback screams his lungs out, that cant be healthy at all, but at least in concert he sounds very similar to the records..

but nowadays, who cares if the singer actually could really sing?? (i do..)
isn´t the public view about music that "everything is possible in the studio"
(of course not for those who actually work in that area, but all the other people who dont have a clue about music production)

aaaa, sorry for my ranting...it just came through

so back to topic,

*) some teas and honey are good, but also gargling with salt water can help huge!!

*) no cold drinks, before and after (the show)

*) having some fresh fruits around,to get some good energy.

*) eat properly, but dont overeat you, before the show, recording, whatever.

*) for training/warm up, find a good length for you, usually 20-30minutes should be well,
dont overdo it and warm you up for 2 hours and then you have no energy left for the real performance.

*) and in warmup, make the excersices up to 1tone above the highest note you are singing, there is no need in the warmup for the concerts if you stretch your voice to 2 1/2 octaves if you only need 1 1/2.
your body will be much more focused to the actual range you are using

all these tips comes from a retired, professional opera singer, who is btw the vocal teacher of my wife.

i hope at least some of these tips can help!
best wishes
chris

 

[John_C]

I just had to throw my 2 cents in this thread. Melissa Cross is a complete fraud. Stay clear of her videos. I have them and they are a joke. It's purely a gimmick. Yes, most of the content is just a bunch of guys praising her. And you see some short little woman throw out some grit death metal sounds like any woman can do. Silly really. There is NO SCREAMING on these videos. Don't belive the hype about saving your voice. The truth is that you are either a properly trained singer or someone who pulls and pushes to get there. Look at the famous singers who can't sing now (robert plant) and those who can (sammy hagar). Plant was an alcoholic who used pure attitude without respect to his voice. Hagar took great care of his and it shows. But the fact remains that the rest is up to nature. Some people have strong vocal folds, some don't. Many factors determine the outcome. There is nothing you can do outside of training properly and watching what you put into your body. Even the use of allergy medications can knock years off your voice.

But stay away from gimmicks like Melissa Cross. She's preying on the uneducating to sell a crappy product. With a title like Zen of Screaming, it sells itself. She should call it by what it is, Zen minus Screaming, because there is no screaming involved.

She did a whole seperate CD entirely dedicated to screaming itself, building on the techniques in the DVD.

 

[Line666]

Which is also pure turd I might add.

Brett Mannings Singing Success is a much better product than Mellissa Crosses ZOS if you want to learn to sing or warmup or anything really, Cross's warmups cd is alright, but warmups on their own dont explain anything about the voice and on the DVD she is too brief, in the second DVD she just teaches vocal fry, because it seems thats pretty much all she can do, and vocal fry sounds like shit.

 

[Djabthrash]

Did a transcript of the Melissa Cross (Zen Of Screaming) breathing exercises (for singing and relaxing), it might help :

http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/...ing-breathing-exercises-singing-relaxing.html