Vocals

[Baritone]

I've been growling for a while now, and can sing pretty good. I wondered, everyone always says that growl/screaming ect. will damage your vocal cords, but no one really tells you how it will affect them, I mean whispering also damages your voice and I have never heard anyone say: "I can't sing anymore coz I've whispered too much..."
So what damage could be done? Do you lose your range? Start talking like a frog? or what? and to what extend? can one have a good singing voice and growl in between songs?

Thanx in advance

 

[StoneWoman]

That's also what I've been wondering too. I've been taking classical singing classes for 2 years and a half and I wanna develop a career in this direction. The thing is, trying to get some grunting going is just so tempting. Just for fun, that is. I've been thinking to try this style as well, just for experimenting, but I'm fucking scared of what might happen to my singing voice if I try that and something bad happens.
Anyhow, I heard about this guy who is in a local black metal band, so he does lots of 'shrieking' stuff, that he has used his voice so much in this direction, that he actually developed some kind of an inner bulge that somehow stops him from doing clean vocals, but it also eases his way to grunting. I also thought it might be a nodule, but apparently it's not in the chords' area.
Anyhow, another friend of mine, who sings classically, has forced her voice a lot, she didn't use her diaphragm at all, so she just kept on forcing her chords' in order to obtain the proper volume and consistence, also damaging the correct position of the palate to achieve that.
Now, I'm definitely not sure about that, it might just be some silly method of explanation, but I think this is also the effect grunting has on your voice. It does require a lot of diaphragm support as well, but practically, the whole area around the chords, the larynx and all gets swollen as hell, because of the irritation this kind of efforts provoke.
I think. So, if someone really knows this phenomenon and how to explain it better, I'm really eager to find out as well.

/edit: Hah, I forgot about the most important part, the conclusion, that is. I suppose it does not affect your range. It normally shouldn't, as long as you continue using your clean voice as well. I mean, your range might go down a bit even if you spend, let's say, one month without singing at full potential, even if you don't do any kind of grunting at all. By simply not using it. I also think it doesn't affect your speaking voice too much either, we have so many metal singers as proof. I only think that, after having achieved a proper, healthy, constructive and non-fatiguing technique of clear singing, grunting might damage the quality of your voice. Not the tone, not the depth, just the quality. I've noticed that people who do grunting have some kind of an emptiness of their voice, a bit airy and not so 'present'. I really hope you can understand me, 'cause honestly, now that I'm reading my post again, I can't.

 

[Epytaph_Harazoria]

Singing in clear voice helps you to sing growling voice that's the way i do...
No matter how you growl and scream you'll never succeed if u don't treat your throat correctly!!!
The good singer is the one who explores the whole voices

 

[StoneWoman]

@Epytapth: I wouldn't say a good singer is the one who explores all styles of singing. I'd dare to say it's actually a person who MASTERS only one. You can't ask from a pop/non-classical singer to do operatic vocals, just like you can't ask a classically trained one to do grunts or yodeling. Actually, trying to explore all kinds of singing can have two endings: either you're lucky and you manage to discover what fits you best OR you end up messing with the styles so much, that you fuck up your voice.

 

[Epytaph_Harazoria]

yeah i know that it's me who told that
Anyone sings the way he feel

 

[StoneWoman]

Oh, sorry then, I must have probably misunderstood you. The "The good singer is the one who explores the whole voices" part, I thought you meant that singers should just try and experiment with all styles of singing they know. Which I didn't agree with.

 

[Epytaph_Harazoria]

oh well explore all voices to find the right own voice just by rehearsing and then pick the right one for perfectionate it

 

[Ultimate_Symphony]

Basically by saying you'll damage your vocal chords people mean that you'll blow them. Effects of this are less clarity at the limits of your range, sound projection and the timbre of your voice gets affected. If you do end up fuckin' your vocal chords up you'll end up having no other choice but surgery, a good example of this is the vocalist of Avenged Sevenfold.

Now, I'm definitely not sure about that, it might just be some silly method of explanation, but I think this is also the effect grunting has on your voice. It does require a lot of diaphragm support as well, but practically, the whole area around the chords, the larynx and all gets swollen as hell, because of the irritation this kind of efforts provoke.

Yeah, you hit the nail on the head.

edit: Hah, I forgot about the most important part, the conclusion, that is. I suppose it does not affect your range. It normally shouldn't, as long as you continue using your clean voice as well. I mean, your range might go down a bit even if you spend, let's say, one month without singing at full potential, even if you don't do any kind of grunting at all.

It won't affect your range as long as you don't end up fuckin' your chords up, of course.

Singing in clear voice helps you to sing growling voice that's the way i do...

Not at all, I fail to see how singing actually helps with one's growling. Both approaches are entirely different and should be treated as such. Care to explain?

 

[Epytaph_Harazoria]

so you mean when growling you just growl and that's it?!!!!!

 

[Ultimate_Symphony]

Yeah, what else would it be? Sorry, but you lost me there.

 

[Ator]

just found this

 

[somecallmejack]

that guy... does the best impression of Dr Claw that Ive ever heard. It is Dr Claw whos Inspector Gadget's Nemesis, right? I might be thinking of the wrong name. 'Ill get you next time gadget'... classic.