Improve your voice with singing lessons. A private singing teacher can help with techniques and tips to fine tune your vocals.
Here are a bunch of vocal FAQ’s Angela received over the last few years….
(Question -> Answer)
I am a fellow female death/black metal singer, who was recently diagnosed with vocal nodules[...]My voice is something I need, I was born to do this, and I would appreciate any suggestions/advise you could give me to get back on track.
Do not give up, nodules are curable!!! Is it nodes (hard bumps) or nodules (soft ones) you got on your vocal chords? Hard ones have to be removed surgically, the soft ones you can train off with the right exercises. Humming in the morning – before talking – is a good way to warm up the voice and get the chords swinging simultaneously. If your voice sounds rough, hum until it sounds more “even”.
Anyway, no screaming until they are gone. A speech therapist will show you lots of exercises that will basically help the vocal chords to function normally again whilst at the same time taking the strain from the spot where the nodules are (this is basically the place where your chords hit together first when you scream). When your nodules are gone, start with easy SINGING exercises and breathing exercises. For this you should go to a professional singing teacher!!! Breathing the right way will take a lot of force from the chords. When you scream – do you pump your chest full of air or is your belly expanding like a balloon? If the air is up in your chest its way too much pressure on your throat and your chords and one of the main reasons you got into trouble.
Check out the vocal advice on my website. I am also being trained being a singing/screaming teacher myself. Most normal singing teacher cringe when they hear what you are doing with your voice. They don’t understand this technique (you are basically singing with your false chords as well, you don’t do this for “normal” singing at all). But please don’t let them discourage you. Just tell them all you want to learn is good breath support, warm up exercises and simple scales. Normal singing trains the voice in a different way then screaming and keeps the chords flexible and strong.
What range are you in? Hearing your samples I guess you have a rather high range, like soprano or mezzo-soprano. That means your vocal chords are thin. Women who have deep voices (alto or contralto) have it much easier with the screaming. Their vocal chords are thicker and simply take more abuse. So you have to train and strengthen your voice in order to do the screaming without harming your voice.
Make sure to let your voice heal totally before you start screaming again! You don’t want to permanently damage your voice and maybe lose it altogether. Do you smoke and drink? You never warm up before you scream? Do you drink lots of acid forming soda? Do you have allergies or taking drugs? If yes is the answer to any of these questions – my advice: quit it!!! Especially smoking (I had to quit too). Or sort it out, like allergies.
I’m looking into ways of screaming w/out damaging my vocals. Can you give me any tips? By the way, after a long concert, do you feels like your vocal muscles tend to get tightened, do they hurt or have they ever caused any pain?
I listened to your bands sound files. You are currently singing melodic, no screaming right? Are you a soprano?
I talked with Floor Jansen from After Forever about mixing classic vocals and death growls. It is almost impossible, only works if you are an alto with extremely resistant vocal chords. If you start screaming, you will lose the high range for sure. After a long tour, my chords are shot. I can still scream and growl but my upper head voice is gone. This vocal style is about sacrificing your voice somehow.
My throat and jaw muscles get tight after the first couple of shows when I haven’t trained them enough in my time off. These exercises help: Stretching the upper pallet (sort of yawning to loosen things up) and depressing the tongue with a finger to massage tension out. Always stretch your neck muscles after a show (head banging makes them pretty sore).
My chords don’t hurt; I have no sore throat after a show, not even when we play 90 minutes. But my throat is very used to this “singing” style. Arch Enemy play more than 200 shows a year.
Def get the DVD, its full of good tips and a great warm up. It wont teach you how to scream though. For being save when you start, you got to have a vocal teacher who does this in front of you watching your every breath and move of abdomen, throat, larynx and shoulders.
If screaming hurts you, do NOT do it, otherwise you will wreck your wonderful singing voice.
How did you find out you have a “different” vocal voice? You said that you can get higher tones now, which I can hear clearly on the “Doomsday Machine”. How long had it take you to catch that?
My voice is quite deep at the moment and needs breath technique but is that possible to make it higher by time (or if I have deep voice, is it going to stay deep forever)?
I simply started out screaming my lungs out when I was 16 years old.I didn’t know at all what I was doing; I was simply able to do “that sound”. I damaged my voice back then though.
Yes, you can get high screams with a rather deep voice, but it takes time and careful approach. High screams mean that the vocal chords are stretched to the max and this renders them more vulnerable. They are under a lot of tension. You should start with singing and trying to develop your head voice to its full capacity. Then try to turn this into a scream. When it hurts, stop and go back to the singing.
A good exercise to train breath support: Lie on your back, or sit/stand straight. Inhale deeply (feel your belly move out, your rips and your back should expand too). Hold the breath for a count of 3, purse your lips and let the breath out slowly. Imagine a feather floating in front of you and you are trying to keep it up in the air. Make sure the stream of breath is soft and steady. You should be able to breath out for at least 30 seconds, but aim for 60 seconds. You will build up resistance and breath control by doing this. Do it every day, preferably as a part of your vocal training.
Hi, I have been doing vocals for a few years and recently lost my ability to growl.
could you give me some advice on vocal training?
If you can’t growl anymore, it means you got nodules.Please go to a doc and have your vocal chords checked. If you get diagnosed with some kind of disorder due to vocal abuse I highly recommend working with a vocal coach who is specialized in this. Its impossible to explain how to do it, I had to run through a lot of different exercises. For now, you should stop growling and screaming altogether to avoid further damage. It can become irreparable, if you continue straining your voice.
I wish you all the best with your voice! Please see a professional who can check you every week and notices if you are returning to your old mistakes. The main causes for vocal damage are usually lack of controlled breathing techniques and too much pressure.
How do you make such growls and screams, tell me how ya do it?
I have 15 years of practice. I got thick vocal chords and good control over my false chords. And I know all the necessary breathing techniques.
I went to a vocal coach for about a year. I learned breathing techniques, warm up, pronunciation and the right way to speak without putting any strain on the chords. I also had singing lessons for about 6 months to learn training my voice in a different way and applying all the techniques to singing. There are 2 sorts of singers: some breathe mostly from the lower abdomen, some use the ribcage and back-breathing more. I am the 2nd type, although my power comes from my lower abdomen, the air I mainly hold in my widened rib cage and in my back.
I’d like to ask some professional advices from you about growling. You mentioned that you had damaged your voice.
When I realized that I can growl, lost my speaking voice for a week. I was growling 24/7, wanted to be louder and louder. I know that this genre needs warm up but I don’t really know how can I warm up properly? What type of warm up and exercises do u suggest?
I’ve got another question about how to become a band member?
There is a great DVD out; it’s called the Zen of Screaming from Melissa Cross. You can order it at www.melissacross.com I have worked with her and will be teaching kids as well in the future. She is a vocal teacher, specialized in screaming and growling. Anyway, I do exactly the warm up she has on her DVD. It is similar to what I learned from my vocal coaches at home! I do some humming, scales, yelling, screaming, growling. My warm up is about 15 minutes long.
Breath support is the most important factor in growling. All the power has to come from the abdomen and the ribcage – no strained throat or chest breathing. Just like in ‘normal’ singing.
Finding a band: stick around in the scene, clubs, metal bars etc. it’s easy to find out about an open singer slot when you are active in your local scene. And then audition. You got to persistent, cuz ppl still have a problem with females in extreme music. But if you are good, you will crush them. I found my first band in a youth-center.
I would really like to know how on earth do you make that hellish sound of your voice?
[...] I know you have been learning to sing and I am asking your advice cause when I sing like that -I can’t speak for days after.
If it hurts, don’t do it, otherwise you will damage your vocal chords! It is an extreme form of singing and requires strong, thick vocal chords. If you are a soprano, you probably shouldn’t try it at all, your chords are simply not built for it. Not being able to speak for days is NOT a good sign!
[...] At times I end up straining my voice to be heard. And my vocals are sinking in the music. Would u mind sharing sum tips with me? On how to go about, in the jam room, studio and live???
It is important you got a loud enough PA! Remember, you are the only instrumentalist in the band without build-in amplification. Straining your voice just to be heard isn’t cool. If the others can’t turn down, you got to turn up your gear – not your throat!
I am becoming a vocalist soon. I growl and it sounds okay, but how do you train your voice when you go on tour?
Hey, I am actually working on a website right now that deals with vocal advise. This is a complex subject. You should have basic breathing techniques and singing knowledge, get a few lessons with a teacher to work on a good warm up routine. You should train your voice daily, not only growling but singing also.
http://www.vocalist.org/ This website provides a lot of good tips, exercises, etc.
Know your voice well before you start touring. If you can’t handle screaming for at least one hour a day, it’s no good idea to go out on the road. You wont even last for the first week.
I’ve been paying specific attention to your style of growling, and I really dig it. How did you get started with growling? I try to do it, and it just seems like I start to choke, or it doesn’t come out right. I’ve also bought Melissa Cross’ “The Zen of Screaming” DVD. It’s helped out quite a bit, but I figured that I’d come straight to the source hoping for an answer.
‘Choking’ means you are constricting your throat way too much. You are working with your throat and you are most likely breathing from your upper chest – instead of working with the LOWER ABDOMEN (Melissa Cross calls it THE DUMP. because it feels like taking one really).
This helps: bend your knees slightly, place your hands on your belly and focus on the pushing force coming from there whilst growling. Forget about your throat. Keep your throat open. Start with the really low growls first. Don’t do any screams as they usually lead to more constriction.
Do the ‘jumping jack and barking’ exercise that randy from lamb of god is demonstrating (on the Zen Of Screaming I) – this will help loosen up your throat as well and also will prevent you from breathing from your upper chest region
If this still doesn’t work for you, find a teacher who will practice the basic abdominal breathing techniques with you. Because that’s your main problem maybe.
I sing in a band of heavy metal in the line of Stratovarius, Dream Theater, etc. The problem is when there are people watching me. I can’t give all that I would because of what they will think about me.
Then I want you to give me some advice, to know if you had this problems at first or if you always had have this security on the stage…
Well, you MUSTN’T do anything. Its hard when you ‘MUST ENJOY’ something.
Performing is not easy if you suffer from severe stage fright. It’s good to warm up your voice before the show and end with a couple of breathing exercises, which calm you down. Breath in deeply while raising your arms up, counting to 4. Hold your breath in 7 counts (in your belly though, don’t constrict your throat) and then breathe out slowly whilst lowering your arms on a count of 8. This exercise helps me when I get very afraid during turbulence on planes, when I feel my asthma coming up or when I am nervous before a show! There are plenty of other good breathing and yoga exercises – you should look into this. Also, look into meditation… these are all means that help you control your fear and your adrenalin flow!!!
I wouldn’t go too deep into psychological overanalyzing.. Yoga, breathing exercises and meditation will help you deal and master your fears you have NOW. They work in any kind of ‘angst’ situation, not only on stage.
It also helps – when you guys rehearse – to have a couple of friends watching your rehearsals from time to time. They are kind of a SMALL CROWD. You know. Its good to start small.
I never had real stage fright; I like the surge of excitement before the show. It actually helps me perform better. Its that extra bit of adrenalin that turns me into a monster on stage. Once you will be able to control your fear you will also have the ability to use your excitement in a positive way – to kick your performance levels up a notch! All the best!!! Angela
My situation is this: I am a bass singer, and only in the last two years have I realized I could sing or scream, and I begun to utilize this in my new band in November. At first it hurt to scream, but I got some tips and now am able to scream and not feel any pain, and I am expanding my vocal capabilities based on what hurts and what doesn’t. The problem is that I don’t just scream and sing in the bass range, but also in falsetto. Not like Rob Halford on Painkiller, more like The Beach Boys or Frankie Vallie. I often go back and forth between all three in one song. Is this healthy? When I scream, it greatly hurts my falsetto, but if I practice my falsetto enough, I can pull it off. Should I keep practicing both, or do I ultimately need to give one up? Thanks for your time, keep rocking out in Arch Enemy!
An do you know how Dani Filth screams so high? I would love to do that!
Dani filth utilizes falsetto with false chords for his high screams. It is very rough for the vocal chords!
I think you should keep practicing your falsetto just to ward off some of the damage you do with screaming. Falsetto exercises the vocal chords in a HEALTHY manner. Screaming doesn’t really. Esp. when you notice that it hurts your higher range. Singing falsetto will balance the strain a little. Good luck! Angela
Mostly always I am experiencing difficulty with my voice when entering and during my menstruation period. The growls are less deep, and when it is deep, my screams won’t properly function. I do a proper warm up, took any advise you have given on this myspace site, Am in a pretty good condition, but during and entering menstruation, it just often totally sucks. So I wonder, as females among each other, how does that effect you, and if you know and could render any advise revolving this subject-…then I’ll be gladly waiting to hear it.
A lot of females do suffer from water retention during their mens and the vocal chords actually swell up a little. Do you have PMS or other bad side effects when you menstruate?
If it really bothers you, you can start taking the pill without a weeks break. But only if you do the vocals professionally. Cuz the pill does have side effects as well, as all synthetic hormones do.
I feel tired and don’t have all the power that i usually have. I compensate with more controlled breathing techniques. I don’t really feel a change in my voice.
A lot of famous female artists (for example Mariah Carey) have a clause in their contract – they don’t perform during their mens, cuz they lose the high end.
SPECIAL TIP: there are several natural remedies to help ease PMS and even out the hormonal fluctuation. There is a lotion out there called Emerita Phytoestrogen and it works very well! Also supplements containing soy isoflavonoides can help diminish those symptoms. I take it during touring, because travelling alone very much throws the body out of its hormonal balance.
For years I’ve been trying to find information on proper techniques for extreme vocals… now for the first time somebody (you) is willing to share this information to the vocalist wannabes. I’ve red most you’ve wrote in your website and here, and also on many other sites. What I find most often referred to are the “false vocal cords”, but nobody ever mentions how to train them, when you know you’re actually using them and so on. Since you’re putting up a site on the death-black metal vocals topic, I think it’d be a good idea to dedicate a section to the topic of false cords, its training and so on.
You cannot train them actively really, as they respond in a passive way. You can activate them by ‘barking like a dog’. When you do this growling ‘barking’ sound and do jumping jacks at the same time (to utilize your abdominal muscles) – these are the false chords. They are not meant to be used for singing and talking. Only people who have vocal chord paralysis or throat cancer/ a tumor have to learn to talk with the false chords.
[..]My point here is, when it comes to COMPOSING original songs, do you take part in the process of creating even though you are not an instrument player?? How do you feel or better so, what should you do when you are so looking forward to create songs when THE GUYS are doing all of that work??
Sometimes, as I have with previous band, I’ve felt a little, to put it in some way, “useless” when it comes to come up with ideas, guitar riffs or whatever, since I’m the VOCALIST. What does that mean? Am I meant to be responsible of writing the lyrics only? Is that good enough?[...] What I would like to know is, how has your own experience in that sense been during all this time you have been with Arch Enemy?? Have you been responsible of any of the process of creation of the songs?? Have you come up with ideas for the songs?? Or…. Have you been there…always…waiting for the songs to be created to finally…ADD the lyrics to something you didn’t take part of??
Sometimes (not every time) I am present at rehearsals and I hear all songs in all stages as demo versions. I added the melody to the song ‘the day you died’ and I have input in song writing.
I am very relaxed with my role as the vocalist. I got EXCELLENT musicians in the band and I trust them 200% in writing kick ass songs. My main job is to write good lyrics, to work out vocal lines/patterns and to be a kick ass front person/performer. I don’t have to have it all and to do it all. A band is a team, everyone has his/her own strength and trust/teamwork is the key.
You seem a bit uptight maybe and you def think/worry/analyse too much. Take it easy, let it happen, if you have a great song idea I am sure you can incorporate it.
[...]So, can you tell me how use my vocal chords to guttural singing?
Maybe you have to know I’m 15 years old, and maybe it will be dangerous for me start with this voice.
I assume you have tried to growl and it hurt. Which means you are DAMAGING your voice. Are you a soprano? If so, absolutely leave it alone. If you are alto or low mezzo-soprano your vocal chords have a better chance to stand this rough vocal style.
Guttural vocals are the opposite of opera voice when it comes to technique. They will also most likely ruin your head voice/the higher regions of your scale. There is a reason why I am NOT singing in a clean voice. After a couple of weeks of touring my high range is rough sounding. It is an extreme vocal style and the thinner your vocal chords are, the less likely you will be able to do it.
Describing your sound – the drowning – I would say you haven’t even figured out HOW to produce a growling sound. It might feel so wrong to you that you never will find that place. I know from other classic trained singers (like floor Jansen for example) that she cant/wont do it either, simply because it feels so terribly wrong to her.
Again: If you are a SOPRANO DO NOT GROWL!
I am seeking advice. I don’t know how much longer I can take not being recognized for my singing. I have spent over a year practicing to be as good as you and I have even been told that I am, which is quite the compliment if you ask me. It says that you gave a demo tape to Michael and that’s how you got started, well I am planning to try the same thing. I love singing the Metal way, it’s so much fun. I know that I need to refine it more but I started off with singing clearly all my life. You say in an interview on Metal Injection (I think) that singing clear is good to start with, you were with Melissa. You are totally right; you can’t just go out and scream your head off because you’ll ruin your voice that way. When I first started singing metal it was very hard and my throat was burning, you would know all about that. I hope I hear back from you. I really need to know how I can get myself heard. I want it so badly, you know.
I started out a long time before I joined Arch Enemy.
I was hanging out with my metal friends in youth clubs and that’s where I found my first band Asmodina. That was 1991. I joined Arch Enemy in 2001. 10 YEARS LATER!
So maybe your problem is lack of patience and also lack of practise. You should look around in your town/school/music school for a band which is looking for a vocalist. Recognition comes with being in a real band, having live performance experience and mostly – perseverance!
To become a good performer and front person (and that is much more than just being a good singer) you need to work long and hard. I wish you the best of luck. I am sure you have talent. Just learn to make one step at a time maybe. Best, Angela
