How can some singers continuously ‘scream’ without losing their voice?

Question

I’m not usually someone that screams, but when I do I lose my voice pretty quickly. How can some singers do this for hours on end, every day?

In: Biology

Answer 1

In short, they cannot. With training they can better control their vocal output and do many things with their voices with much less strain and damage. Nonetheless, even highly trained singers find it difficult to sing at high intensity continuously. A high intensity rock concert lasts perhaps 3-3.5 hours and the singer might be pushing it to the max for less than 20-30 minutes.

After that, they have to rest and recover. No one can scream continuously and uncontrollably for more than a few minutes without incurring some damage which accumulates if not healed. Singers have damaged their voices permanently. This is why training and practice is necessary.