How can they sing like this and continue into the next song in their set? Is there a secret to this kind of singing where there voice doesn’t go out right away?
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Since you mentioned Dave Grohl who very likely was either taught by Kurt how to sing like that or learned via his approximation to him, here’s an anecdote about Kurt:
Nevermind producer Bitch Vig setting up Kurt’s vocal microphone during recording of the album turned up all the attenuators on his desk, and lowered the gain as much as possible before Kurt began to sing, in anticipation of a massive loud voice. When he pressed record, he wasn’t getting a level. On playback, nothing had recorded. He was shocked to learn that Kurt was achieving these raspy screamy tones at what he called “whisper-level” volume. He has since worked with Dave and admitted Dave using the same technique. It should be noted however at least in Kurt’s case that he was not interested in technique, just making good sounds (it appears at though he stumbled upon correct technique) and often blew out his voice on tour.
The trick is (and you can find a lot more of this on r/singing) that to achieve the rasp one does not push harder to distort the note, but to relax the vocal chords and sing with compression so it distorts in a healthier way. Think about the half-assed noises one makes when they’re told to get out of bed with a hangover, where it sounds gravelly but still quiet (we call this vocal fry) or when someone lifts a heavy object and makes an accompanying noise from the belly (compression). It is absolutely a skill to marry these two techniques to create a healthy and sustainable rasp that can take years to pull off, and even longer to master.
Some notable examples of healthy rasp technique are M. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold (throughout his entire career he has continued to have vocal lessons and training, even now.) And Kelley Jones of Stereophonics (a very relaxed singer resulting in a natural rasp in chest voice).
For resources on singing with this technique, see Chris Liepe and Ken Tamplin on YouTube. I quite enjoyed Rob Chapman’s vlogs on learning to sing with Ken Tamplin, as they’re a good example of what to expect going into singing, everyone has been given a different instrument and you cannot expect to sound exactly like your heroes, but you can still create a fantastic and enjoyable unique voice.
If this comment does well I’ll try and find a link to Butch talking about Kurt’s voice. It might be in the Rick Beato interview.
Just watch the [Carpool episode with Ken Jeong and Linkin Park](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySjkDyrrupY). Chester explains it and even gets Ken to do it.
Edited to add link.
There is a lot of technique that goes into singing like this and it takes a lot of practice and warming up to do without damage. However, the easiest explanationto start with is this: if you scream, you force your vocal cords beyond their limits. You can often feel this by the tension in your neck. You can even feel this if you place your hand on your neck. This is the way to ruin your vocal cords, but we do want that tension. So, the tension should come from somewhere else.
That somewhere else is your belly. You need to tense up your core muscles so you build the pressure on the air in your lungs. This is a good practice for all styles of singing. Get the tension on your gut and not on your vocal cords. This way you keep the vocal cords free to play around and can produce a screaming sound, without actually experiencing any tension.
Prerequisites are a good breathing control, so practice this type of singing before you start screaming. And you need to be able to hear yourself sing. If you start singing in a loud environment, your fount to force yourself and will lose your voice again. Practice on singing without tension in your throat. Sing in front of the mirror and every time you see your eyebrows tense up, or start to frown, you’re doing it wrong.
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It’s called compression. They’re basically holding back air which gives benefits to singing, especially to baritones like Grohl. This is how guys like him and (Chris Cornell is a fantastic example) are able to sing much higher notes but with a full, chesty tone.
You can do this yourself by bearing down (basically push out your abdominal muscles like you’re trying to poop) and imitating the sound and feel of picking up something heavy. If you can manage to do this while controlling the pitch and sound with your vocal cords, then voila —you’re singing with compression. (If this feels unnatural then welcome to singing for literally everyone without kids of natural talent)
Not only does this provide the ‘gritty’ sound that you hear, but it also enables lower registered males to sing higher notes without using a falsetto (for falsetto think Mickey Mouse voice).
Another analogy would he letting air out of a balloon. If you just let it out freely the pitch will be a low pbtbtbtbtbt. But if you pinch the opening and hold back air, only letting a small amount out, you effectively raise the pitch and change the tone. Still the same balloon but a totally different sound, just based on how freely the air can escape.
I know for a fact to be a singer is something not ever human built for, But I know one fact that our bodies do miracle when we never pay attention to details.
People may be able to sing, But it takes a lot of years to perfect singing, Like when you listen to singers , An amateur singers breathing through singing can be heard but a professional knows how to sing and control their breathing so it won’t be heard.
There’s breathing techniques used by the military marines that you can stay under water long periods of time, Breathing exercise is crucial and not easy at all.
I love watching videos about human body, It’s magnificent.
Babies can scream pretty much continuously. There was a study I read about a while back that suggested heavy metal singing is basically un-learning the habits we acquire for speech (which can be harsh on the voice) and re learning the natural diaphragm reflexes we had as children.
[Ive been following this vocal coach for years, she explains singers pretty well and has vast library you can look through. Breaks down all types of singers.](https://youtu.be/LWUEL6ecqlM?si=k1pprvOu6lMsKjZc)
Its part skill of the artist and physical development of their bodies. Pretty fascinating actually… And im not a singer.
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Where are Will Ramose and Phil Bozeman?
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