(it would help everyone if this became a sticky)

Lately every time I've been on this part of the forum I've noticed how everyone keeps asking the same questions, or they keep asking dumb questions. Well this is the answer to everyone's questions.

First off, Metal, Death Metal, Black Metal, and Grindcore vocals are all derived from the same thing, perseverance. In order to build up your vocal abilities at all you must dedicate yourself to them, work hard on them, and in the end you'll be suprised at what you can do. And don't even stop, you may think your vocals may sound good, or alright, but they can always get better.


Well are you ready to learn the ways of vocals? first you'll need a few items:

Tea (Tea is best to start off with, and then take water or tea breaks between vocals.)
Honey (will help flow, protect the throat, and amplify your vocals. If you don't have honey to gargle with, or you don't really feel like gargling honey, then see if your tea is the kind with honey in it, such as Arizona green tea with honey, my favorite is the black and white tea with honey because it doesn't have as much sugar or flavorings that will increase phlegm.)
Water (NEVER drink soda, soda is acidic, sugary and if you drink soda too close to vocal time your vocals will strain quicker and may sound like utter crap all together)
**Don't eat anything around vocal time, expecially anything sugary, full of lactose or anything like popcorn, too much phlegm will result in the straining of the vocal chords. (note: some people like to have phlegm, but that is for the weaker/less amplified styles of vocals, or it is for styles such as black metal)


My first tip is Kareoke, If you have any sort of loud speakers to play your favorite artist/vocalist through, then do so, and try to sing/scream along, if you practice doing this you will build up strength.

My second tip is whisper screams. if you can imitate vocals through a whisper then you have the first step done. Now all you have to do is amplify it, and you'll learn that actual vocals or screams will need alot more shaping then whispers.

My third tip is the warm up. Warming up is important, make gargle sounds, shreak, scream, hum, zzz, sss, bree, borr, whatever, as long as you get your vocal chords ready to be released.

Part One: The Diaphragm
Below your lungs is a very important muscle called the diaphragm, this muscle is what allows babies to scream so loud, for dogs to have such powerful barks and howl, and for horses to neigh. Ever get pissed off and yell/scream out of rage, or adrenaline and it was so powerful and loud that later you were suprised at yourself? Well that's the diaphragm.
The most simple method to find your diaphragm is actually very easy. Just start with a whisper "sss" and slowly get louder untill you run out of air completely. you will feel a horizontal muscle behind your abdominal muscles tighten, this is your diaphragm. Once you feel it you will now understand easier how to flex it to your own desire, because the human body is amazing, and you can control every muscle in it exept for your heart. Once you have control of this Diaphragm, then every vocal, from clean singing to heavy grindcore vocals are opened up to you.

Part Two: Yell/Hardcore/Thrash/Screamo Vocals
A more difficult vocal skill, yet important because it opens the doors to other vocal abilities. First, Yell/Hardcore vocals, ever listen to bands like Hatebreed, or Bury Your Dead? Maybe even metalcore bands like As I Lay Dying use this skill to some extent. Thrash bands, who yell, or shout. And screamo bands (real screamo mind you, not this popular bullshit that's going around calling itself screamo) who scream at the top of thier lungs with emotion and angst.
All of these have something in common, it's called diaphragm+ voice projection, Once you learn the diaphragm then this skill automaticly opens up to you.
Stand back release your power, shout, scream, flex your body to get more out, but use the diaphragm, you wont need much throat or mouth, so don't worry about that right now, just try to imitate your favorite band of this genre, and you'll start to get it.

Part Three: Gutturals
Gutturals are a base in Death Metal and Grindcore, and some Melodic Black Metal. Gutturals are simply a low airy resonating sound projected with the diaphragm. Leave your throat completely open, push the air with the diaphragm, it should resonate in the throat, and then come through your mouth, your mouth should be more closed or in an O-shape to properly create the Guttural sound. Once you have the sound, you may use your tongue and mouth to shape the sound into consonants and vowels. if you press the tongue to the roof of your mouth you'll get unique sound from the guttural, also the positioning of airflow through the mouth, rather then pushing completely down the middle, try putting the airflow to the roof of your mouth or the bottom right over the tongue.

Part Four: Growls
Growls are a combination between Yell/Hardcore vocals and gutturals, once you have them both down pat then Growls will become extremely easy to you.
Using your diaphragm, start with a guttural, open the mouth, and close the throat slightly, but not too much. And it's simple as that. Practice makes perfect.

Part Five: High Vocals/Rasps
Some People Believe that Highs come from head voice, while others believe that it's completely diaphragm, but as I've learned over the years, it's a combination of both. Highs will take the longest to get down perfect, and they will hurt the most on your throat, but you have to give them time.
The art of the High vocal is simple, start with imitating it through whispers, move up to head voice, and then throw in the diaphragm. Some people tend to use thier nose in the mix, but that's completely up to you. (just exhale some of the air through the nose when you do high screams to achieve this)
However the most powerful high vocal sound is going to come from the throat. Like a growl you're going to use the diaphragm, however, your throat is going to be extremely closed (depending on how high you want it) and your mouth is going to be wide open. Once you have gotten this down then your Highs will scream evil. Shaping the Highs is slightly different. some people shape thier highs with an animal growl tecnique in order to hit vowels that would normally not work if you just screamed them. ex: "errraiii" rather then "raiii". But most important for shaping the High scream is the throat and the mouth, and some tongue. Practice makes perfect, expecially for this style.

Part Six: Falsetto Screams
Namely Grindcore vocals, sometimes black metal, used alot in power metal.
Imagine screaming like a girl, or shreaking. Just let it out, beyond your range, as high and as strange as your vocal power will go. However Power metal is alot different, because of it's use of sirens, I would explain sirens in detail but falsettos in general are hard to explain, it's just one of those things you have to figure out on your own.

Part Seven: Inhaled Vocals
Inhaled Vocals, the most liked yet hated of vocals. In reality they are simple to do, yet hard to master. Bands like Cumbeast, Cock And Ball Torture, and newer bands like Waking The Cadaver, Annotations Of An Autopsy, all of these bands use Inhaled Vocals. The art, if you can call it that of Inhaled vocals is as simple as the name, just inhale! close your throat, open it, experiment! However you will never have good inhale vocals untill you can give them enough power to be at least as loud as your speaking voice. and into a microphone, you will more then likely need to cup the microphone or at least get very close to it to even equal your inhale vocals in amplification to your exhaled vocals. The more you practice, experiment, and the harder you inhale, the better your inhaled vocals are going to be.
opened mouth, can create a frog sounding vocal, closed mouth can create a watery sounding vocal, and with use of the tongue you can manipulate it to many many sounds, And the infamous pig squeal/bree with the tongue to the roof of the mouth.





I hope my guide helps all you aspiring vocalists.

Good luck to you.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

This is awesome!

you're quite welcome.

This is indeed a helpful guide. I'm fairly new to death metal vocals; I started as a drummer. In my last band I used primarily inhale style and after practicing almost everyday for 9 months straight, I have become able to project my inhaled vocals louder than the other vocalist can do his exhale death growls. However, I am trying to teach myself the exhale technique of gutturals. Because the inhale technique is taking it's toll on my vocal chords, and lessening my lung capacity(so says the doctor). I have found in my practice that the exhaled technique is much harder to perfect than the inhale, but I have this advice to offer: If you already have a firm understanding of the inhale style, you can take the same throat flexing point that you utilize while breathing in, and apply it to exhale guts to add that extra "gurgle" or "froggy" sound. Also, using the diaphragm in reverse for inhale guts is how I am able to project my vocals so loudly. I can hold the microphone pretty far from my mouth and still sound loud as fuck. But as I said; it will ruin your vocal chords if you don't do it with an open throat.

My solo project is called Excruciating Ingurgitation. I make terrible cyber death/grind with fruity loops (no one respects cybergrind, so fuck 'em all)
url = www.myspace.com/excruciatingingurgitation.

That's really helpful, thanks.

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I first mastered inhales, bad mistake because it made it harder for me to learn exhale vocals.

I even was in some lame band where I did inhale vocals of high mid and low tones.

I did the same. Inhales are still what I do best, but they aren't the pinnacle of metal vocalism. My inhaled gutturals sound like something out of a dinosaur's irritated colon after he ate a spicy meal. My exhaled gutturals, however, sound more like a geriatric man pushing a loaf into his depends... a.k.a. "bad". I'm hoping one day to achieve a guttural sound like that of Abominable Putridity or Malodorous, or other bands with a more "clicky" guttural sound. I can inhale click easily(but I hear that it's hell on the vocal chords) but I still don't understand how the guys in Malodorous and Abominable Putridity can do that going out...the muscular control involved eludes me. Maybe I'm just a mutant and cannot control the certain muscles in my throat that would allow for such a gurgling, yet sharply clicking guttural. Any suggestions on how to produce such a vomitous sound? I asked the vocalist of Malodorous(and like 30 other bands) for any tips. He offered me this less-than-intelligent advice: "Dude, you just gotta sound like an angry monster." Oh, is that all? I'll must go on an expedition to piss off some monsters, brandishing my sony field recorder. How would you recommend I go about angering said monsters? A sharp stick perhaps? Maybe I could make fun of the monsters' love for sub-par deathcore breakdowns? In all seriousness though; if you have any helpful advice on how to add that clicking sound to a low gut I would greatly appreciate it.

Awesome, thanks for the guide!

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well, first off, the more inhaled-sounding guttural that is actually an exhale is a more closed throat guttural closer to a growl then an actual guttural, you need to control air at lower velocities so that it has that gargling sound, I also believe that this is a case in which mucus is needed. not exactly sure.

There's alot of vocallists who have unique sounding gutturals that I wish I could do better. examples are Knights Of The Abyss and At The Throne Of Judgment, even though the guy from ATTOJ has a speech impediment and that might be why he sounds the way he does.



edit: or maybe it's the way he records/masters the vocals. that always makes a difference, for example, listen to old suicide silence and compare it to new suicide silence.

the way i learned gutturals was by talking low trying to burp and trying to take a shit at the same time. Slowly i added power to them and then after i could hold it for 5 seconds or more i started refining different techniques... I found learning gutturals to be an absolutely frustrating and slow process and at first i wouldnt be able to do it for weeks at a time. I also suggest learning to do it clean before adding things like chocolate or honey or whatever people use other than water.

I don't use anything besides water usualy, but a nice arizona tea always helps.

it was harder for me to learn gutturals then high screams, but once you learn them and you start improving on them, they can come out quite nice, and eventually they're easier to do then highs.

When I do black metal vocals for my solo band, my throat starts to burn a bit. Every time I tried to do them more from the diaphragm I couldn't get them as high as I wanted them to be. Since you say that black metal vocals are indeed mainly from the throat, pushing with the diaphragm, how normal is pain when doing rasps and highs? If it is normal, with practice and time will it eventually begin to diminish in pain?

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over time it will build up strength, time also will allow you to figure out every exact point and muscle that you need to move/contract etc in order to make it come out better and less painful.

also, when it starts to burn do you notice the back of your throat being "dry" feeling, like it's hard to swallow your own saliva?

lots of water, whenever you can.

this is great, kudos!

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I get the Hiccups when ever doing any style of Death Metal/Hardcore style of vocal... perfect example, mimicking either vocalist of Despised Icon results in hiccups but eventually stop after a song of warming up or whatever.. anyone else have this problem?

woahh that's wierd, I never get hickups from doings vocals, maybe inhales because you're not getting proper oxygen intake?

but exhale vocals should'nt give you hickups, unless you're just a freak of nature and you're prone to hickuping easily?

anyways Despised Icon vocals are a breeze for me, very good band though.

I used to get the same thing lol always seemed to happen when ever I went as low as I could probably because I opened my throat as much as possible. After a while I realized that it sounds allot more powerful if you push just slightly above that point of being completely open. Also got rid of the hic ups :P

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Yes, most people have a problem of little tone coming out, or cutting out?
you just have to push a little bit past that point and you should be good.

some vocallists push way too much, and they're going to damage thier vocal chords alot faster, also they lose thier tone, you have to find a mid-point between "trying" and literally "screaming your lungs out"

Hey dudes?

I finally got around to checking out Akercocke.

I cannot believe how fucking SICK Jason Mendonca's vocals are.

I'm thinking he might be doing some inhales, like for those insanely demonic high screams, but I can't imagine how he gets those low growls.

They don't seem to have the gurgle of an inhaled growl, but they don't really sound like any exhales I've ever heard.

Maybe it's just another case of a vocalist having a unique voice, instead of a unique technique.

Crap, I literally spent about three and a half straight last night listening to "Horns of Baphomet" on repeat. I feel as though I'm impressed to the point of it being unhealthy.

Anyway, does anybody have thoughts on what type of vocals he's doing or how he does them?

I beleive it's a technique used by some vocallists in traditional deathmetal that is similar to a guttural but with very little air let out, so it has a lower deeper sound.

or it could be inhales, some parts do sound very inhaled.

As it turns out, all of Mendonca's vocals are exhaled. I found a place on the Akercocke forum where he said that.

I think you're right about them being some sort of gutteral.

Speaking of gutterals, I sure am having trouble doing those. I hold my throat as open as I can, and I keep my mouth in the "O" shape, but it always comes out sounding like a low growl instead of a gutteral. You know, with a little bit of gurgle and rasp instead of that smooth, airy gutteral sound.

Apparently I'm just not grasping the concept of how to do them I guess.

push more air out then you would a growl.

or try with less air.

you're still going to have an ooooowoooowooo sort of sound because the guttural and low growl techniques still make thier tone through the resonation of your mouth rather then your throat.

where as higher vocals, hardcore, growls, highs, screammms.

they all come from the throat and that's where they get thier rasp sound.

just keep in mind:

The more open your throat is and more closed your mouth is the lower the vocal.

the more closed your throat it and open your mouth is the higher the vocal.

I just read the instructions on the first page of the thread, and I must say they are very well written out and easy to follow.

thank you.

i'm always here to help =]

feel free to ask any questions here aswell.

Great replies on this thread. Just found the site. I am glass shattering vocal coach Jaime Vendera and I teach people all the time how to scream regardless of whether it's black or deth metal, 80's metal or 90's grunge. There are definite techniques you can follow that will allow you to scream your brains out and never hurt your throat. I explain it all in my book Raise Your Voice, which is a 460+ page instruction manual with 9+ hours of instructional video and audio. Check it out at raiseyourvoicebook.com and for other products or virtual lessons with me, go to the store at www.thevoiceconnection.com;) Any general questions, I will be glad to answer on here or www.voicecouncil.com;)

Peace,

JV

Quick question:

How do you get so low like the guy from Ahab?

What style is it?

Are you refering to the DOOM-Metal band AHAB?
as far as I could hear of thiers, thier music, the vocals i heard (off a youtube video portraying a song by them) it sounded like regular screams and growls but long and drawn out with effects on them.

just practice growls and gutturals I guess?

some of you guys dont realize that everyone has a different shaped vocal box. Which means that some people can do certain tones and pitches and others cant. If your trying to do gutturals and it just isnt getting better it might be a good idea to stop and work on something your better at. I've found that people who naturally arent guttural vocalists can do gutturals but theyre just not as good and usually not worth using on stage. Im not trying to spread any hate im just saying ive heard a million people say they want to sound like dani filth or mikael akerfeldt when they dont realize they should be sounding like themselves instead.

Well I know that I sound like myself.

I can imitate plenty of vocallists but I tend to have my own sound.

everyone DOES sound different,

however if you set yourself to it there is no vocal style you cannot do.

I have a higher-ranged voice and I can still do gutturals and growls,

it's all about positions and airflow and whatnot, as I said in this guide.

im not sure if im doin growls correctly or if it even a growl...i read sumwhere when u clear ur throat..ahemm kinda sound...and u use that 2 growl is this true and if so how to u get it lower.....if not can u explain how to a growl a little differently cause i cant quite get how u do it

I like this guide alot. It's really helpful. Taught me stuff I didn't know, like how soda affects your vocals.

I've just got a few questions;

1. I do drink water, too, when practicing, But my throat still feels a little sore. I've only been doing vocals for a few months, but not very frequently (need to practice more). Will this pain diminish in time; and is this pain a symptom of any damage to my throat or vocal chords I may be doing?

2. I also used to use cough drops when practicing to help soothe my throat. Is that counterproductive in any way that I'm not realizing?

3. I'm a smoker, and I do plan on quitting my September this year. This probably a REALLY dumb question, but does smoking cause any long-term damage to my throat that may hinder my vocal ability in the long run? I don't smoke before practice, of course. Just FYI.

4. How would you do Pig Vocals? Are they the same as Inhaled Vocals?

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Suspended, a question just occurred to me.

When you say that the throat should be completely open for the gutterals, do you mean "open" as in having the larynx pushed down, or "open" as in having the glottis itself open and the vocal cords apart?

i, aswell as many other people have found that having your throat more open and your mouth more closed deepens the growl, however if your throat is too open and your mouth too closed it will start to form into a guttural.

remember to use your diaphragm and push air out with your chest not your head.

and yeah when you clear your throat you know how you sort of push air out hard, or when you cough, and you feel it on the back of your throat, it's because it's bypassing the vocals chords.

and a cough is very similar to a growl.

1.pain is pain, despite what melissa cross and all these "vocal" coaches say, if you want to do metal vocals properly it will strain and possibly damage your chords over a long period of time.

you will get pain with bad tecnique, however the more you practice and take advice the more prone you will be to learning proper ways to do vocals, eventually you will lean subconciously the way to do vocals without hurting yourself.

2: i dont use cough drops, they tend to add unwanted phlegm, i prefer tea, expecially tea with honey. I don't know if they are just adding to the harm, they might be a good thing, Im not a doctor, so i would'nt know. but dont take pain killers to mask the pain of doing vocals, i used to do that when i only knew how to do inhaled vocals, and it lead to bad bad things.

3: unfortunatly, I smoke, bad habit yes, i also smoke menthols, i feel they tend to relax my throat maybe 30 or so minutes before I perform, and of course after to make my throat feel better. the only long-term effect i could see is having throat cancer and screwing you over, giving you a stoma and making you have robot vocals. or just decreasing the amount of air your lungs can take in.

4: there's two different ways to do "pig vocals" Inhaled vocals will almost ALWAYS produce that "pig" noise you want, or sometimes (if you don't practice well enough) "frog" vocals. However a better sounding vocal technique for "pig vocals" is an exhaled tecnique that is still sort of a mystery to me, bands that use this tecnique are (newer) With Blood Comes Cleansing and you can hear it in some of Whitechapel's congs.

open as in not tensed, scream randomly at a mid/high range, you'll feel your throat clench up like clenching your fist.

however by open i meen with no tension on the throat.

Could you please give me some tips for Death Metal / Deathcore growls and vocals?? Just basicly everything I need to know about them, if it's too long to post, could you please PM it to me then?

bro, read the guide, and if you need help with anything SPECIFICALLY then ask away

I have a question regarding the larynx.

I know that when doing normal singing it's important to keep the larynx in a basically neutral position and let the pitch change independently, but is it the same way with things like gutterals, growls, and screams?

The reason I ask is because when doing extreme vocals I tend to push the larynx down to lower the pitch, and push it higher in the throat to raise pitch and wondered if this was the correct thing to do.

i need help with pitch changing 2 cause i do it the same way

Alright, I found my question.

I was doing some Death Metal / Grindcore vocals, and I was getting tired rather fast, and I couldn't keep up with the first 2 songs (Cannibal Corpse songs)

Is that normal? Also, what bands should I practice DM Vocals to??

"Unleashing the Bloodthirsty"= really fast, but really fun.

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alot of people refer to "false vocal chords" which meens you shouldnt be using your throat at all. instead you should direct your airflow away from the voice box.
similar to the diference between speaking and whispering.

naturally your throat will move depending on pitch.

higher pitched vocals will require more throat.


and practice your vocals to whatever you want to.

its best to start off with slower songs with more paused out vocals and smaller vocal ranges.

So should I start off by practicing DM vocals to Lamb Of God (I know they aren't DM) since they are a bit slower, and have breaks in between their vocals. Also their range isn't that high either...

So should I start with them, or something slower? (Any bands would be helpful)

any metal band.

but i prefer to match the vocallist in pitch and style, in a kareoke manner, it helps build endurance and range.

u have whisper scream as one of the steps 2 get the scream u want...where u do u go from there????

increase volume, find the right throat positions, and practice practice practice.

pretty fuckin sick lesson dude. thx. but question...ive heard ppl say that inhaling will kill ur vocal chords? wats up with that? johnny from jfac says he does all his 'brees' exhaling. how do you do that?

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inhales are bad because they put excessive strain on the vocal chords, and throat muscles.

also it's alot harder for your lungs to intake air if your throat is tightened as in doing inhales

doing inhales excessively will result in pain in the throat, larynx, and lungs, aswell as will make you lightheaded due to lack of oxygen.

your body is made to speak in exhales, not in inhales.


im just starting to figure out the exhaled bree tecnique,

and i beleive it's mainly just tongue positions combined with a growl

i had tried doing it previously with gutturals but that only results in a "burrr"

Say the phrase "Ree", do that mouth movement while exhaling.

I have a speech something-or-other that adds a really high whistle to it haha.

Can i have some more info on Inhaling please...

I inhale.

Clouden,


so does every other wunnabe vocallist.
they think they're doing it right when in reality it fails to compare to the tone and power of exhales.

i do not suggest, condone, or give much advice towards inhaling
its too easy,
you should have figured out everything about it by now.

Suspended, remember a while back I asked you about Jason Mendonca's vocals and you said it was a technique used by some traditional death metal vocalists?

Could you tell me some of the other people and bands who use it so I check them out?

Hi SuspendedByTheThroat . Thank you for your sticky topic. But I do have a few more question to ask.

1. How do I do the really deep growls like in some doom metal band. Something like " Uaral-Lament " . I'm very interesting on how to do that.

3. I know some basic growling already, been practicing for 2 months. My growl is okay but I lack of stamina to maintain it more than 4 seconds. Is it because I'm doing it wrong? Or not using the Diaphragm correctly?

4. Is it okay if i can post a link to my growling and you guys can see how it is?

Thanks

^ Judging from your reply I'd say that all you need is to practise.
A recording? Sure, post it. But cover a song or something, don't post just the vocals.

Just my 2c.

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Alrite, since J.V it was okay for me to post a song or 2.. But yea, I'm just a beginner so please take it easy on me.

So this is the first song :

Path by Apocalyptica .
I like the song, so I just made a lyric and get a girl to help me do the "clean" part. It's me doing the growling.
http://www.sannhac.com/recording/de...5kdm9uaXp1a2E=/

The second song :

Two step away by Mors Principium Est
It's my first time growling through the whole song.
http://www.sannhac.com/recording/de...5kdm9uaXp1a2E=/

ALL THE SITE IS IN VIETNAMESE. Sorry for your inconvenience but I am Vietnamese. All you need to do is just wait for the song to load.

Thank you

THe other guitarist in my band tell the vocalist in my band to drink/eat dairy products before doing vocals. Whats your opinions here?

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Nice guide man thanks!

As far as I know, he should eat nothing before a session, ESPECIALLY not dairy products. Personally I get a major thermite-fckn-heartburn right into my vocals folds after those... I prefer eating nothing before a session, and just drink water (not a lot, but more than usual).

FrostWolf, I can't load those videos for some reason. Upload to Youtube or video.google.com.

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uhm...i dont know how to upload to youtube or video.google.com .Is it possible if i upload it to a host like "yousendit" and you can download from there? Is it against the rule? Im new here. Or maybe just give me your email and I send it to you :-??

I can do the coolest nile sounding gutterals after i chew tobaco lol.

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Found a better option:
http://www.wikiupload.com/

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Try out my new song then... Frozen Angel By Norther. No effect used.
Try this link : http://download.yousendit.com/156C035C2C491863

I do have enough power in my vocal. But the main problem is breathing technique. I cannot sing long sentences as of George fisher. My beathe stop me from singing and eventually i miss the timing. Can u guys help me??

No one wants to take a look at my song?

Any tips on how to do cleaner more understandable vocals like the ones from Aeon, Morbid Angel, Opeth?

I might be crazy, but sometimes some of the vocals/singing sounds like it has a nasally sound to it. I'd recommend trying to avoid that.

Look up resonance and practice it for your clean singing, it will really help.

maybe it is harder for him to sound as clean due to the fact hes vietnamese?
like all people of different languages, if they try to speak another language they will sound different, or awkward?
we're used to hearing deathcore from english or american bands.
or death/black metal from scandanavian bands.
hes going to sound different, that's a fact.
but if he practices enough he can bypass the sound of his own accent and sound more like another nationality's death/black vocals.

cmon man!! plzz this breathing techniques is really bothering me... long sentences are like dream for me to sing... plzz man do u have any tips??

i used to have the same problem the only thing i can tell u is keep practicing n excersice more....like cardio stuff cause it increases ur lung capacity over time

i do practise a lot.. but its been a quite offen i'm facing these problems.. do u have any exercises that might help me??

well i play tennis so i started playing more.....run a few miles, play some basketball, swim some laps....things that keep u moving

thanx man!!! i appreciated that.. keep supporting metal!!

Great man, you are the only one I have ever seen to explain this so deeply and detailed.

Quick question: How do you get your vocals deeper sounding?

This was a pretty nifty guide!
Several of my old buddies who all rotated as my band's vocalist sang (or screamed?) praises for drinking milk beforehand and they all pretty much failed, I think the point was that the phlegm can help amplify the voice? Not sure, but it never worked for me.

and, on the exhale bree, which I actually just picked up myself last week because I can't do inhales at all, IS just a matter of tongue placement/throat tightness. By placing your tongue so that as much of it as possible is contacting the roof of your mouth and closing your throat fairly tight, you can manage the errr, reee, and orrr common bree-inhale sounds.

I was wondering if anyone might want to post their technique for highs? My highs are pretty terribad, IMO.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cf...endid=323659098
they're ultra raspy with very minimal tone, and I'm kind of learning to adapt my low technique but it brings my range down significantly. That recording was done last night so it's pretty accurate if you all could afford me some tips!

Anyway, spot on guide, SbtT!

In my lows I tend to push out my jaw so it looks like I have an underbite, make an 'o' shape with your mouth and draw your power from your diaphragm. Throat should be as open as possible to get the lowest sound.

When you talk about closing the throat, do you mean clenching the glottis closed and forcing air through, like for fry, or do you mean that the glottis is supposed to narrow, but still open, sort of like black metal vocals?

And I rather liked your highs, actually...

Hmm, I'm not too swell at explaining all that like Suspended is, I'd try starting with just the tongue; for the 'eeee' spread your tongue out across the roof of your mouth and for the errrr and orrr keep your tongue on the roof as normal. To get the tone closest to inhale brees (it;s still going to sound different, but) all the power, at least for me, comes from the diaphragm. So, the air's path through your mouth is tight, but on account of your tongue not necessarily your throat.

Haha, thanks. They sound good in Days Undying because the whole track is edited to be a bit grainy and in VK they're just mixed poorly on my part, so I go back and forth. My buddy says they're like a wet black metal high, which isn't bad to me but I don't think they match the lows in style/quality.

Damn, this comment has turned out to be one of the most helpful pieces of vocal knowledge that I've come across.

I've been trying to figure out how to do the gurgly, Dallas Toler-Wade sort of growls pretty much ever since I initially decided to learn vocals, and after practicing what you said in the above comment for a few days I'm finally getting pretty damn close.

A weird thing I've noticed is that it actually sounds like kind of high while doing it, almost like a really loud, raspy whisper, but on the recording it's actually lower than I could get with a regular growl.

Have you noticed anything like that? If this is very common, then I wonder if this effect somehow contributed to the term "whistle growl" being used to describe the really gurgly vocals.

Yes, when I use that technique- this is all exhales- it sounds quite different while performing but the mics seem to pick it up differently, not sure why that is.

There's a low in Val Kilmer that I have been absolutely unable to replicate, it's like right at 3:08 but since it's a shitton lower than the rest of the lows in the song, I'm not sure how I managed it. I dunno if you can tell by listening but does anyone have an idea what was going on there?

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hey guys, this thread is the best source of information about metal vocals I found on the internet, serious thx to suspendedbythethroat !

Ive been practicing growls/gutturals for some time now and id like to know if it is normal to feel some pain (same kind of pain as if u were running all day and wake up the next day with painful legs) in the muscles situated on the front sides of the neck just above the body, I guess its the muscles i use to open my throat
is it gonna get stronger and not hurt with practice or is it gonna damage my throat ?

That used to happen to me too. The problem subsided over time. I don't think a bit of soreness in the neck muscles is something to be too worried about. The real danger to the voice is when the inside of the throat or the vocal cords themselves start to hurt. Don't over exert yourself, be sure to give your muscles enough chance to rest and recover in between sessions, and eventually they should strengthen and stop getting sore. Just like exercising any other muscle.

I have a question for Suspended or anyone else who might know: what's the deal with Ihsahn's screams? That is, the kind he uses now, not the "regular" black metal vocals he used on the old albums.

In my honest opinion, the newer style he uses represents the ultimate in black metal vocal tone. But it absolutely boggles my mind how they could be created. I really have no ideas whatsoever.

My problem is that my highs tend to sound really wet and gargly, which is my least favorite sound for black metal vocals. I'd love it if anyone could offer any tips on how to create that really dry kind of sound that Ihsahn and some others use.

ok, so to have a style like that of DeathAngel, i would focus more on part 2/6?

wow I hav'nt been to this thread in a while,
thanks for all the praises guys, it was nice coming back to see all of that.
i can answer any more questions, if need be. :]