How to get a strained vocal sound without straining your voice?

[shredsmcgee]

This is a vocal sound that I always closely associate with 50's rock n roll music. I can't seem to get close to producing this sound without actually straining and hurting my voice a little. So just how did these singers do it?

I've provided some examples.

Is it because these singers are hitting the "breaking point" in their range?

Is it due to smoking?

Are they actually hurting their voice intentionally to achieve this sound?

All or none of the above?

I would really love to replicate this technique/sound on one of my own recording, so please, any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

[WRGKMC]

Its a guttural effect used with the closing of the back of the throat. If done properly you shouldn't hurt your voice. Done incorrectly you can do allot of damage as you found out.

 

The actual loudness of the voice is what fools you. When you hear a band like AC DC either live or recording they are using a gained up mic which makes it sound like they are screaming at the top of their lungs. Not so. If you were to hear these people do this un-miced you'd realize their voices are producing sounds no louder then a normal speaking voice. The rest is all guttural and micing techniques.

 

The techniques usually involve using the diaphragm and air pressure on the throat to form the sound, similar to forms of overtone singing. As a person tries to squeeze their throat, the sound gets less intense (usually used for higher growls/screams to decrease tension on chords) Some vocalists tend to use too much pressure on their throats and thus have vocal cord problems/defects.

 

There are singers who scream or use bad techniques, but they invariably suffer with vocal problems throughout their short-lived career due to overuse and strain on the voice, just as there are individuals who are blessed with naturally strong voices or an upbringing that encourages healthy growth, but for the majority of individuals there are no 'short cuts' or 'quick fixes', developing a powerful voice can take months or years depending on the individuals training, experience and natural ability.

 

Two good rules.

 

A. If it feels unconfortable - Stop.

B. If your voice hurts during or after singing - Stop.

 

Don't push your voice past it's natural limits. Its OK to Experiment but avoid anything that causes strain that leads to pain.

 

The correct way to scream is a technique in which you control your vocal exhale using diaphragmatic breathing. Rock vocal is the noise you make when your vocal chords vibrate slowly. I'm sure you've gargled water before getting rock vocals is similar. but its basically a vocal trill. The sensation is like gargling without water. Its produced in the soft palette. The trick is to get the placement correct. You want it deep down and not high up in the mouth. Again, you don't scream when you gargle for obvious reasons. Same holds true when you sing.

 

The other approach is taking a pure tone/note and gently backing off the air pressure until the tone decays and distorts. Getting the right amount of air pressure to get the distortion is tricky and takes continuous practice. But once you get it, you just have to work on getting good resonance so it projects.

 

Whatever you do, don't let your clean vocal techniques slouch because you're working on rock techniques. Nothing spells class and talent better then someone who can clearly articulate pure tones that can move people with emotion. Emotion and words are at the heart of the singing voice and having the ability to produce pure tones always has to be first and foremost. If you've ever listened to someone like Paul McCartney, you'd know he has no problem producing those pure tones. The rock tones are an add on. Someone who focuses on only singing rock vocals usually sucks at singing clean and often has major issues having his words heard clearly when he does sing rock.

 

In a way this is much like a guitarist playing acoustic vs electric. if you take an acoustic player and put him on an electric its much easier for him to adapt then an electric player moving to an acoustic. The acoustic requires "allot" of rudimentary skill and practice to play the strings clean and there's no crutch in the form of distortion to mask your mistakes. Same holds true for vocals. If you have great vocals singing clean you can have great vocals singing rock once you learn the technique.

 

Believe me, I learned this the hard way. I had clean vocals most of my life. I did allot of damage trying to sing like "other people" and wound up doing allot of damage. Once I abandoned the quest of trying to sound like someone else and simply used the technique to make my own voice sound good, it all just came together. I only wish I had taken some vocal lessons earlier in life. It could have saved me a good 25 years of misery.