Chris Cornell technique advice?

Hi, so I've been singing in bands for about 5 years and taking lessons for the last 3 months. When I started with the lessons I could only dream of covering Soundgarden, but I'm starting to get there. If anyone has any advice to share about Cornell's technique or how they approach his style it would be seriously appreciated.

It seems like I can get to the notes, but I sound kinda thin/nasally up there.

For reference, here's a clip of me doing Slaves & Bulldozers from my last lesson:

https://www.sugarsync.com/pf/D824726_69_154133406

Thanks

you have a very powerful voice which is impressive but you seem to be singing out of tune much of the time.

the recording is awful though so it is hard to tell.

the folks here prefer to listen to your music online via a streaming service such as soundclick, downloading an mp3 might put a lot of people off.

Thanks, yeah I'll give soundclick a try when I get a better recording. That was recorded on one of those hand-held MP3 recorders with a mic the size of a dime.

did you improve alot with the lessons and did your range increase alot?

I'm seriously thinking of going

is very pitchy but still if you work on that you will be

you probably sound better than cornell live anyway right now

if you get a chance there is a soundgarden tribute in seattle ,cant remember there name but the singer is incredible ...better than I have ever heard cornell live

did you improve alot with the lessons and did your range increase alot? I'm seriously thinking of going is very pitchy but still if you work on that you will be you probably sound better than cornell live anyway right now if you get a chance there is a soundgarden tribute in seattle ,cant remember there name but the singer is incredible ...better than I have ever heard cornell live

I am going to guess that you are either joking or have never heard Chris Cornell or Soundgarden live. I have heard both many times and have to say he is a great singer. there were times that he was a bit off but you have to remember that his songs require quite a bit of range unlike bands like Greenday, Weezer, Blink 182 or 90 percent of the popular bands today.

It will take some work, but you have the tonal quality to pull it off.

You need some recording gear/mic/preamp/interface/monitors or headphones

to record yourself in a better environment.

CountRobula (member here) nails it pretty good...

I would try to get his vibrato down.

He uses his to carry notes in his songs at times.

When you transition from note to note it sounds like your straining

especially on the higher notes. Try to control them more.

did you improve alot with the lessons and did your range increase alot? I'm seriously thinking of going is very pitchy but still if you work on that you will be you probably sound better than cornell live anyway right now if you get a chance there is a soundgarden tribute in seattle ,cant remember there name but the singer is incredible ...better than I have ever heard cornell live

Thanks for the advice everyone. And yeah lessons are great. Surprisingly fun too. Before lessons, the highest song I could sing with any consistency was probably Blister in the Sun by the Violent Femmes. Now I'm getting close to No Rain by Blind Melon... and that's in a little more than 3 months. But even though we've been working on range, the exercises have helped my tone, placement, control, scream, really everything has improved noticeably.

But my teacher does have a degree from Berkley in voice performance... and he was also taught by his mom, who gave Chris Cornell and Layne Staley lessons.

Instead of a regular lesson, this week I've asked my teacher to help me record a demo so I can find a band.

Well, man, I can say that most Cornell material is within my range, except for the EARLY EARLY material, y'know, like half of the badmotorfinger album is a note or two out of my reach, and everything before that.

I pretty much sang songs within my range and focused on making myself project with more resonance and power while maintaining speech level singing and worked on singing phrases on my highest notes, and eventually I could slide a note higher and higher until I'm at where I am now.

Cornell's sweet spot for those extra high 5th octave notes were E5s and F5s. I'm pretty sure G5 was his comfortable limit, though he HAS gone a note higher a few times. If you could somehow reach that E5/F5 range, you should be able to nail MOST (90%) of his material, new and old. It'll still be VERY hard to get the same fullness and power and resonance on such insanely high stuff, but I have faith in you.

If it helps, obviously Cornell has said he's had to work to get his range where it is. I certainly could barely even sing Pearl Jam songs (not that they're super easy to sing in comparison, they're not AS demanding, but still not easy) when I started, and now I'm ALMOST at the point where I could nail the highs in songs like Slaves & Bulldozers, Beyond The Wheel, Call Me A Dog, ect.. I sing clean though and try my best not to force anything. Make sure you do that, almost try to sing in a "classical" style. Never shout, because Cornell's highs weren't ALL screamed, that was for that raspy, scratchy/chesty plant effect.

I wish you luck, man. Weird that I got mentioned in a thread.. lol

I agree with you but I think this was caveman's way of support;)

Cornell's range is a bitch to pull off as a singer!

wow , went from PJ to cornell!!! how long did this take and

speaking of isn't cornell a baritone?!?!? he has a fairly low speaking voice....the highs just can't seem possible he would be

theres a few singers that I can do to a degree then they get into the screamy highs (like the guy from filter).....I'm hoping maybe with training I can get up there.....reading posts like this make me optomistic

do you have to give it extra nuts to hit those highs? its like I can get to the point just before some of these guys go into overdrive

one of my favorite screamers!

[YOUTUBE]SVWezqU6x6c[/YOUTUBE]

Yeah a lot of my vocal experience comes from playing bass and singing in garage bands without a loud PA, so I developed a bad habit of habitually projecting a little too much and definitely using my throat too much. I'm not comfortable hitting those high notes at a lower volume at all.

No Rain is really hard for me. It's always sounded like Shannon Hoon was straining a lot just because of his tone, so any time I try to cover him I end up straining in a subconscious attempt to cop his sound.

I've been told I'm a tenor, so if that's true, I don't think there's any way Cornell could be a baritone. I'm pretty sure Eddie Vedder is a tenor too.

Richard Patrick from Filter is the man. Love his scream and regular voice. When I'm going all out, my scream sounds like Zack from Rage Against the Machine. I learned how to scream before I learned how to sing, so this is me backtracking lol.

When you're screaming remember it helps to bend your knees and engage your core/abs. Just don't place it in the throat.

thats pretty crazy! I can do No Rain half a step down so-so (def a little flat on the highest stuff) but I cant do anything like your screams in the mp3....which is what I want to do!!!

I'll see if I can post a clip of no rain

If I could get raunch/screams down I'd be the happiest person on earth....

Well, Eddie Vedder has actually sang in the 1st octave, pretty sure he's gone as low as a low, low G in the first octave, and he went pretty low in his early days, so he's definetly always been a bass baritone.

Cornell's never gone that low, and judging by his speaking voice, he's definetly not a tenor. He's just a freak of nature.. lol

Hey, Cave, it's definetly possible. Just gotta keep singing at the top of your range until you could ease it a note/half note higher. I'm definetly in/was in the same boat as you, I could belt out most of the harder songs but then once those plant-ish wails came in I was screwed.. But I've improved dramatically. I'll show you something personally. I could help either one of you guys out!

I uploaded just a clip of no rain (any good suggestions for mp3 hosting?)

its in Eb , def a bit flat on the higher parts.....is this head voice?

I uploaded just a clip of no rain (any good suggestions for mp3 hosting?) its in Eb , def a bit flat on the higher parts.....is this head voice?

nice, sounds like head voice to me. way more control than i have with it.

i checked out soundclick.com and like that format.

speaking of which, i just recorded a demo of one of my originals at my last lesson. the choruses are being belted, and on the verge of screaming at the end of the song. it's definitely pitchy in a couple spots though (only got 3 takes):

www.soundclick.com/snakeoil

You've got the raw ingredients (a good voice), just work on that pitchiness.

Hmmm, Hollow, you sound very tenor-ish to me. At parts you actually sound like Cedric from the Mars Volta, with a slight tinge of Cornell. Pretty awesome, man!

Cavemanic, your voice sounds GREAT for No Rain! Keep practicing, my man! Seriously, it sounds very relaxed and "wet/smooth/pure" to me. Which is a good thing to my ears, something I always try to bring out of my own voice. I guess if you have a little trouble singing it, it'll probably get much easier the more you sing it.

Give it time, it doesn't sound like you're screaming/yelling or straining, so you're probably singing with great technique and just need to keep practicing to build them muscles. Get that muscle memory down so your voice doesn't get so tired or have to push a little to sing that stuff, and you'll be golden!

Hmmm, Hollow, you sound very tenor-ish to me. At parts you actually sound like Cedric from the Mars Volta, with a slight tinge of Cornell. Pretty awesome, man! Cavemanic, your voice sounds GREAT for No Rain! Keep practicing, my man! Seriously, it sounds very relaxed and "wet/smooth/pure" to me. Which is a good thing to my ears, something I always try to bring out of my own voice. I guess if you have a little trouble singing it, it'll probably get much easier the more you sing it. Give it time, it doesn't sound like you're screaming/yelling or straining, so you're probably singing with great technique and just need to keep practicing to build them muscles. Get that muscle memory down so your voice doesn't get so tired or have to push a little to sing that stuff, and you'll be golden!

Hey thanks man! yeah the last audition I went to they said I sounded like Cedric. Now that I think about, when I scream full-on, I probably sound a lot like At the Drive In (Cedric's old band where he screamed more).

Is there someone in the background coaching you on this?

nice, sounds like head voice to me. way more control than i have with it. i checked out soundclick.com and like that format. speaking of which, i just recorded a demo of one of my originals at my last lesson. the choruses are being belted, and on the verge of screaming at the end of the song. it's definitely pitchy in a couple spots though (only got 3 takes): www.soundclick.com/snakeoil

I totally dig your voice in this. Covers are hard IMO because the expectation has already been set.

I uploaded just a clip of no rain (any good suggestions for mp3 hosting?) its in Eb , def a bit flat on the higher parts.....is this head voice?

wow. your voice is so smooth and clean. I totally love that. I would like to clean my vocals up.

thanks guys:o

Just wondering if there was a point where the screaming 'clicked'

man I wish I could steal your raunch

for the music I write my voice generally doesnt suit it needs to be more abrasive

I wish I could sing like this guy...the screams at the end are so awesome

[YOUTUBE]wuoFJXj4WMk[/YOUTUBE]

love his singing, btw!

I've always had the raunch...metal screams are getting a little better for me, but the rasp has pretty much always been there. I have found that I use a ton of air when attempting metal screams and if I do it right my voice wont hurt.

This is one of my first attempts at singing lead vox. Heretic First Attempt.I can certainly push the volume/air and dirt in the chorus parts, but singing clean isn't my forte.

My second attempt a few months later without warming up or any real practice before I laid this down. Heretic