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Singers with "grit" I need your help


staticsound

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Ok, so I've scored a gig fronting a 90's tribute band. The songs are well within my range but some of the songs need "bite" to them. Example; STP, Fuel, AIC, and Soundgarden. I can get the desired "distorted" effect when I flip into head. Problem is I don't really have to flip to head until around G4..Bb4 on a good day. So my question is how do you guys do it in chest voice for lower notes. I've googled the bejesus out of this and all I've really found is vocal fry, which I can produce pretty strong, but when it comes to adding it to a note, I can't connect the two? Any help is greatly appreciated.

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How do you do grit in head voice? I always find that a lot harder than grit in chest voice

 

 

It's was actually easy once I got it down. I don't know if it's the correct way to do it, but it doesn't hurt and I don't lose my voice....always a plus, lol. I don't really know a good way to describe it, but I'd start with the note clean and gradually push more air than normal gradually mixing more of my false chords in to get that distorted effect. Now I can just flip it on and off when needed. If you're doing it right, you can feel it back in the soft palette. It's almost feels like you're pushing the "grit" sound over the top of the note. Don't know if that helped. My problem is getting the same effect in chest voice?? If you can do it in chest voice let's help each other out!

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OK Cool. i forgot about the false cords.

 

I'm not very good, but the best grit that I do is emulating the Louis Armstrong growl like at

 

next time you're driving in your car (preferably alone) just start trying to emulate louis armstrong and in 5 minutes you should figure it out. then i think you can transition it to your own style.

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for me it is a combo of air used+volume and grit happens.

 

instead of choir boying Slaves and Bulldozers (example) during the high parts, try to yell the high parts without letting out a lot of air, play with it, dirt will happen

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:rawk:

This is killer! This is what I'm wanting, not all the time, just to add when needed.

 

Being borderline obsessive/compulsive in nature, lol, I "stumbled" across Melissa Cross' Zen of Screaming....don't waste your time or money! The DVD basically consists of her barely touching on the subject of adding distortion to your voice. She makes "cat" noises, that do get your false chords involved, but in no way shows you how to apply it. It's mainly metal singers talking about how great she is. There are good exercises for breathing but if you already know the correct breathing techniques, this DVD is pointless.

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This is killer! This is what I'm wanting, not all the time, just to add when needed.


Being borderline obsessive/compulsive in nature, lol, I "stumbled" across Melissa Cross' Zen of Screaming....don't waste your time or money! The DVD basically consists of her barely touching on the subject of adding distortion to your voice. She makes "cat" noises, that do get your false chords involved, but in no way shows you how to apply it. It's mainly metal singers talking about how great she is. There are good exercises for breathing but if you already know the correct breathing techniques, this DVD is pointless.

 

 

So, since you liked the Symphony-X stuff, I'm going to throw out this video of me singing as another possible example of what you might be going for (singing starts at 0:38)

 

GP2alR39Qzw

 

 

If this kind of "grit on call" is what you're looking for (and it sounds like it is), maybe I can help you with some tips. I'm not a voice teacher AT ALL, but who knows, maybe at some point I'll say something helpful. :wave:

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It's was actually easy once I got it down. I don't know if it's the correct way to do it, but it doesn't hurt and I don't lose my voice....always a plus, lol. I don't really know a good way to describe it, but I'd start with the note clean and gradually push more air than normal gradually mixing more of my false chords in to get that distorted effect. Now I can just flip it on and off when needed. If you're doing it right, you can feel it back in the soft palette. It's almost feels like you're pushing the "grit" sound over the top of the note. Don't know if that helped. My problem is getting the same effect in chest voice?? If you can do it in chest voice let's help each other out!

 

I too find it easier to do it higher up than down around say my normal talking pitch. It's easier to find what feels like that certain resonant spot that opens up the grit when there's already a lot of resonance higher up. To get that grit lower down for me takes a lot more energy. Whereas higher up it feels more just like something I can easily just switch it on or off without any real effort, lower down it feels like I have to push (not in the throat of course) to make the sound a lot bigger so that I can hit the same spot. Kinda hard to explain. It's kinda like just pressing the switch with one finger vs hitting it with a wrecking ball. Haha... :o

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I find grit or growl at speaking level quite intuitive however at high notes i feel that in order not to damage my voice the volume of my singing should be really high, the high notes are assisted strongly by the diaphragm, as i let the low notes take care of themselves,

 

Good air intake is crucial and an honest burst of sound (a bit like a glottal stop without the glottal stop!?) should take place

 

Roger kain has an amazing book on vocal training, screaming and the expansion of the vocal range called the complete vocal workout

 

Hope this helps

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