TGF Do Something Weekly Challenge Week 3

[la szum]

Drew said, "ball in your mouth" several times in this thread.

 

[JT]

Drew said, "ball in your mouth" several times in this thread.

 

[DrewJD82]

Yeah, I’m definitely not a vocal teacher. That was painfully awkward.



Once you can get that basic sound going it’s just a matter of getting it louder than a whisper, then annunciation. Most people pull off the screaming voice when they’re making fun of screamers without realizing they’re actually doing it. That’s exactly how Randy Blythe ended up being the vocalist in Lamb Of God; he was mocking a metal singer and someone said “Dude, you can make that sound with your voice?”

The second you’re not relaxed while doing it, you’re doing it wrong. That’s 100% the best advice/tip I have. And properly hydrated, I wasn’t and you can hear it making my voice croak at times in that vid.

 

[JT]

Yeah, I’m definitely not a vocal teacher. That was painfully awkward.



Once you can get that basic sound going it’s just a matter of getting it louder than a whisper, then annunciation. Most people pull off the screaming voice when they’re making fun of screamers without realizing they’re actually doing it. That’s exactly how Randy Blythe ended up being the vocalist in Lamb Of God; he was mocking a metal singer and someone said “Dude, you can make that sound with your voice?”

The second you’re not relaxed while doing it, you’re doing it wrong. That’s 100% the best advice/tip I have. And properly hydrated, I wasn’t and you can hear it making my voice croak at times in that vid.

Thanks Drew! I can make weirdo voices when I am being "humorous" but doing this kind of thing seriously is a whole other ball game I might actually have that Melissa Cross dvd on an external HD somewhere...

 

[DrewJD82]

Thanks Drew! I can make weirdo voices when I am being "humorous" but doing this kind of thing seriously is a whole other ball game I might actually have that Melissa Cross dvd on an external HD somewhere...

Hahahaha just approach it the same way as when you’re being humorous, if you can do the Tasmanian Devil thing, you’re good to go! I kinda have to think of it as acting; I’m not nearly as angry of a person as I sound when screaming and I don’t try to intentionally put myself back in a sh*tty headspace to record, I torture myself enough in other areas.

And not having to do it at screaming volumes will hopefully keep the family from wondering WTF is wrong with dad.

 

[JT]

Hahahaha just approach it the same way as when you’re being humorous, if you can do the Tasmanian Devil thing, you’re good to go! I kinda have to think of it as acting; I’m not nearly as angry of a person as I sound when screaming and I don’t try to intentionally put myself back in a sh*tty headspace to record, I torture myself enough in other areas.

And not having to do it at screaming volumes will hopefully keep the family from wondering WTF is wrong with dad.

 

[la szum]

Thanks Drew! I can make weirdo voices when I am being "humorous" but doing this kind of thing seriously is a whole other ball game I might actually have that Melissa Cross dvd on an external HD somewhere...

Is that the Zen of Screaming gal?

 

[DrewJD82]

Is that the Zen of Screaming gal?

She gives some great tips, but when watching that DVD I got frustrated because it's basically a long form ad for her lessons, no one really tells you HOW to do it, just their success stories with some tips in between.

 

[la szum]

I have it somewhere. I think I even did the pencil trick once or twice.

 

[Iron1]

Of course I get called back into work tonight....

The vocals aren't finished; I started lyrics before I got called in and by the time I got back my head wasn't in it and I can definitely hear it on here. I just copy/pasted sections of vocals because I was only going to devolve from "f*ck your peace of mind"
There's also some weird phasey sh*t happening at the end....it's not supposed to do that.

This was all the Edwards w/EMG's, IIC++ on the left, OG 5150 on the right (AxeFX), just double tracked these as I'm not a fan of quad tracking for higher tempo songs. I started this Saturday with only the first two riffs in the song and that first riff I initially intended on being a bit more death metal sounding, but I stuck the jazzy drums in there and it sounds like f*ckin' Gojira.



Used the Brainworx Masterdesk for the master on this and this was the quickest I've ever had a mix translate decently to my truck. If you have a sub, turn it up! I'm really curious how this translates to all your systems so please feel free to let me know, even if it's f*cking terrible. I'm mainly curious if the guitars sound scratchy in the top end or if the low end is too much. But any feedback is good feedback!

0_o

Gear:
Les Paul
Apollo Twin Duo mk2 Thunderbolt
Drew's Metalish 185 Drum file from week 2
Helix Native--Placater-Simple Delay. One rhythm track. One lead track.
Valhalla Supermassive
Unfortunately no bass this time around.
Not mastered.

Dig this. Nice fun vibe to it.

f**k me in the eyeballs. Have to get something in. Will edit later.





Guitar: Gibson 335 tuned to drop C#. Only guitar I used on this one.
Bass: Squier Paranormal in drop C# using Fractal FM3 with Tom Hamilton Gift of Tone Preset.
Sounds: Fractal FM3. Various Recto Amp Models (both Red and Orange Modern) with Cliff's new "mystery" IR. One track of Vox AC30.
Drums: Drew's "Rock File" from Week 1 Challenge, dropped the Tempo down to 85bpm.
DAW: Reaper.
Windows 10

I am Plug-in and STD Free on this. I can't do the Plug-in thing until I get a better handle on operating this spaceship.

Having a ton of fun playing Bass. Totally unexpected. It's a blast. I can definitely see myself doing it more. Can really
propel and tie a piece together with Bass.

Definitely a track after my own heart here. Love the dissonance. Makes me wish I had any clue at all about doing leads...


So, did I miss what happened to the Week 4 thread? Is this over already? Is @DrewJD82 just a massive slacker? Did the Batmobile really lose a wheel and the Joker really get away? #EnquiringMinds

 

[Iron1]

Yeah, I’m definitely not a vocal teacher. That was painfully awkward.



Once you can get that basic sound going it’s just a matter of getting it louder than a whisper, then annunciation. Most people pull off the screaming voice when they’re making fun of screamers without realizing they’re actually doing it. That’s exactly how Randy Blythe ended up being the vocalist in Lamb Of God; he was mocking a metal singer and someone said “Dude, you can make that sound with your voice?”

The second you’re not relaxed while doing it, you’re doing it wrong. That’s 100% the best advice/tip I have. And properly hydrated, I wasn’t and you can hear it making my voice croak at times in that vid.

This is good stuff. I started singing professionally in metal bands back in the mid 1980s and very rarely find someone giving good advice on how to do it.

My addition to this: ALWAYS warm up first. And, the warm up needs to begin with proper breathing. The moment you stop breathing properly is the moment you're asking for vocal chord damage. I did a write up on another forum for some guys a year or two ago, and offered this advice for them:

...work on your breathing and projection.

First, inhale as much air as you can (without moving anything but your diaphragm - you can place one hand on it, the space right between your breastbone and stomach to feel it) and hold it in as long as possible. Then, exhale and do the same. Never, ever lift/lower your shoulders to breathe.

Second, do that again, but inhale in 2 equal bursts, hold as long as you can, then exhale in 2 equal bursts. Do this again and again, increasing to 3, then 4, then 5, then 6 bursts each way.

At first, it's a little hard to get the bursts equal because you need to learn exactly what your lung capacity is, then what half, a third, etc of it is, but you'll get there. Once you do, work on holding the inhale/exhale longer. I'm totally out of pro singing shape these days, but in my prime I could hold my inhale for about 3 minutes and 10 seconds and my exhale for just over a minute and a half. It took me months to build up to that, though.

And, before you sing, just like playing guitar, there are stretching exercises. Take your tongue and stick it out of you mouth as far to the left as it will go. Then upward, then to the right, then down. Each time, open your mouth as wide as you can to allow the tongue to extend as far as possible.

Once you have your lungs ready to power the notes, and your mouth and tongue are stretched, limber and ready, then all the performance technique stuff can come into play.

1. If you're trying to cover another singer, watch videos of that singer, paying particular attention to how they move their mouth/face and mimic those movements to better achieve their nuances
2. Stand up straight/don't hunch over. Breath from the diaphragm without ever lifting or dropping your shoulders. The only part of your torso that should move is your gut.
3, Keep your vocal chords seriously hydrated. Pushing air across them in powerful bursts robs them of moisture. As does smoking and drinking anything other than water (particularly tea and alcohol).
4. Don't think while singing, feel instead. Music is the sound of emotion, let that drive what you're doing, not heavy concentration or critical thinking during a performance.

 

[mbenigni]

I took an AC power cable from a stereo, cut the end off that plugs into the stereo and stripped the wires back, I had some throwing knives that had a hole in the bottom on the handles, I wrapped the bare wire around them then plugged it in, when I scraped the knives against each other they’d shoot sparks out and it looked awesome! I did a bunch of times without an issue until one day I tripped the breaker and killed the power to the house. When I heard my stepdad cursing up a storm I quickly took them all apart and played dumb, but he knew it was me doing something stupid, he just couldn’t prove it.

A friend of mine used to do the same with a power cord, then touch the wires to either end of a pencil. Apparently, this will heat the lead very quickly and make the pencil explode.

 

[DrewJD82]

A friend of mine used to do the same with a power cord, then touch the wires to either end of a pencil. Apparently, this will heat the lead very quickly and make the pencil explode.

Not gonna lie, I started looking around my office for pencils as soon as I read that.

There’s a neat little tricky you can do with a lighter flint, too. If you pull out the spring mechanism in a lighter and keep the flint in the spring, then hold a lighter up to the flint until it’s red, if ya throw it at the ground it’ll have a mini explosion.

 

[mbenigni]

Drew said, "ball in your mouth" several times in this thread.

And "maybe using my hands will help."

 

[mbenigni]

The moment you stop breathing properly is the moment you're asking for vocal chord damage.

I did so much screaming in my own band without any vocal chord damage, but in later years I did a ton of permanent damage screaming at other bands, from the audience. Oops. Alcohol + head cold + plus a couple of your favorite, loudest bands two nights back to back = maybe you aren't going to be a singer anymore.

 

[DrewJD82]

I did so much screaming in my own band without any vocal chord damage, but in later years I did a ton of permanent damage screaming at other bands, from the audience. Oops. Alcohol + head cold + plus a couple of your favorite, loudest bands two nights back to back = maybe you aren't going to be a singer anymore.

I warm up on my way to shows because of that. Screaming in my own music can be contained/technique focused, me with 8 beers in me and one of my favorite bands onstage will NOT be contained/technique focused.

 

[Alex Kenivel]

@DrewJD82 thanks man, pretty much what I've seen from Andy Cizek and Aliki Katriou. I tried it yesterday and was suprised at how high and "Cradle Of Filth" my voice wants to be instead of the Corey Taylor/Corpsegrinder low growl in my head

 

[Alex Kenivel]

So, did I miss what happened to the Week 4 thread? Is this over already? Is @DrewJD82 just a massive slacker? Did the Batmobile really lose a wheel and the Joker really get away? #EnquiringMinds

Someone's ready!

 

[la szum]

I was waiting for the "Pretend your pooping" line in Drew's video but it never came.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Gear:
Les Paul
Apollo Twin Duo mk2 Thunderbolt
Drew's Metalish 185 Drum file from week 2
Helix Native--Placater-Simple Delay. One rhythm track. One lead track.
Valhalla Supermassive
Unfortunately no bass this time around.
Not mastered.

The Satriani is strong in this one