Any tips for vocals?

[Nik]

Sorry for the late post on the topic, I will say up front that I am not fan of "cooking monster" vocals that seem to be all the rage in some circles. To be honest I suspect that this became in vogue because people feared they could not actually sing (they probably could).

First and most importantly is breathing. Most people know how to breath to keep oxygen in them, and thats a good thing. But to really sing you have to breath differently. That applies to both inhalation and exhalation. Just like in playing the guitar, you need to develop your "tone" in the voice. Some of it is what god gave you, some of it is what you make of it. For me I am more "opera man" than "screeching rocker". Them's the breaks. That being said, you might benefit from working with a vocal coach. They will give you a bunch of strange things to do and say / sing most likely. It's no different that practicing scales or fretboard drills, you do them. If you are going to sing frequently for performance lengths of time, you will need to condition your vocal chords to take it (they are like any other muscle group). So work your way up to it.

I was lucky that I got to take some vocal training in college and it has helped me a lot. Some of the earlier pointers are very good, so follow them as well. Specifically if you stick with working on your voice, you will find that it does change somewhat, and you will get "stronger".

Also of note: much of what you hear on recordings today is some function of the microphone used and the outboard effects processors. If you are serious about your voice you want to be as careful with how you set that up as you would be your guitar and amp.

Hey, I'm not a fan cookie monster vocals either, but I dig the Linkin-Park-style melodic screams. My prog band does everything from metal, to techno, to jazz, to reggae... you get the idea, so I want to have many options at my disposal vocal-wise.

As for getting a vocal coach--I've learned how to play guitar from scratch over the last 2 years entirely on my own, and I think I've made a lot of progress. I believe that if you are willing to commit yourself, there are enough resources on the internet to learn a craft yourself at a perfectly good level.

So I'll probably not be getting a coach.

It's OK, though. Since I've been playing guitar, etc. for a while, my ears at least are pretty decently developed, so I can track my voice with a lot more discretion than some of the people we've auditioned Sadly, I haven't been blessed with perfect-pitch, but I have excellent relative pitch, so that ought to help.

Mid-terms in college this week. As soon as they're over, I'm gonna cram all the info in this thread into a weekly practice routine

 

[Makelele]

Dude, singing out loud at home is nothing to be embarrassed about. I do it all the time, and my mom and dad don't complain.

 

[Nik]

Dude, singing out loud at home is nothing to be embarrassed about. I do it all the time, and my mom and dad don't complain.

It's embarassing when you're a beginner and you totally suck

Judging from your samples, you've been doing this for a while and you're pretty good at singing, so you don't have anything to be embarassed about. But I do

It's cool though. I'm kinda excited to do this.

 

[drshock]

lol Black Watch its not cooking monster...its cookie monster. I hate the label its been given because some people dont understand how hard it is to growl, yell, and wail the way death metal vocalists do. A lot of people just think its growling randomly, but if that were the case, every death metal singer's career would be over by thier late 20's.

I agree with your tips however. You must be articulate when your sing, it is the most important thing towards your tone. Also dont forget to warm up with scales or any type of clean vocals for about 5-15 min before singing. This will allow your throat to last a lot longer. Warming down for 5 mins is also a good way to calm and relax your voice after singing.

 

[Black Watch]

Cookie Monster! Oh yes, sorry. I call it that because that is what one of my mentors called it. Warming down is a very good and important thing too, thank you for mentioning it.

Don't be afraid to sing in the house, in the car, in the supermarket - where ever. If you are going to perform with your voice the first thing you need to do is abandon fear. To be honest, half the time I go to the grocery store and I sing at the cashiers during checkout. I make up random things on the spot about bravery lettuce or the pain of caned soup. It's not always the greatest but they love it. Many times I sort of "Wierd Al" a song i am already working on. On occasion I like the "joke" lyrics better.

Find any and all excuses to sing. If you go to church, sing. If you don't, consider going to sing, as most of the time they are grateful to have someone willing to sing as most people don't want to. It is also a great source of free tips from some of folks who have been doing it a while.