Yelling in songs.

[rone rivendale]

I've tried to yell or sing loudly in certain songs but I can never get myself to really let loose or when I do it sounds pretty bad.

Maybe you guys can give me some tips on singing loudly/yelling in songs. Things you do to prepare or ways you let the words out that make them sound as good as they sound softer.

Also, on a side note what do you guys do to raise your singing stamina so you don't get sore throats all the time. (Cuz I do if I sing/rap for more than 20+ minutes on and off)

[Tonamel]

what do you guys do to raise your singing stamina so you don't get sore throats all the time.

Learn how?

And that's not a "haha lets bash rone" thing, it's just a fact that your voice won't hurt if you're doing it properly. Same goes with yelling, though that does take a little endurance training to get into it.

[Caravan Ray]

A good way to practice is to shout randomly at people as you walk down the street. When using this technique it is customary to look as dishevelled as possible and smell like stale urine.

[blue]

A good way to practice is to shout randomly at people as you walk down the street. When using this technique it is customary to look as dishevelled as possible and smell like stale urine.

start with something simple like: "CARAVAN RAY, OI OI OI!"

[deshead]

Maybe you guys can give me some tips on singing loudly/yelling in songs...Also, on a side note what do you guys do to raise your singing stamina so you don't get sore throats all the time.

It's not really a side note. The two are related. In both cases, you need to sing more from your diaphragm and less from your throat. There's not much else to it, beyond learning the techniques, and practicing them.

Things you do to prepare or ways you let the words out that make them sound as good as they sound softer.

There's a distinction between the volume at which you sing and the volume people perceive. Most "loud" singers have learned how to saturate their vocal tone, and they don't need to sing at full volume to achieve this.

It's a little like playing guitar through a tube amp. Your tone saturates fully with the volume around 7 or 8. Crank it to 11, and the tone actually degrades (even if it does get louder.) Same goes for your voice. Singing at full volume is unnecessary for a saturated tone, and will stress your vocal cords.

It's hard to describe beyond that in text, 'cause it's such a "feel" thing. But learn to sing more from your diaphragm and it'll start to make sense. You'll find you control your tone by the amount of air you force over your vocal cords, and where your voice sounds best, and loudest, will be somewhere shy of full volume.

[Dan-O from Five-O]

Along with the techniques Des mentioned, and you read it all the time here, nothing beats practice. Practice, practice, practice. (Said like Marsha, Marsha Marsha!) Practice in your car, practice in the shower, practice while you're listening to music at home. The more you do it the easier and more natural it becomes.

And not to turn this into a Rone bashing thing either but you can't ignore the X factor of talent. Some people can just sing better than others, and no amount of practice can overcome a lack of ability. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try, just that it may never bear any positive results.

[Reist]

Some people can just sing better than others, and no amount of practice can overcome a lack of ability.

I agree and disagree. It's true that you can't gain natural talent by practicing, but you can definitely change how you sing. I know that my singing has changed a fair bit since I started with my Andrew Reist entries, and I think it's changed for the better, even though there were several people who said my voice had no chance of sounding good. Keep practicing with the tips people are giving, and you're bound to improve on some aspects.

[HeuristicsInc]

Most "loud" singers have learned how to saturate their vocal tone, and they don't need to sing at full volume to achieve this.

I tried to do this on my "Thanks for Coming" entry. Can you tell me, how does it sound? I wasn't actually yelling though trying to sound as if I were.
-bill

[Sober]

There are certainly lots of aspects, and some people have said some good things. Des's comment about singing from your diaphragm is particularly important. Huge breath, and feel it with your stomach.

As far as the actually getting down to it, you have to have a comfortable setting in order to get a good performance out of yourself/someone else. For most Songfighters, this generally means empty house first and foremost.

Make sure your monitoring situation is condusive to comfortable delivery. High backing levels, with moderate vocal tracking levels. Some singers like very little vocal in their cans when recording. Play with levels and find what you like.

Basically, for Songfight-level productions, the most important thing is that your yell sounds like a real yell and not like someone scared their parents will hear them. Listen to punk anthems really loud and yell along to get more comfortable doing it. Dropkick Murphys should work really well.

[Caravan Ray]

you need to sing more from your diaphragm and less from your throat. There's not much else to it, beyond learning the techniques, and practicing them.

The other big plus about learning that is when you can control your diaphram, you can stop hiccups at will.

[Bjam]

On singing loudly:
I sing pretty loudly. I do this by taking a big deep breath and pushing out my stomach(yes, it makes you look fat, who cares) then you sing straight from your diaphragm(your midriff areaish). So when you breathe don't do it so your chest gets big, do it so your stomach gets big. It gets more air in your lungs and makes you sing from your stomach instead of your throat or head(often if you sing from your head is sounds very nasally and weird). Straighten your back too so you have your breath going straight up and down and not curving around all over the place. Posture = Good Thing.

Also, sometimes people sing quieter because they're not in their right range. If I try to sing soprano(high) stuff then I'm real quiet because I just can't hit those notes with my chest voice(the diaphragm/push out your stomach technique). If I'm singing an alto(lower female) or tenor(high male) part I can really boom it out. If you find your singing is really quiet, try moving it down or up an octave.

So basically: Posture, Breathe from your stomach, and Find your range.


On Singing Stamina:
I sing all the time, often for hours at a time(choir rehearsal, in my house, in shows), so stamina has just kinda always been there for me. I'd reccomend drinking a bunch of water before, during, and after you sing. If you've got a dry throat it just makes singing a bitch. Also use all those tips up there and you won't stress out your vocal cords and then they'll cooperate for you. Warm up aswell is important, you'll be more prepared for doing stuff for a long time. (If you don't warm up and just run a marathon you'll get a cramp in 5 minutes, you've got to warm up before you start screaming into a mic). Oh yeah, and just practice. Make a mix cd of songs you like to sing along to, and just sing for an hour or so while you're on the computer or something.

So: Water, Warm up, and Practice.

(Yay, finally a thread I can contribute to! I know nothing about guitars and drums and mixing, but singing? I can rock that.)

[Dan-O from Five-O]

Warm up aswell is important, you'll be more prepared for doing stuff for a long time. (If you don't warm up and just run a marathon you'll get a cramp in 5 minutes, you've got to warm up before you start screaming into a mic).

Absolutely fantastic advice I didn't even consider giving because I do it without thinking about it anymore. Without a doubt, warming up is a crucial step. Very good analogy as well Bjam.

[rone rivendale]

A big thank you to most of the people who replied here. I got lots of good advice reading it. I hope others did too.

Will it make a difference? *shrugs* I hope so.

[Rabid Garfunkel]

Ya ever puke? I don't mean the little dribble, but the Exorcist class bazooka barf that makes you wish you'd done it somewhere other than your own bathroom so you wouldn't have to clean the mess off the floor, walls, ceiling, pets, etc.

That's how you want your mouth & throat to feel like. Open like a firehose, with your gut doing all the pushing and your throat doing nothing to control the sound other than getting the hell out of the way.

'Cause you just know that if you clench up with your throat, all that stuff's going to spray out your nose and eyes instead. It's in you, and it's coming out, one way or another.

Or you could try the less disgusting opera trick (for getting the muscle memory down) of chopping a wine cork in half and wedging each half inbetween your back teeth as far as you can cram them and *then* practice your singing with your mouth wide open. Though that may require someone to help you get the damn things out again, heh.

Hot tea with honey and lemon in it is a nice drink for your throat, before and after, I've found. But water during the vocal takes, yes, definitely.

[Mostess]

you need to sing more from your diaphragm and less from your throat. There's not much else to it, beyond learning the techniques, and practicing them.

The other big plus about learning that is when you can control your diaphram, you can stop hiccups at will.

This is true. I haven't had hiccups for more than a minute since I started vocal training.

One of my pet peeves about talking music with non-musicians is trying to convey that emotive and expressive performance requires control and discipline. It's easy to think "if I really feel rage, and let loose, my music will be full of rage". However, I bet you millions, you will later be thinking "oh my God, I sound like a sick squirrel fell in a wood chipper!"

The most effective screams, gutteral "huh"s and emotive vocal warbles are well-rehearsed. The most effective singers can do them on command. Practice.

If you can stand it, I recommend listening to earlyish Billy Joel. He did some serious musical soul searching on "Piano Man" and "Streetlife Serenade" and really tried singing in different ways. It's kind of subtle, but you can hear him adopting different techniques for various songs, and if you try to imitate him, you can get a feel for what he's doing. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but it's pretty much a playbook for how to hold your mouth, throat and lungs to color your sound.