In this article I’m going to give you 3 steps that you can take TODAY to finally scream, sing with aggression, and add distortion in a way that is unique to you and does NOT hurt your voice.
Most singers end up doing these things wrong because they don’t understand what’s actually going on in the voice when a singer is screaming, distorting, or singing aggressively.
So put all assumptions aside. I’m going to tell you how I figured out how to sing with distortion and how you can too.
Become aware of the break
Have you ever felt your voice crack or break up when you were trying to hit a high note? Well, believe it or not, that break is really the key to screaming and distorting.
So what I want you to do is to sound like Tarzan… Yep, Tarzan.
You need to sing with your break like a crazy gorilla boy swinging through the jungle. And I encourage you to do this in different pitches and volumes so that you can understand how it feels.
This feeling is extremely important to get comfortable with because later you’re going to turn it into an actual scream.
So put all judgements aside and channel your inner Tarzan.
Find Your Fry
The second thing you’re going to do is use Vocal fry. If you’re unaware about what it is, vocal fry is that crackly “just got out of bed” sound.
So you’re going to take that break and combine it with the vocal fry. This can be tricky at first, but don’t give up. It’s like riding a bike, it takes time to find the balance but once you do, it eventually becomes second nature.
The next step is absolutely necessary if you want to avoid damaging your voice while singing aggressively.
Get Some Support
As you try to find the balance between using your break and your fry, you’re going to need just the right amount of pressure from your support muscles.
If you don’t know what the support muscles are or how to use them when you sing, I have a free vocal course that will teach you how to develop them. You can click here to sign up:
JOIN MY FREE COURSE: FREE YOUR VOICE
Once you are able to find the sweet spot between the break and vocal fry, begin using those support muscles to push a little. You should begin to hear yourself breaking up more and it should sound distorted.
If at any time while you’re doing this exercise you begin to feel pain or hoarseness, please STOP. Pain is a good indicator that you’re not doing it properly and that you need to stop before any permanent damage is done.
Practice It With Pitch
The last thing you’ll need to do is sustain that distorted sound with pitch. It’s much easier to sing distorted without pitch so adding sustained pitch will take some practice… remember to be patient with yourself.
Choose a note, find the break, add the fry, and really push when you’ve found that spot. Your goal will be to hold that sound with sustained pitch for longer periods at a time. Once you can do that, it will get easier and easier.
And there you have it. The 3 steps to singing aggressively without hurting your voice.
If you still are having trouble figuring out how to find your break, your fry, and support muscles, check out the video that I did here:
I show you how to do it, what it sounds like, and what to watch out for. I know you’ll get something out of it so I encourage you to check it out.
Now go try this out!
To your singing success,
-Chris
