Screamo is a sub-genre of post-hardcore / emo that has spread thanks to bands like Thursday, Alexisonfire, Silverstein, Poison the Well and The Used. However, the vocal technique used in screamo has been exploited by numerous singers across a wide range of genres, from heavy metal to jazz. Singing in screamo strains your vocal cords and could potentially cause permanent damage to your voice, so it's important to learn how to do it correctly and safely.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Learning the Correct Technique
Step 1. Breathe with your diaphragm
One of the most important things to learn when practicing any type of singing is how to breathe with the diaphragm.
- Proper breathing allows you to inhale much more oxygen, helping you to sustain the notes (or screams) for much longer, and avoiding running out of breath while playing.
- When you use the diaphragm your stomach expands as you inhale and contracts as you exhale. Learning to breathe correctly and naturally with your diaphragm will take some practice.
- Start by doing breathing exercises daily to improve your technique.
Step 2. Find out what your vocal range is
Each person has a different vocal range, depending on how high and low they can reach when singing or screaming.
- When you use the low registers the larynx tends to sag, relaxing the tension of the vocal cords. When you use higher tones, the larynx will rise, tensing the vocal cords.
- The success of a scream depends on the ability to control, and to have full control you need to know how the vocal cords behave and be able to manipulate them. Once you can control the tension in your vocal cords, you will be able to move smoothly between high and low registers, even while yelling.
- A useful exercise is to mimic the noise of your car's engine as you rev it - it helps warm up your vocal cords and allows you to use high and low registers.
Step 3. Begin by practicing at a low volume
Many novice screamo singers damage their voices by trying to scream at too loud a volume - instead, one of the biggest secrets of successful singers is that they actually scream quite quietly (strange and contradictory as it may seem).
- Don't try to scream with maximum lungs on the first try, start with a low volume and gradually increase it as your voice gets stronger.
- The nice thing about screamo is that on stage you can let the microphone do most of the work. Even a "quiet" cry can ruffle the audience's hair if amplified by a good sound system.
- You can also produce deeper sounds by cupping your hands around the microphone or moving your mouth in certain ways as you sing. The best thing you can do is have some fun and experiment until you find your favorite sound.
Step 4. Record yourself singing
One of the best ways to improve your scream technique is to record yourself singing and then rewatch your performance (no matter how uncomfortable it may make you feel).
- This can help you fix posture and intonation problems, which you might otherwise never notice.
- Registering allows you to feel what you are doing and to become aware of what you need to improve. The first step in improving your technique is recognizing your mistakes.
Step 5. Get help from a singing teacher
Singing and screamo lessons might seem like two things that don't go hand in hand, but screamo singers can also benefit greatly from professional teaching.
- In fact, the famous frontmen Randy Blythe, Corey Taylor and Robert Flynn have improved their technique and learned to take care of their voice thanks to the teachings from professionals.
- A singing teacher will help you train and strengthen your voice. Even a couple of lessons may be worth the expense, as the master will teach you some breathing and warm-up exercises that you can practice at home.
- Alternatively, you could get yourself a book called "The Zen of Screaming" by Melissa Cross, a must-have guide to getting a surprising but safe sounding scream.
Part 2 of 2: Protecting the Vocal Cords
Step 1. Drink lots of hot drinks
Drinking slightly warm water before rehearsals or a concert is a good idea.
- Water helps to clear and lubricate the throat, as well as maintain the necessary hydration. Hot water is better than cold water because it heats the vocal cords.
- You can also drink tea or coffee, but remember not to add milk or cream. Dairy products irritate the throat and promote mucus formation, making it more difficult to sing.
Step 2. Use a throat spray
Using a throat spray keeps your throat hydrated and prevents damage to the vocal cords.
The most common product used by singers is Entertainer's Secret, a non-medicinal spray that relieves pain and irritation without desensitizing the throat. You can buy it online
Step 3. Do not use any products that can numb your throat
It is not a good idea to use sprays or lozenges which, although they do relieve the pain, make the throat less sensitive.
Pain is your body's way of telling you that something is wrong, and if you are particularly sensitive to that pain you could seriously damage your vocal cords and ruin your voice without even realizing it
Step 4. Give your voice the opportunity to recover
When you sing in screamo, one of the most important things is to remember not to push your voice to the max.
- If you start to feel that your throat starts to hurt, burn, or irritate you, stop immediately and wait a couple of days for it to settle.
- Continuing to sing despite the pain (however rock star it may sound) will only hurt your voice and cause potentially irreversible damage.
Advice
- Avoid highly acidic drinks. Fizzy drinks make it harder to sing. Also avoid milk and other milk-based products, they promote the production of mucus thus giving problems to the voice.
- On stage, have at least one bottle of water on hand.
- Start practicing by emitting a kind of murmur, still in screamo. Then try to release the scream.
- The level of the scream, once you have acquired the technique, must be about the same as that of the voice while you sing, the microphone does the rest of the work. Remember that you are using a microphone, so you don't need to scream as much as you think, you can also cheat and cup your hands around the microphone to increase the volume and depth of the sound.
- Learn to change from scream to normal sung and vice versa.
- Before screaming, warm up your vocal cords.
- Practice. Eventually you will be able to explore the different types of screams used by bands such as: Atreyu, Chelsea Grin, Swing Kid, Saetia, The Used, etc.
