conky wrote:My throat is killing me. I just laid down vocals for the first time since early November. I can't remember the last time I raised my voice over normal speaking levels other than the occasional cheering at my son's baseball games. I gotta start doing some exercises to build up my breathing and ability to hold notes out for a long time. I used to be able to do it in my old band years ago but the last few I have been in I haven't done any vocals so I lost what little bit I had.
I just quit smoking for this same reason. Im not sure what other vocalists are doing to hurt their vocal chords...happened to me a couple of times when I first started doing harsh vox, but quickly found a way to sound even better and avoid pain whatsoever.
You are probably privy, but a few things I do to make sure im ready to perform vocals at all"
1. Before any excercises involving your voice breathe in very slow...when you feel your lungs have reached capacity, pull in just a tad more air...and...exhale, repeat for about 5 minutes.
2. At the very end of this excercise, inhale as deep as you can...and while holding splash cold water on your face(induces the mammalian diving reflex that slows your heart rate down and makes your whole respiratory system more efficient with less amounts of oxygen)
3. Do a standard non-harsh vocal warm up(trust me it helps) even if you can't stand your clean vocals...cycle through your range from the lowest possible note you can reach to the highest you can reach without straining your vocal chords(falsetto).
4. Now do the same warm-up adding grit to the vocals.
5. You are set to go! I would recommend practicing keeping track of your diaphragm as well...I imagine mine as kind of like a fuel gauge and ask myself in a split second...is there enough air in there for this next line?
A lot of harsh vocalists don't use the diaphragm much in favor of the harshness of throat singing...but I really believe that throat control + diaphragm control as a whole is important for the discerning vocalist. Also another useful tool is learning how to do inhales...then learning how to make inhales sound good...then learning how to tactfully switch off between the two. Last but not least the mic is your friend...I am wholly against mic cupping...its like the sonic maximizer for vocalists...but bear in mind that a different angle of approach to the mic element will be better for certain nuances and dynamics much like placement on a cab.
Granted...it's different doing guitar/vox at the same time...I can't really get as wild and energetic as a standalone vocalist or cover as much of certain parts...but all steps listed above were vital in the transition from singing and playing acoustic stuff to screaming/singing/playing at loud volumes.
That'll have to be rerecorded later.
