Welcoem to posts!!
in the future - u will be able to do some more stuff here,,,!! like pat catgirl- i mean um yeah... for now u can only see others's posts :c
Without knowing this, it made me spend YEARS doing the wrong thing and feeling like my voice wasnât cut out for screaming.
Before, Iâd run out of breath with my screams, not get as much distortion as I wanted, and I would be QUIET.
The last few times, I spoke about things that my past screaming coaches didnât teach me, Iâm continuing that here
(btw, check out my past few emails/posts if you havenât done so already. Itâll go into other things that my coaches didnât teach me.)
So back when I was trying to figure out my screams, Iâd listen to bands and try and figure out what scream they were doing.
âAre they doing fry screams? Or are they doing false cord screamsâ
But Iâd never be 100% sure.
When I asked people and my coaches, they would say:
âOh Ben Duerr is using false cords!â
âWage War is using false cords!â
âWill Ramos is using fry!â
But lemme ask you a question.
Did you know that it was possible to do fry and false cords⌠at the SAME TIME?
(Some coaches I went to have said it was possible but never went into detail about it.)
And the truth is⌠This is what a LOT of your favourite vocalists might be doing. This is called a hybrid scream.
And it made it so that I didnât have to CHOOSE between the two screams (Fry or FC)
This is how you get both the loud CRUNCH from the false cords combined with the insane DISTORTION from the fry.
Whatâs even more wild is that you can adjust this according to your taste.
- If you want slightly more crunch, you can lean more into your false cords during a hybrid.
- If you want slightly more distortion, you can lean slightly more into your fry.
But thereâs a lot of nuance that goes into building a good hybrid.
For example, did you know that you have to combine the right TYPE of fry scream with your false cords in order to get a good hybrid?
Did you know that thereâs a specific TONE of false cords that you need to add onto your fry to get the best sound possible?
Not to mention, since everyone has a unique relationship with their voice, you need to find an approach that works for YOU.
If you want me to listen to your screams, feel free to pick a time on my calendar and apply for a free call and I can personally take a listen!
scheduling link: bit.ly/3XK5V08
In the next post, Iâm gonna talk about some more myths that I wish past coaches helped me understand.
Best,
David
46 - 5
Last time, I said Iâd walk you through some concepts I WISH my past screaming coaches taught me.
If I had known some of these things, I'd be able to join a band as a vocalist a LOT sooner.
So today, I want to talk about something that took me YEARS to figure out.
Ironically, I figured this out by accident withOUT a coach!
So hereâs the thing, if youâve struggled with loudness, getting higher, or getting lower, this applies to you.
Here is the thing, there are MULTIPLE types of fry screams.
And EACH fry scream type has its own advantages and disadvantages,
For example, ONE type of fry can be COMBINED with false cord screams to make hybrid screams.
Itâs also great for going HIGH!
Itâs also very naturally loud.
Itâs great for emo grit.
On the other hand this type of fry makes it hard for you to go LOW. (Even if you force it into chest voice)
This type of distortion can also often sound THIN by itself.
The OTHER fry scream allows you to go LOWER THAN FALSE CORDS and has a much fuller sound.
In my opinion, itâs also the best scream to use as a base for pig squeals and toilet bowls.
Itâs ALSO great for gruff singing (think nickel back)
But itâs tough to go high and get loud with it.
No one of these fry screams are better than the other, but the problem is that most vocal coaches I went to only knew that ONE of these two existed.
And they only KNEW one of the two.
For me, I learned the SECOND type of fry scream.
And when I tried to go higher, it was really tough. But since I was never taught that the other fry scream existed, I was led to believe that my voice was naturally just too low to go high.
Or that people that KNEW how to go higher were just somehow born with the GIFT of a crazy voice.
The first one is GENERALLY reported (by many of the students Iâve taught) to be felt in the back of the head.
The SECOND fry scream is GENERALLY reported to be felt in the bottom of the throat.
So if you can relate to any of these fry scream disadvantages, know that you might need to learn a different type of fry scream entirely!
(btw, if you want me help to get you these other fry screams, I have some openings on my schedule that I can take a listen to your scream and see if I can help you. Click this link to set up a time to meet: bit.ly/4d78duY)
After I learned how to do this, this FINALLY allowed me to get a FULL high and low range of my fry screams and finally combine my fry with my false cord to make a cool hybrid scream!
More on this next time!
Best,
David
29 - 3
My journey with screaming took WAY longer than most peopleâs.
In the process, I was taught by a bunch of big-name screaming coaches.
and while some of what I learned was super helpful, other advice⌠not so much. đ
Letâs start with the good stuff:
âŹ
1. Live feedback is a game-changer.
When I first started, I had no clue if the sounds I was making were right or wrong. Having someone who really knew what distortion should sound like was huge. They validated my efforts, and that gave me the confidence to keep going!
2. Motivation is key.
Honestly, a lot of people donât talk about the self-doubt that comes with this journey. When I felt discouraged, my coach reminded me that itâs normal for it to take time and that I was making progress. That support helped me push through.
Now, letâs get into what I wish was better with most screaming coaches:
âŹ
Iâve noticed that many scream coaches pretty much say the same things:
"Screaming is all about using your diaphragm."
"You gotta do extensive warmups."
"Itâs all about that door creaking noise!"
"Crack your voice to do a fry!"
"Just do a deep sigh!"
But hereâs the thing: as someone who struggled with all of these techniques, their advice wasnât very practical.
Most coaches would just talk a lot about the theory behind screaming or have me do 45 minutes of warmups. When it came to actually learning how to scream, theyâd only give me 1-3 methods to try (which were usually the same things I saw in their tutorials). If that didnât work, theyâd have me do a bunch of exercises to strengthen my âcompression musclesâ and diaphragm.
Honestly, now that Iâm teaching, I realise that stuff doesnât really matter.
They often told me to keep working on those parts and just âpractice,â and eventually it would click.
Now, donât get me wrongâIâm super thankful for those coaches. They had good intentions, but I do think they had some blind spots.
Hereâs what I mean:
âŹ
1. Singing coaches trying to teach screaming often carry over singing rules.
But Iâve found that those singing rules can actually hold you back from screaming properly. You really want someone who specializes ONLY in screaming because itâs a whole different beast.
2. Coaches can fall into the âcurse of knowledge.â
When someone has been screaming for years, it feels second nature to them. That makes it tough for them to break things down for beginners. They end up explaining things through theory instead of giving practical tips. Youâll know a coach is like this if they wrap up with âjust practice.â
In my next posts, Iâll go over some common advice from coaches that I think needs debunking.
Best,
David
P.S. Iâve got some slots open for free scream evaluationsâif youâre interested, click here to book a session!
link: bit.ly/47pQsWx
25 - 1
I know the claim in that picture might sound a bit crazy or like clickbait, but I swear this is something I get new students doing EVERY DAY.
I recently worked with Anthony (not his real name) who had spent MONTHS taking screaming lessons from his old coach.
He thought it was supposed to take forever and was super frustrated because he never really broke through.
All he wanted was to record vocals for his own songs, and he kept wondering, âIs my voice just not meant for screaming?â
But Iâm gonna show you the process that got him screaming in just 2 weeks!
1. Start with the EASIEST scream first.
Many people donât realise there are different types of fry screams, false cord screams, hybrids, and arytenoid screams. Everyone has a unique voice, so some types will come easier than others. Try them all and focus on the one that gives you that initial distortion sound the easiest. This is where having a coach really helps, but if you do it right, you can nail this in about 15 minutes on the first day.
2. Nail down SINGLE vowels first.
Skip trying to say words at this point; itâll mess with your distortion. Start with simple AHâs, EHâs, OHâs, and UHâs to see which vowel feels easiest.
3. Morph the easiest vowel into others while keeping the distortion.
So, if âAHâ is your jam, you could go âAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUOOHHH.â This helps you stay âin the pocketâ while moving between sounds.
4. Start saying âA B Câ slowly.
If itâs tough, try saying it more relaxed (âAHHhh BUHHHH ZUUHHHHHâ) until it feels easier, then gradually pronounce it more clearly.
5. Record a couple of verses of a simple cover.
Do it one line at a time so you can smooth out the tricky parts of your scream.
You can get through this whole process in TWO weeks if everything goes smoothly (no issues like airiness or pain).
The toughest part is getting that initial scream, and a good coach can help you with that.
After Anthony went through this, it completely changed the game for himâheâs now able to scream and record a demo!
If you want my help to speed through a similar process, click the link below and letâs set up a call!
link: bit.ly/4ekV9Tu
Best,
David
76 - 2
I know this sounds like clickbait, but trust me, itâs not.
Let me share a story about Nathan (not his real name, of course).
When I started teaching him how to scream, he seemed like a quirky dude with some pretty niche metal tastesâmostly âDepressive Black Metal.â
Once we figured out his fry and false cord screams, he asked me to help him with some super unique soundsâlike whistle tones, howls, and inhales. Honestly, I wasnât great at those, and I told him straight up.
But after a few sessions of trying and struggling, I felt bad that I couldnât help him with everything he wanted. I kept thinking, âHow can I call myself a teacher if I canât do this?â
On our last day together, I was feeling pretty down about it all, expecting some tough feedback.
I asked him, âSo, how do you feel about your progress?â
He took a moment, then said, âI donât know how to say this, but a few months ago, I was recovering from a suicide attempt.â
My heart sank. Then he added, âBut Iâm doing a lot better now, and your lessons have really helped me.â
I was totally taken aback and just stood there speechless.
This experience taught me a lot, but one thing really stuck with me: if you struggle with self-worth (which I totally relate to), finding hobbies that make you happy just for you is super important.
For my girlfriend Yanni, itâs painting. For my buddy George, itâs lifting heavier weights. For my friend Kel, whoâs all about her career, itâs growing plants.
When you dive into something thatâs just for YOU, it reinforces that you deserve the happiness that comes from it. But if you hold back on doing what you love, youâre kinda telling yourself that your happiness doesnât matter.
Thatâs why teaching screaming means so much to me. Itâs not just about making noise; it can genuinely bring joy, and sometimes that joy helps pull us out of dark times.
Best,
David
If you think screaming could bring you some happiness, Iâd love to help you out. Feel free to book a time to chat about your screams and see if I can help. Hereâs the link:
bit.ly/4gpwOOl
P.S. I do get busy, so please only book if youâre serious about it!
83 - 4
Can't get POWER behind your fry scream?
Youâre not alone! There are three main issues that might be holding you back, split into Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced levels.
1. THE BEGINNER MISTAKE:
When I was a complete beginner, every tutorial I watched said to do âvocal fry.â
But no matter how much I fryâed and tried to push that out, it never sounded cool!
It wasnât until I finally unlocked it that I understood.....
THE TRUTH:
Doing vocal fry is like power-walking for speed - yeah you can try to power-walk as FAST as you can, but you wonât go as fast as RUNNING.
In other words, Vocal fry is NOT what you want - It will KEEP you quiet.
Instead, you want to create FRY DISTORTION - this is when the sound turns more distorted.
THAT is what will get you loud.
Now if youâve gotten fry distortion and STILL canât get as loud as you want, this next part is for you.
2. THE INTERMEDIATE MISTAKE:
This problem is usually very OBVIOUS, but few people know how to solve it.
I remember I was working with my student mason.
Before we worked together, he told me:
"I sound OKAY, but I'm straining and can BARELY be heard over my bands guitars and drums!"
when I listened to him, I noticed he had a very whispery and AIRY quality to his voice.
After I fixed it, he was able to FINALLY be heard over his bandmates instruments.
If that sounds like you, listen up.
If youâre sounding whispery, what that means is that your vocal cords are OPEN a little bit so you can hear extra air LEAKING out of your body (Imagine the sound of a balloon deflating)!
so in order to fix that sound, you need to CLOSE your vocal cords tighter!
3. THE ADVANCED MISTAKE:
Now this last tip one I havenât heard ANYONE ELSE talk about...
most donât even KNOW they have this problem.
Iâve had people that are in professional BANDS that struggle with this.
They come to me worried that they feel very strained when they scream and they donât know what to do.
Theyâve usually tried all the tutorials and may have even gone to coaches but they canât figure it out.
Lemme explainIf you have a non-airy fry scream that feels really CONSTIPATED and strained, you are PROBABLY doing what I call a TWANGED chest fry.
(Note, this is hard explain without a demonstration, but I'll try my best to break it down).
Lets break it down:
When you TWANG, you squeeze your throat in a way that removes LOWER frequencies from your voice.
When youâre in CHEST voice, itâs hard to go higher.
So if youâre doing a TWANGED chest fry, this means that you canât get a BIG BOOMY low fry even though youâre in chest voice.
But since youâre STUCK in chest voice, you canât go high!
So the fix to get POWER is that you either need to:
- learn an UNTWANGED chest fryor
- learn a head fry scream.
If you feel like you need help with some or ALL of these, Iâve got some availability on my calendar to have a free consultation with you to check out your screams.
Scheduling link: bit.ly/3MRA07G
Note, itâs reserved for SERIOUS inquiries only. Please only book if screaming is something youâre REALLY willing to put the effort into.
-David
19 - 0
Back when I was trying to learn how to scream, one thing that held me back was EMBARRASSMENT.
I lived with my girlfriend at the time and some housemates.
Even though I had an idea of all these techniques I wanted to try, I stopped myself from even trying because I was worried theyâd hear me.
Iâd vividly imagine my housemate Lauren trying to read a book in the living room and hearing me trying to sound brutal but failing and instead sounding like Iâm constipated!
I imagined that the she would bring her boyfriend Patrick into the room to listen to me and quietly laugh together as they made fun of me.
Iâd imagine that theyâd either tell me to knock it off and I was being annoying, or that theyâd tease me about it.
Donât get me wrong, theyâve heard me practice guitar before, but when it came to the VOICE⌠idk, it just felt a little TOO vulnerable.
It felt like if they had any negative feelings about my voice, they would be rejecting ME personally.
So how did I overcome that and feel safe enough to practice?
Thereâs a couple different elements of this.
The first step is what you might expect, and the second might SCARE you a bit.
When FIRST starting, I would practice in my car or go on nightly walks and practice.
Related, a lot of people donât realise that you donât actually have to be loud when you practice. Itâs all about using the right tissues.
In other words, I would try and find ways to avoid disturbing people and it would allow me to improve my skills.
The SECOND part is what might scare you.
Lemme explain, when I practiced in isolation, I felt good but when I played my first performance, I was hit with an unexpected wave of shyness. As a result, my technique suffered a LOT.
Even though I KNEW how to scream, my nerves made me push too hard and I blew out my voice and sounded terrible.
This was a terrible experience because I felt like I really let myself down when it mattered the most.
So what fixed it?
SLOWLY exposing my screams to more and more people to expand my comfort zone.
For me, Iâd start by showing my screaming coaches my screams,
Then Iâd show my girlfriend my screams.
Then I would Let my roommates know Iâm going to be practicing and if they hear me, not to freak out.
And then pretty soon Iâd do it with my door open.
And then Iâd record covers and played shows.
Iâd continue pushing myself to display my screams in a more and more public setting until I expanded my comfort zone.
And EVENTUALLY, I was able to perform in front of people!
With that being said having a good coach (that you trust) to share your screams with is a GREAT place to start to SLOWLY push your comfort zone.
If you wanna chat with me and find out how I can help you improve your technique and grow your comfort zone, click on this link to schedule a scream evaluation with me!
bit.ly/3zaaI1r
Best,
David
22 - 1
I thought my voice was worn out from screaming. I was shocked when I found out this.
Recently, my student sam messaged me sounding terrified.
I had my scream this morning but I notice it always wears my voice out throughout the day. I canât make the scream distortion any more.
What is wrong? Am I ruining my voice? did I ever have my scream to begin with?
I could feel his increasing desperation.
âOkay letâs take a breath and calm downâ I told him.
âThis is something I used to struggle with tooâ
I explained to him that this is one of the most COMMON concerns people run into as they get better at screaming.
Lemme explain.
When we sleep, weâre laying down (unless youâre like a Russian guard who is staying on alert haha).
When you do this for long periods of time, the blood flows to the vessels within our vocal cords / false cords and they get SLIGHTLY bigger.
When they are bigger, itâs MUCH easier to compress them and get distortion from them.
In this phase, screaming is on âeasy mode.â
Screaming tends to feel way more effortless.
But as the day continues and we stand/walk upright, the blood drains from our throat blood vessels.
As a result, our throat folds become thinner and the distance between our vocal/false cords widens.
And this is more of a ânormalâ setting where itâs harder to get distortion.
So what do we need to do in order to make up for this difference?
We need to improve our technique and learn to compress EXTRA well to make up for the thinner folds in our throat!
Best,
David
24 - 3
This one thing can HELP and HURT your screams.
This ONE thing can also IMPROVE your screams to make them sound FULL and POWERFUL.
âŚBut it can also completely RUIN your voice if taken too far and cause you to require surgery.
A complete LACK of this can cause physical pain.
But using the RIGHT AMOUNT of it can make your screams feel SUPER comfortable.
If you apply it incorrectly, it can make you sound constipated.
But if you apply it correctly, it can make you sound melodic and vicious!
What is it exactly?
The amount of SINGING voice you put into your screams!
This is something that totally blew my student Anthonyâs mind.
He came to me feeling like his screams sounded super airy and scratchy,
But once I told him to use more voice, it filled out the tone more and it FINALLY made it click more.
But my other student Monte was YELLING through their screams and really cranking up their singing voice to 100 while they were screaming. They would LOSE their voice after extended periods of time with this.
So I had to tell HIM to LOWER his voice.
Itâs a balancing act between these two different extremes!
If you need extra help dialing in the RIGHT amount of voice to get the tone you want in a SAFE way, use this link to schedule an evaluation with me and I'll take a listen to your screams: bit.ly/4e0cssY
Best,
David
20 - 0
80% of screaming tutorials are wrong about this.
Youâre probably making this screaming mistake right now.
When I first started my scream journey, Every tutorial I watched made a huge deal about breathing right.
They made it seem like screaming was 80% about using your diaphragm.
They all said flex to flex your stomach and make sure your shoulders didnât go up and down when screaming.
So I practiced doing that day in and day out.
Iâd even practice doing that when breathing.
Iâd flex so hard that I got tired.
But when I tried to scream and do this, it NEVER came out right and would often STILL HURT!
Why?
Because Iâve found (through teaching vocals full time since 2019) that tutorials often OVER complicate and OVER SIMPLIFY diaphragmatic use at the same time.
Lemme explain.
USING your diaphragm is usually the EASIEST part for students to do.
Really all you need to do is to make sure your stomach is flexing while youâre vocalising. Thatâs IT.
Iâve only had a FEW students (out of over 2,000) that really need extra direction to figure out HOW to use it.
Not to mention, I help MOST people unlock their screams without even MENTIONING the word diaphragm.
How?
Because screaming is about 20% using your diaphragm and 80% about finding out how to use your throat in the right way.
For example, here are some questions most people donât ask themselves while screaming:
âWhich register am I using?â
âChest voice?â
âHead voice?â
âMixed voice?â
âAm I using more AIR? Or more VOICE?â
âAm I supposed to be using my vocal cords?
âMy false cords?â
âArytenoids?â
âHow do I even LOCATE them?ââ
âAm I TWANGING your voice?
âWhat does that even mean?â
âHow am I using my tongue and lips?â
So if you are like how I was where you focused a LOT of time on using your diaphragm, chances are, youâre wasting your time and need to spend time thinking on these other variables.
There is ANOTHER dimension to diaphragm usage that Iâve talked about in past posts (how different screams require different levels of push), but If you havenât thought about at least one of these other questions I listed above before, those are some GREAT opportunities to explore the rest of your voice which will get you better results.
If you want help discovering which of these roadblocks is stopping YOU from screaming, click this link to schedule a time for us to chat about your screams: bit.ly/3AKc0km
Best,
David
34 - 1
Hey! I'm David! I help metalheads learn to express themselves by teaching them how to perform powerful screaming vocals in a safe way. If you wanna learn to scream, I made a free training you can get by clicking the link below!