vocal chords been letting me down lately

Steoob

hey all so ya ive been getting ****ter at singing my voice just loses all power after about 2 or 3 songs...i sing metal by the way so lots of strenous screaming is involved... i also have been smoking alot more lately so im guessing that thats a problem too but then again phil anselmo smoked and yet hecould sing cemetery gates and cowboys perfectly at the end of gigs like... so whats the story like...i used to have alot more perseverence but it all seems to have gone a bit arse up lately.. advise PLEASE

david

Hmm... Some swear by eating honey to stop the vocal chord strain, worth a shot i guess, smokes reduce lung capacity so i doubt theyre helpin matters.

Eoin Madsen

Steoob wrote:

hey all so ya ive been getting ****ter at singing my voice just loses all power after about 2 or 3 songs...i sing metal by the way so lots of strenous screaming is involved... i also have been smoking alot more lately so im guessing that thats a problem too but then again...

Smoking can really heighen the damage being done to your vocal chords if you're singing badly. Screaming is always bad. Singing with tense vocal chords is also bad. If you've noticed a very severe drop off in performance from what you could do previously I would recommend you consult a doctor and stop singing straight away. If you want to continue singing and still speak in five years time, give up smoking and start getting singing lessons. Assuming you haven't done permanent damage already.

Rustar

Run to the best teacher you can find right away. Singing comes from the diaphragm and lower lungs, and a good teacher can tell you whether you're singing from the diaphragm or 'squeezing' sound through your throat. Squeezing is bad, mmmkay? You use a lot less effort when you sing correctly, and you'll be louder.

Kenny_D

Do you drink a lot of tea or coffee? Thats apparently very bad for you vocal chords. Try some lemon/honey in hot water to relax the tension before singing

Rustar

Also, do you practice? Voice is just like any other instrument, if you don't practice it doesn't get better. You should sing once a day just like you should pick up your guitar once a day.

ferdi

if your screaming or growling your shelf life as a vocalist is limited

Steoob

ferdi wrote:

if your screaming or growling your shelf life as a vocalist is limited

thanks for the advise all.... but to ferdi...ii refer back to my OP about phil anselmo.. and other metal singers that have been going for nearly 20 years... it wasn't so limited for them..how do they do it...

Zapp Brannigan

Steoob wrote:

thanks for the advise all.... but to ferdi...ii refer back to my OP about phil anselmo.. and other metal singers that have been going for nearly 20 years... it wasn't so limited for them..how do they do it...

Because they do it correctly man, it's a technique and needs to be taught. Go to a teacher and theyll fill you in. Just don't do any permanent damage to yourself.

pbsuxok1znja4r

ferdi wrote:

if your screaming or growling your shelf life as a vocalist is limited

Not necessarily true. You just have to know how to do it properly. This comes pretty naturally to some people; they can scream for hours and wake up the next day and their voice is still at 100%. I've done this myself on several occasions.

You just need to experiment with the way in which you force the sound out of your throat. You should know easily enough which way is going to be less harsh on your your throat, as it instantly feels less uncomfortable.

There are plenty of singers who do nothing but scream night after night and never lose their voice, such as Dennis Lyxzén formerly of Refused, Phil Anselmo, etc etc

ANarcho-Munk

Drink plenty of orange juice man, it's supposedly good for your vocal chords. Well that's what Harris told me one night.

Steoob

hey again so i went to practice again today after a week of resting and i tried to sing with my diaphragm and not my throat...which makes sense but this week i couldn't do ONE song before getting totally ****ed last week i could do three songs which is still totally ****... so what the hell like im getting worse...have i done serious damagae to my vocal chords? should i go to the doctor about it?

also another thought... is it just that i have to learn how to sing again now that im singing differently? i dont really see that making sence...

help moi PLEEZ

Rustar

Seeing the doctor might not be a bad idea....you could rule out growths on your vocal chords or anything like that. See a professional, don't ask us.

Many times in life you have to start learning over from the bottom. In the case of something weird and wacky like grindcore/metal screaming, absolutely, it's not natural and requires new techniques and practice.

As far as drinking goes, almost anything you can drink is bad for your voice, especially anything with alcohol, caffeine, or lots of sugar. Fruit juices are ok, but not the highly acidic ones like orange juice. If you have to drink a lot, stick to coffee/soda or water. Lowfat milk might be good too, although milk tends to produce a lot of phlegm. The beer definitely doesn't help.

Steoob

well i mean i dont drink at practice and usually not the night before so drinking isn't a problwm there... whats the story im so confused with people tellin me to eat lemons and drink orange jiuce and then theres other people sayin not to have any high citric stuff... whos right???

Karl Hungus

If you've not seen it yet, take a look at this. Could be a great help to you.

ferdi wrote:

if your screaming or growling your shelf life as a vocalist is limited

Horse**** tbh.

Rustar

Gstormcrow actually said, "try a little lemon/honey in hot water", he didn't say eat a lemon.

Don't know who's right, but I've been singing for over 30 years and still have a voice. :v:

Custom22

GStormcrow wrote:

Do you drink a lot of tea or coffee? Thats apparently very bad for you vocal chords. Try some lemon/honey in hot water to relax the tension before singing

Yes... how Metal!

Eoin Madsen

Steoob wrote:

so what the hell like im getting worse...have i done serious damagae to my vocal chords? should i go to the doctor about it?

Maybe, and yes. If there's something wrong a doctor will be able to tell you. A bunch of guys on an internet forum cannot diagnose you - and, none of them have to live with the consequences of making a bad recommendation.

Steoob wrote:

also another thought... is it just that i have to learn how to sing again now that im singing differently? i dont really see that making sence...

In what way are you singing differently? Did you ever learn to sing in the first place? No offence is intended here, but if you taught yourself then that's a no. Techniques to maximise range and stamina have been refined over thousands of years. You're never going to get the full benefit of your voice if you just make it up as you go along.

Steoob wrote:

well i mean i dont drink at practice and usually not the night before so drinking isn't a problwm there... whats the story im so confused with people tellin me to eat lemons and drink orange jiuce and then theres other people sayin not to have any high citric stuff... whos right???

None of that is applicable tbh. If you need to drink something to help your voice along (other than water to stop your throat from getting dry) then there's something wrong with your technique. It's better to address the problems not just the symptoms etc.

Rustar

Yah, don't hurt yourself or do irreparable damage, man.

There's also another point to bring up....as Clint Eastwood said once in a movie, "A man's got to know his limitations."

Maybe this style of singing isn't for you. I can occasionally do a passable Greg Lake or Justin Hayward or Ian Anderson, but there's no way in hell I could ever sound like Robert Plant or Freddie Mercury or <pick an 80's hair metal singer>. I was born with a certain voice and I live with that.

Maybe you could try another style of singing with that music, or hey, even let someone else sing if you already play an instrument.

Steoob

hey remember this thread?.. well ive decided im just gonna give up smoking because its changing my personality aswell as destroying my voice...

so has any singer here ever givin up smoking? did your voice improve after a while? i ant my voice to return to what it used to be like before i started smoking because it was actually quite good.. but now i cant sing songs i used to be able to...what ye think?

Kenny_D

Deffinitely worth a try. Fair play anyway

Eoin Madsen

I've never been a smoker myself, but I do distinctly remember a couple of singers I've had in the studio over the last 3 years mentioning that they had noticed a big improvement since they quit.

Steoob

cool...cant wait to get my voice back