3 Types of Metal Screams + How To Do Them Efficiently

Ever wondered how your favourite rock and metal musicians can easily scream without any issues?

I have and I still do

But not to worry cos in this article I will be showing you the major 5 types of metal screams and how to easily do them

By this time next week, you will be confidently strolling into your vocal booth and screaming your heart out on that new record of yours

1. Screams

These are usually the loudest and the most common of metal vocals

They also hurt the most to your voice when making the switch rapidly from singing to screaming

These are also the highest and the ones you see most rock artists singing on stage where they sound completely badass

These are the second loudest and are usually less harsh on your vocal cords

A good example of a growl is one done by the lead singer of the rock band, System of a Down

These are not really your normal vocal chords hence the false added to the name

They are way more lower and very easy to belt

They don’t hurt as much as screams and growls. The first time you attempt them, your vocal cords may hurt a bit but that’s perfectly normal

First and most important, the things you need:

Water will keep you hydrated, make sure to drink A LOT. It is so important to keep well hydrated.
Tea is good to sooth the chords especially afterwards because it feels really good to put something warm on those aching chords.
Honey keeps your voice smooth and also sooths the chords as well. Honey can be eaten straight or put into tea, whatever floats your boat.
Strong vocal chords are very important because some people cannot rip those sounds out of their throat, or they are just not doing it right and it sounds like a banshee screeching her bloody head off (or it sounds like my brother trying to scream. *shiver*)
Patience is key because not everyone will get it right off the bat, it takes a lot of time to get your tones and sound just right, I’m still trying to scream cause I can only do growls right now. Practice makes perfect, and for this you need to practice a lot!

“Why avoid these things?” you might ask, well I’ll tell you:

Sugar can crystallize in your throat and you could really hurt yourself when you try to do a scream or a growl.
Caffeine… That one is the real kicker because it is everywhere… The hype of growling and screaming could hurt you, too, your heart could explode if you have too much. If you do drink coffee or energy drinks do it in moderation because I’m sure the lot of you don’t want to die.
Milk… This one can build up excess mucus in your throat which is really gross because you’ll end up spitting a lot.
Alcohol can burn your throat and that could really hurt especially since you just tore up those vocal chords screaming your lungs out.
Cold water can shock the vocal chords, it is best to drink warm water or tea right after growling or screaming.

Eat before practice.
Drink cold water.
When done with practice, don’t whisper, you could make your chords stick together which could be very damaging when you try to scream again.

Tips:

One thing you can do that will really help you is to do breathing exercises, these expand your vocal chords and make so you can do longer growled/screamed lines.
Use your diaphragm! Push those sounds out from your gut, not your throat. Not only will they be more powerful coming from there but they will also hurt your throat less.
Be kind to your chords and they will be kind to you, do what I’ve told you and don’t hurt yourself! Be safe when you do this!