Heavy metal singing

[Sailor Charon]

You could try cutting your balls off*

*Apologies- it had to happen and we may as well get it out of the way.

I seem to recall that the lead singer of Lez Zeppelin can't hit the high notes the same way that Robert Plant could. [So, no, it probably wouldn't help]

[Nadz1lla]

There is one technique that I would love to be able to do, and that's Devin Townsend's high broken-up screams. He hits all kinds of high notes, but with that broken harshness added in. The guy is superhuman I swear! It's like two techniques melded into one!   :?

[nfe]

He even made Steve Vai listenable!

[MDV]

I had some vocal coaching a year or so ago, so I'd recommend finding a good local tutor who specialises in rock/metal vocals like mine did.  You can find one here:  www.vocaltutor.co.uk

Some headlines from what I learnt:

* breathing technique is everything - get that right, and you're well on the way
* you have a natural range that can be extended, but your voice will have ultimate biological limits
* the tone of your voice is unique to you and changing it is a VERY long process

Overall, I learnt how to breath better, how to hit higher notes and to be more consistent.  I have a brick wall at the top end of my voice and it stops me getting higher notes, plus the tone breaks up if I push it.  I now know my limits and have learnt to work around them where I can.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that you won't sound like Rob Halford or Dio through practice alone - you'd need to have been born with the same physical attributes in your vocal chords...

Something about 2 and 3 didnt sound right to me at all, but wasnt certain, so I checked with an expert - mums a vocal coach, getting people out of a clean rut and putting some grit and edge on them is a speciality of hers: she said

False, Catherine Sadolin teaches 4 basic sounds with a number of different ways to change the styles of voice, (darker, breathy, grunt, growl etc etc) and there are 4 primal sounds we all make, (speech, breathy tone, whine, belt)  the fitter and more toned the pahryngeal muscle is, the more the tone can be changed, so the permutations are endless.  A few singing lessons doesn't make anyone an expert in singing, I've been singing for 43 years and have been to numerous teachers that all say different things, the trick is to glean the truth from the bullshitee.  There are a LOT of old fashioned practices still being taught.  I would recommend CVT or BVA teachers   - Jamie Vendera gets it wrong on a number of counts regarding support (he says we should push down as if going to the loo) - which is totally contrary to the inhale, splat stomach and allow air in, sing on the exhale, slowly clencing tranverse abdominus muscles and allowing the ribcage to expand on singing while pulling the pelvic floor up - if you push it out, you might just expel air (or worse).