Singing With Rasp and Screaming: Breathing, Throat Position, and Other Tips

[@Ralfufigus]

The "frustrated sigh" finally did it for me. I was having a lot of trouble figuring out what to do until you gave that analogy. It makes a lot of sense, and looking back on it, I feel like that should have been more obvious...

[@anthonygonzalez391]

I really like how you give all you knowledge instead of having us pay for more. You genuinely want to help and that has earned my subscription

[@Phase7FI]

Hi Andrew. I'm studying voice and gonna become a professional voice teacher in a year from Metropolia University of Applied Science. One of my students asked me to teach him the Jared Leto scream. I thought I could teach it, but since I've been only studying classical voice for a year now, I had lost my scream. I went trough the KZbin for hours finding nothing reasonable about it. THEN I FOUND YOU!!!! Thank god! :D Let's hope I can find my scream/rasp again and teach it to my student. But I will definitely recommend your videos to him - Cheers Andrew! :D

[@AndrewSouthworth]

When I was learning I picked a few days to try to scream and rasp, the first day my voice was toast, haha. The next day I kind of figured it out. Then the third day I internalized the sound and realized I figured it out! This was after several years of trying, but never doing it too much because I was afraid. It took just going for it to finally figure it out. Now a few years later, i've never had any vocal problems screaming or adding rasp.

[@AndrewSouthworth]

Thanks! If you make the 'ankk' buzzer sound, that is the same technique for adding rasp. It really does take a ton of trial and error to make it work without affecting your voice, but you'll have to work through that rough period to get it. My best advice would be to take a few days and just go for it, just fool around with the videos until it happens without it hurting. Don't do it for more than 10 or so minutes if it hurts, and stop when its too bad. You should be able to get it, good luck!

[@AndrewSouthworth]

I would recommend trying the stuff in this video, and checking out all my other rasp/screaming lessons. I have a screaming and a singing playlist on my channel. It does take a lot of trial and error to get the rasp/screams right, so don't give up! It seems like you put a lot of work into that other scream, so i'm sure this isn't the news you wanted to hear, but relearning the rasp technique will help immensely. If you have any more questions after that, feel free to ask! Thanks! -- Andrew

[@guidufort]

Thanks a lot for the kind reply Andrew! I think I'm gonna pass on the rasp thing for now, and try to erase the strain and tension I put to my chords when I sing. Once I feel comfortable enough I'll put all my effornt on finding that raspy sound! Cheers mate, and thank you for shareing your knowladge with all of us, you rock!

[@JoseMichtka]

Emotions in singing . 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@AndrewSouthworth]

Thanks! I'm glad it helped.

[@evandooley1656]

Your videos are seriously the most helpful ive come across, and you actually sound really good. thanks!

[@AndrewSouthworth]

(P.S. if you re-learn the rasp stuff and record another video with it, i'll be happy to check it out again).

[@christopherecatalano]

This is really brilliant stuff, as you are a great vocalist and make the experience very transferable to other vocalists to apply in their own ways. Thank you!

[@AndrewSouthworth]

Thanks Chris!

[@AndrewSouthworth]

No problem man, thanks!

[@AndrewSouthworth]

I would say any song that you like thats in your range, haha. Fair To Midland has some great songs that have a lot of head voice, that have helped me a lot to work on. Periphery, Tesseract, and Parabelle also have some stuff that would be great for working on range. However, i'd still recommend picking bands you like that have songs with parts JUST above your range, and then you work on those parts to gain those extra notes.

[@bauxi1990]

thank you so, so, so much! i always wondered how to sing with rasp and to scream. i thought there are people who naturally can do that and people who can't. but it's not that hard to learn. sure it hurts a bit, but, as you said, drinking is very important. so, thank you so much for your videos!

[@AndrewSouthworth]

Thanks! I used to think it was something people could naturally do as well, since I spent SO much time trying to learn to scream/rasp. I think the biggest limitation for people is fear, people are afraid they'll hurt themselves so they don't try. Once you realize that you're not going to cause any damage through short term trial and error, you can just go for it and make all sorts of weird noises that may or may not hurt. Eventually one of them sounds good AND doesn't hurt, and you have yourself a scream.

[@SmarterTebya]

Andrew,thanx for video. btw, nice dexter poster on the wall. That's very cool that you listen to the people that ask you to do videos on diff topics cheers !

[@AndrewSouthworth]

Just listened. It sounds like your doing this weird grudge thing for the rasp, which is not how its usually done. Usually the rasp will sound thick, and it will be loud, and it will be more aggressive than singing. It sounds almost like you're doing the Melissa Cross scream, but mixed with singing.

[@huynhcris]

Im getting the rasp but the sound im getting seems too sharp or thin like the guns and roses singer. How do u add more depth into your voice using this?

[@chrismoran8360]

Awesome voice and great info, Andrew.

[@adammaynard6764]

hey andrew, amazing clips man, thank you so much!! just wondering, you quickly mentioned struggling with your pitch at some point? ...was there anything in particular that really helped you get on key? been trying different approaches for years: )

[@TheHog107]

thanks for trying to help us all! Rock on!

[@melhordamusicabrasil]

Hi Andrew...thats awesome, like all your videos. Thank you for that rich informations. Just one question, im already have support, but i notice that i need some modulation in my up face, like back of my head and in my eyes, i noticed too that you change you eyes face for some feeling or tought, like you put some expression in your eyes, thats is something to know about that? sorry for my english! Im from Brazil.

[@MsBrittBee]

Hey Andrew I love your videos! Do you do skype vocal lessons? Because that would be so awesome!

[@Xplosiw]

What school did you go to, anything related to sound? Awesome singing videos dude, really love them. Helped me a lot to clear my mind and just sing rasp instead of try to do it haha!

[@AndrewSouthworth]

Thanks! I'm actually in college now for mechanical engineering. Originally I was going to go to Berkee for audio engineering but it was WAY too expensive and I realized I should go to school for something that can actually provide a good living. Science is my biggest obsession next to music, and my goal would be to end up working in some aerospace related company (unless my band were to get famous or something, haha).

[@JoseMichtka]

Hi man, good tips. In 7.29 you put your larynx down ? in any moment of your singing you up your larynx? Thank you

[@guidufort]

Hey andrew! I really enjoy your videos! But as you may already know, I having some trouble finding the inicial buzzer sound, without hurting my chords. Also I realized that I can make like a growl, or really low scream, but when I try to add some sound to it, my chords start to hurt. Thanks a lot for your lessons, you seem like a great guy, and you sing like a baws. Regards from Uruguay!

[@AndrewSouthworth]

Thanks! The only way I know which videos people will watch is to take recommendations, and that way I know it will help the most people. Otherwise I would just be shooting in the dark, haha.

[@bengorillachristiandude6438]

Hey man. Nice work. I am training my voice for rock music and I am trying to master that raspy vocal quality. I can sing pretty well with my clean voice and I can hit this high-pitched, almost falsetto-sounding, melodic scream note done by rockers such as the lead singer of Whitesnake, Ken Tamplin, James Durbin, PelleK, and Adam Lambert. I can add that raspy quality to my high notes, but it is a little tricky doing it in my regular voice. I think I might have found a way. I want it t be more like that of Chris Daughtry from Daughtry, Lzzy Hale from Halestorm, and David Draiman from Disturbed, but I think it might end up sounding more like Chester Bennington from Linkin Park or Jared Leto from 30 Seconds to Mars. When trying to use rasp for singing, I tend to concentrate into my head or into my chest, and it comes out kind of screamish. I can't always control it and I'm not sure if it sounds good or not. Am I on the right track, or is there something I can do differently? Please let me know. Thanks. - Ben

[@CosmicVulpica16]

Thank you Andrew, this help me out so much! I cannot thank you enough! :)

[@bobu5213]

What you say at the start is very valuable to me. About just keep trying and practice. How long did you practice to get where you are today? I ask that more in the context of the time this video was taken.

[@bobu5213]

I also have a question because when I fry scream I absolutely cannot get a note out. Or at least I'm pretty sure, it cuts off quickly anyway. How do I keep my chords closed enough to sound raspy but open enough to let a note through?

[@AndrewSouthworth]

Hey dude, glad you found this helpful. I started screaming / singing with rasp in like 2009 or 2010 ish. So that should give you a good benchmark as you watch my videos of how long I was doing it at each stage.

[@AndrewSouthworth]

Just like you said, its a lot of trying and practicing. Its a fine line to balance getting that false cord closure but also getting a note out. Eventually you just kind of make a sound that feels okay, and sounds close, and keep refining it until you have control over it. The ANK buzzer sound helped me a lot when I was learning.

[@bobu5213]

@@AndrewSouthworth Thanks that was what I wanted to know.

[@daretobelieve369]

How can I learn screaming like Sam carter???

[@mouiedhayaly3374]

it's good to watch lessons from a DIY guy who can actually do it, so tired of Melissa cross(s) out there, I have a question, how do you keep balance between the singing and the rasp? I fall on one of them, and my rasp vibrate slowly even when I'm singing high notes, thanks Andrew.

[@AndrewSouthworth]

Thanks! Sorry i'm taking so long to reply, must have missed your comment. What do you mean you fall on one of them? I usually practice rasp in a 'revving' sort of fashion. So i'll start clean singing, add a little bit of rasp, then increase until i'm full out screaming. You can apply this to any vocal exercise - do the exercise clean, with a teeny bit of rasp, then more, then more (think of turning the distortion on a guitar amp from 0 to 10). This will ensure that you can do every amount of rasp in between singing and screaming, and gives you a lot of vocal control.

[@BlackdevilL84]

Okay, so every time I attempt to sing to a grunge song (with rasp, of course) or attempt fry screaming, my throat starts to tickle, then the tickling gets more intense, and now I just start to cough and gag. Heck, I cannot even act like a robot and do that 'robot noise' without coughing and gagging. Is this only because I have not been drinking enough water? I just want the tickling to go away so I can keep learning. Reply if you can. Thanks!

[@JesusChrist-ss4pz]

Nice video man pretty much covers everything I was looking for ..just one question ...I have a good singing voice and I was wondering will screaming destroy my good singing voice as I have heard it will ...please reply really nees to get your view on this :)

[@dentkachivsky9223]

I'm not Andrew, but I am 100% sure that it won't :)

[@princeofassassins96]

Hey, I expected bad news bro I noticed my rasp sounds wrong too, and thanks man. I'll keep trying.

[@Непопулярныйканал-г8ж]

awesom dude!

[@tyleruyehara6679]

With the false chord screams I can't ever get the vibration with my chords plus it sounds really dry and I always drink a lot of water while trying. Any explanations?

[@SkyLifeFlyer]

Crap, I can't figure it out yet, for me it hurts, and that's why I always stop... if you are just beginning, and I mean you never ever did that, is it normal? How does it works?

[@joshmcculloch8082]

Hey I'd like to learn how to tell scream like bmth or adtr for example if you know the bands

[@darktempleful]

Hello, I liked your tips about Metal screaming effects. I would like to know how to make the powerful Dio's distortion kind, could you make a video about it?

[@brookem924]

Hi Andrew, is there any advice you could give me on trying to get that kind of raspy sound into a falsetto? Thank you! :)

[@jaida126]

how do I get rid of that tickle feeling in my throat I drink a lot of water and I try my best to practice or to warm up but everytime I go to scream it tickles if i continue it kinda burns and i start coughing alot. Need help any tips on what I'm doing wrong

[@TheMLGHispanic50]

i was wondering how do i scream like Adam Gontier?

[@jarodspiewak701]

What are some good songs for starting off? I'm trying to focus on highs but not insane highs. Stuff around Pierce the Veils highs.

[@brennanhales3786]

How can I do screams like Pete Loeffler from Chevelle?

[@MarkTav9211]

Hey man thanks so much your videos help a lot, i'm trying to sing like Chuck Ragan from hot water music and get a lower pitch. Would you be able to help? thanks man. I'm also trying to get like Brian Fallon from The Gaslight Anthem.

[@derfyderf]

I want to ask you something, is it normal when I'm learning that I feel like I'm going to vomit?

[@cyfrowa]

1:27 it seem perfect way for me to learn but every time i do it it hurts my throat :D and i keep like stopping automaticly is that normal and how long is it going to take me to learn it oh dude as well can you explain a bit more the whispering Technic please.

[@jassimnuwaider4941]

Am i a good person doing bad things ..or a bad person doing good things!

[@ArnoldDoesStuff]

So like I knew screaming way before I came to your videos, never had problems at all, but I simply cannot get the singing with rasp. I'm not sure why, like every time I try it, it just turns into a scream for some reason, it happens a lot, so I tried doing less of the scream technique, and it just made a really nasty sounding wannabe like scream, not good at all. Any suggestion? Perhaps maybe even explain a bit how to sing like Oli Sykes does of Bring Me The Horizon, in the sempiternal album. Thanks in advance.

[@kevenklayne4211]

I've got this question for you. When I practice my screams, I kinda warm up by singing normally 2-3 times and then I start screaming. I can scream fine for some minutes, but then, I start losing scream power. Like, my lungs are full but my screams get weak and I start screaming with my throat instead of my false chords. I don't smoke but I don't work out either. Could it be just cardio? Like if I start running on a treadmill i'll get better air pressure in my throat?

[@thefunkykrumpet5164]

+Keven Klayne I had the same problem, And i can say that it's not about how fit or unfit you are, It's about the amount of oxygen you have in order for your screams to have more power behind them. Practice your breathing before screaming, And also the less oxygen you exhale while screaming, the longer AND higher your screams become, takes alot of concentration and control. Hope that makes sense :P

[@kevenklayne4211]

It does make sense, thanks a lot!

[@thefunkykrumpet5164]

Keven Klayne Awesome! Glad it helped.

[@jack11419]

what if all my screams come out as a wisper and I don't know how to make it loader ;-;

[@bomis181094]

2:58 batman voice :D Anyways...a great tutorial

[@Massolgy]

can i have a private lesson?

[@KeithRobTV]

Hey I'm trying everything your doing, but it's just not coming out right. Would you mind doing skype lessons?

[@ReplicateReality]

+KeithRobTV from 2 years ago? good luck

[@KeithRobTV]

+Elliott Bork (peanuthead50) hey, any things worth a shot

[@ReplicateReality]

lol tru i guess

[@brandiart]

They're comin right for us Mmnnntheyre comin right for us

[@KyOte13]

hey brother I messaged you on FB... lookin 4 lessons

[@lucianradusart]

Tony Harnell?

[@AndrewSouthworth]

I haven't watched this video since I uploaded it, do I mention Tony Harnell? I took vocal lessons from him over Skype for 2 months or so. While I got most of my practice routines and technique from Jaime Vendera books and lessons, Tony's lessons showed me how to just freely sing a song, and to realize that the only critical component to a good vocal take is pitch and emotion, anything else is extra. Again, no idea why you're mentioning him, haha. But I thought i'd just write that just in case you were interested ;).

[@ヨナハタイセイ]

1:27

[@WysteriaGuitar]

Do that for three hours every night and you will destroy your voice real quick - for good.

[@AndrewSouthworth]

I don't think so. I've been doing screaming and vocal rasp for over 4 years. I probably get about an hour of vocal practice in a day, 3-5 days per week. If I have a long drive I might get 3 hours of vocal practice in that day. Doing all of that, I have never had one vocal problem, and have never lost my voice due to practicing or shows. I can also sing clean without any residual amounts of grit, and when I talk I don't have any rasp in my voice. Three hours a night is very excessive, but if one were to work up to it through practice, and hydrate properly, and take a few vocal-free song breaks, it would be fine. Depends on how hard the parts are, and if its all screaming, heavy rasp, or light rasp.

[@jack11419]

what if all my screams come out as a wisper and I don't know how to make it loader ;-;

[@igor230693]

Maybe you are doing guttural