How to Sing Like Axl Rose (Embrace NASAL... Think THIN... Mix Well)

Free Voice Lessons: bit.ly/2MyiOYn
My Website: chrisliepe.com
Axl's energy and playfulness displays true vocal freedom, particularly in his most famous studio recording moments. He's a great example of a versatile mixed voice and how starting with a thin, nasal approach can help any singer work lots of variety and agility into their singing. In this lesson, we'll take what Axl does to an extreme, experiment with our own voices and discover how much is really possible with his approach. It's exciting!!

[@zachh2213]

This is amazing. Currently in week 7 of Discover Your Voice and I am feeling like I will be able to do things like this soon!

[@studiomacleod]

Link to Discover Your Voice?

[@innersoundjsd5770]

@@studiomacleod chrisliepe.com/ i just started, with week 1 ;-)

[@thomasche]

And that actually covers one side of his voice. He has an awesome baritone voice in songs like it's so easy, brownstone etc...

[@bradford_shaun_murray]

yes but this video is more about the honk aspect 8:13

[@KingCrimson82]

bass not baritone, baritone is not as deep as most people think. he is at the upper bass range

[@AcE-mj8ye]

Axl can sing a song like he has three voices in his primes...

[@maribethmontano2545]

Yesssss deep husky and like a broken glass very nice voice

[@stebolian]

Axels speaking voice is very Baritone , very deep

[@gillianomotoso328]

Bass-baritone!

[@vegeta1885]

because he is

[@bradford_shaun_murray]

Sometimes it's low but sometimes not. Depends on what mood he is in when he speaks: If he's speaking to a girl in the city and she says to him "...hi Mr Rose sorry to bother you but where am I?" it would be like at 15:58 But if he is drunk and pissed off after having a fight with Slash or escaping a riot at a concert he would say it more like at 16:18 or even 16:33 (with that crow sound taken to an extreme)! I'll be going now...bye.

[@barry1369]

Axl*

[@DarkDragonSlayer]

we know who axl is, but whos axel?

[@nunopereira526]

Axl's amazing singing blows my mind, heard all Guns songs and he's a god. What is amazing is just how natural it feels to him, even tough sometimes live performances are very hard...like singing You Could Be Mine, Coma and his reckless singing overall.

[@rasmusbaltser7761]

Drugs, cigarettes, age and most important of all - live performances killed his voice. He sings perfectly fine on studio versions but when it comes to live performances, he loses his vocal control and damages his voice.

[@badgasaurus4211]

@@rasmusbaltser7761 Yawn

[@tangentboard]

@@rasmusbaltser7761 Exactly. In the studio he can rest between the songs, and do it again to it get perfect. He cant do it live for a very long time.

[@rasmusbaltser7761]

@@badgasaurus4211 why are you here if you find it boring?

[@badgasaurus4211]

@@rasmusbaltser7761 It’s a boring comment, repeated on every single video related to axle rose. I’m making you aware that people don’t like that type of comment because it gets spammed everywhere

[@PhiDX]

This level of detail is phenomenal, I feel it’s been missing from so much KZbin vocal content. Cheers

[@elgringo5137]

This is exactly what a thick voice like mine needed to hear! It’s probably the most hilarious, and yet useful, tutorial I’ve seen on singing high. 😂

[@nahiyanalamgir7614]

Finally a video on the mighty Axl Rose; thanks Chris!

[@yusazua]

Awesome man.. I think Steven Tyler should come next. He have impeccable technique. And how he can still sing at that age is really amazing.

[@lorenzosarli2310]

AGREED !

[@Jdizzle6969]

Yesssss!!!

[@volumeswell802]

Perfect

[@vo1cehead]

Steven is TOUGH man... I was in an Aerosmith tribute for 2 years. IMO, he has some very special vocal 'damage' that is incredibly difficult to replicate without it

[@RobbieFitzgerald]

Your control is out of this world.

[@LinhNguyen-bp9hd]

nice explanation and demonstration! Despite training for years I still have trouble hitting these notes comfortably, let alone adding extra nasality like this due to my baritone voice. How Axl can train his voice to this level of agility is just amazing, as I know how hard it is

[@mak8836]

I always wondered how he could sing like that. He sounds like his voice would be destroyed after one song. Very informative, thank you.

[@mroleg904]

He has a natural very law voice. Like batitone. Going on high pitch in mixed voice gives him a lot of low frequnses in his high voice . Not many people have that.

[@nahiyanalamgir7056]

With proper techniques, you can sing like that without hurting your voice. I've tried belting like Axl Rose for years now and I actually feel like my voice got stronger over the years. It's a muscle afterall.

[@canyasarofficial]

I'm not just talking about this video. You are the best vocal coach on earth for me. I really stopped singing, man. We are given a false vocal education, with a lot of lies. Thanks to you, I am back and improving my technique. If I come to America one day, I will hug you and thank you. I love you Man!!

[@thomasche]

One of the greatest voices from one of the greatest and most enigmatic frontman ever.

[@rileycronin-schneider8101]

I’m very excited to watch this! Axl’s vocal technique is so fascinating to me. Your work ethic is awesome Chris! A Paul McCartney tutorial would be awesome too! He’s got so many different tones that he uses. Thank you for all of the tips!

[@captainalpaka1551]

Paul is / was a melody master. Few singers created so many memorable melodies. But yes I would also be interested.

[@niclausflorek6795]

Greatest Frontman. W. Axl Rose.

[@arni2293]

no

[@arni2293]

With all due respect to axl who is my second favourite singer of all time, the greatest frontman is freddie

[@thomasche]

Facts

[@UnknownRealityMusic]

I'm still not comfortable in my ability with using mix voice to really give this lesson a go but, your easily in the top 3 vocal coaches on youtube, and I would say without a doubt #1 when it comes to styles compression, breath control, grit. The fact you explain clearly in such detail on every video, and don't follow the common trend of being like sing this sound, use your diaphragm and that's it I love; I'm not left uncertain if I'm even doing it right. Also, not be bored out of my mind is a huge plus, it's not like pulling teeth just to come back and practice/watch a video. Your the man Chris! :)

[@pedrokoury1352]

I learned so much with you and it all came from experimenting and being intuitive. I love your way of teaching because it is the opposite of sitting in a classroom and reading about stuff instead of internalizing them. Recently someone asked me if I've had singing lessons and I told them that I had, perhaps, one lesson but really the best way to learn is by experimenting with your voice safely.

[@chrisliepe]

YES

[@kadosoto]

Now this guys is a REAL teacher, comprehensible

[@evasanchezsaez8685]

I've seen a video where a Spanish vocal coach analyzes Axl Rose's voice. It's very interesting because he talks about the effect of distortion of his voice due to that he uses the ventricular vocal cords.

[@zimonslot]

Do you have a link to that?

[@VIDEOHEREBOB]

Chris, You are so spot on. Awesome tutorial. I was never a fan of Axl's character voice because of the feigned element. But he sure is a highly revered singer.

[@b_side8669]

Now if you can hit that I.R.S extremely high note at the 3:34 mark of the song then you good sir are absolutely amazing lol

[@mauriciovilela2168]

Finally the video I've been dreaming about for a long time. I first started to enjoy Rock by listening to Guns N Roses and Axl has been my favorite frontman since then. But I could never sing Guns N Roses songs because I never really got how his voice works. I have seen many other videos of other coaches on how to sing like him, but no one ever got even close to what you do in terms of unpacking one's voice and opening up an ocean of possibilities for us to experiment with our own voice in order to get close to what a singer does. Thanks once again for making dreams come true, Chris! Cheers from Brazil!

[@duskoparipovic7110]

Awesome! One realizes even more how unique and original Axel is! The next one should be James Brown!

[@JohnnyGTar]

Axel's lower register reminds me of Ozzy really. Thanks for another great video!

[@chrismeadows4216]

I've always viewed it as kind of a mix of Ozzy, Elvis, Rob Halford, Steven Tyler, James Brown, and Mick Jagger. Obviously he's very committed to using dynamics, but there are definitely pieces of every influence there.

[@cristianocaruso8677]

As a non-native speaker I'm kind of shocked that 'Axlism' obviously isn't an actual word. Yet! Thanks (again) for these great, great analyses and tutorials. By far the most informative videos on singing here on KZbin. And although it's probably not the most 'popular' singer, maybe you could one day do a video on Stephen Richards from Taproot.

[@duyanh7992]

Thanks a lot for your work Mr. Liepe. Now I can sing like Axl and self-improve this singing style. Love your videos.

[@HairyTheCandyMan]

The most important part of making any singing authentic is the personality you inject into it. That's why I love Axl's goose and Cornell's dead cat!

[@12aw23asd]

I was waiting for this for so long, thank youu

[@VOMBERMETAL]

Best couching on KZbin about Axls voice

[@studiomacleod]

In my new band I almost exclusively go for the Axl/Dio sound and I’ve been needing something like this bad

[@jackrussell1601]

What band

[@studiomacleod]

So happy to see Axl covered !!!!!!

[@grahamcarruthers9840]

Awesome once again - loving this one especially as i ama huge GNR fan! - the trialling of the different sounds has helped me loads in my technique.

[@bartoszulkowskitattoo]

This is highly underrated channel!

[@nothingworks230]

amazing video. I am addicted to watching your video all day long.

[@brianlewis8722]

I'd love to hear your take on Axl's vocal gymnastics during his famous live show in Paris, '92, the fire and ice intro and the crazy outro were both legendary. So much energy. Btw, first visit here. Nice work!

[@jennydang4339]

Not a big Axl fan but this lesson has changed my mind - killer breakdown, thanks Chris!

[@neoneherefrom5836]

You should never need a vocal analysis to change your mind about a subjective preference which is the right of any layman music lover.

[@jennydang4339]

@@neoneherefrom5836 if I’m introduced to a new perspective of how to view something I didn’t original like, can’t I subjectively change my mind in terms of the way I viewed it before?

[@victorfmaia]

Excelente o vídeo. Não entendi 100% pois não tenho inglês fluente. Eu fui vocalista de uma banda cover do guns n roses há anos atrás, e só hoje consegui aprimorar e chegar "perto" da voz do Axl. A grande chave da questão é que ele tem um alcance vocal único de graves aos agudos. Seu timbre também é exclusivamente dele, isso torna difícil aplicar técnicas vocais para ficar bonito cantando Guns. O Axl sabe exatamente onde e quando encaixar cada nota da sua voz. Sabemos que ele é um barítono, e para cantar as notas agudas ele aplica técnicas nasais e com muita saída de ar, envolvendo uma certa pressão e drive na voz. É como se a voz dele fosse "recuada" em todos os aspectos. Outra coisa que o ajuda bastante é o nível do seu fôlego, além de manobras usadas no proprio microfone como aquele abafador, ele tonaliza a partir disso potência e volume de voz. Não é fácil fazer um cover do Guns. Hoje posso dizer que "estou próximo" mas ainda falta aprimorar bastante, o que me ajuda é que meu timbre se parece com o do Axl, o que dá uma certa sensação de voz cover. Parabéns pelo vídeo! 👏👏👏

[@andrearo485]

Vc é de onde queridão? To precisando de um vocal pra guns cover...

[@manuelechilleri]

Chris thank you for videos like this one, you really explain and make us understand things easily.. saving us a lot of time trying to figure out what to do. I think you’re one of the best sing teachers out there, thank you again.

[@RealUncraizable395]

his voice suprised me at first

[@MrBigoteMusic]

What an awesome vocal explanation. Thanks Chris this helps a lot for newbies like me.😀

[@Nick6661992]

Thanks Chris, always so informative ! How about Sting/ Phil Collins? Could be awesome!

[@camerontaylor8126]

Thank you! You explained everything perfectly in this video

[@Dadaadad268]

Great video. Sometimes you looked even surprised at your own voice!

[@chrisliepe]

Haha, yep! :D

[@tomaseisenhammer8291]

Make a video on Ivan Moody of 5FDP. His deep power in both clean and aggressive singing is unmatched.

[@ludwiggengnagel6093]

I wish axl rose sang like axl rose again...

[@philprobyn1655]

Another fantastic breakdown video, thanks Chris! 👍🏼 🎶

[@NinjaSpecter]

Please, analyze Skid Row's Sebastian Bach! He's amazing.

[@derangedband]

Fascinating! All the honking going on in this video! 😂 I'm not a singer but you just can't help but join in and trying some of this stuff. I really admire great vocalists and I do tend to warm to the ones with distinctive character. A bit of theatrics in the performance!

[@viliuskasmocius1962]

Yes! I just thought of that and zou did it! Love your content. And I am going to buy your course definitely.

[@THEGAMEIHD]

Gracias por tus lecciones de canto, son de gran ayuda para no destrozarnos la garganta, mil gracias :D

[@arthurdalla2908]

Awesome! Thank you so much! Because of you maybe i will find some points i need tô work it out. Thank you so much

[@nuke2625]

I think the twang voice he does in his normal voice contributes a lot to his tone. You can especially hear that in knocking on heavens door where he over does it tells a lot about his techniques. BTW you sounded more like the REV from A7x than Axl. Seriously.

[@SaRaSa2012]

I wish you can explaing how was done the super high "Pterodactyl" scream at the beginning of welcome to the jungle, after the oh my god phrase.. I love that sound haha, thanks!!!!

[@Saabdude40]

hey Chris, can you do a video on breath support for singing drummers? I find I am running out of breath while trying to sing and play drums and it is difficult to play drums and sing as well as I do while standing and doing a duet with our female singer. Thanks.

[@citizen6610]

I have a thought.. Was guys like Axl born with the “gift” of singing with correct breath support and compression etc and just did that naturally? If so, is it really possibly for someone who was not born with this “gift” to learn to sing high quality notes like him? Thanks for your wonderful work 🙏🏼

[@chrisliepe]

The “born with it” argument shouldn’t even be considered. It can all be learned and practiced. With the right approach and attitude :)

[@vegeta1885]

As how AXL told it "Were were fooling around in choir and I came up with this voice that fooled the teacher I was a soprano" as a kid in choir. Maybe this is not the exact quote but it tells the story. So he basically using headvoice, just over the years he learned how put a distortion layer over it.

[@Stinkydo0d]

I read he developed singing like that in choir. Then Izzy heard Axl singing Nazareth's Hair Of The Dog in the shower using that voice, and Izzy was floored. But that Izzy story is just a story. We don't know if it's true or not.

[@Aussie2006]

​@@vegeta1885yep, i read also that somewhere... if he could do that already as a kid it says it all

[@evasanchezsaez8685]

You are the best teacher!

[@s.kanessuperbiatv6464]

This is the video I didn't know I needed today 😁

[@Zeithri]

> Think THIN I'm sorry, the hilarious "Fat Axl" meme makes this impossible.

[@chrisliepe]

Hahahahaha

[@inxs5860]

Hurhurhur funny 😒

[@Dunmaghlas]

@@inxs5860 agreed

[@bendover7614]

Lol

[@HairyTheCandyMan]

Hurhurhurhurrrrrr

[@ojoyful1]

"Wooo, where do we go now......" sounds like a bit of Katharine Hepburn's vocal sound thrown in ; )

[@jessielove173]

It’s trippi how you can do these different peoples voices.

[@mrspgp]

God, in like '92-'93 when I was 20 y/o lol I always bitched & say I'd give my left pinky or ovary to see Axl and Layne sing together back in the day, Hell, what an eargasm that'd been🥰😢

[@RapidCycling07-p5v]

Please don’t take Our Lord’s Name in vain. Peace!

[@lindacooke7840]

My dream is to sing like Axl haha

[@irreverentium]

Great video as usual you're tackling all the hard ones

[@mennoedelenbos1526]

Awsome man 👍 respect good singing mate!♥️ Love it 🔥🎸

[@TammyLouize666]

I love you're videos there funny but so good !❤

[@juanv5375]

You forgot Axl's low voice, like how he sings Don't cry.

[@barry1369]

Or shackler’s revenge even lower

[@reanochannel369]

I can sing like axl rose bcause i learn myself so for me its so easy man i have a natural raspy voice so i just must make hard pitch voice to similar like axl btw tq for this chnnel

[@seanclements3783]

It’s funny, I had an easier time singing these songs using a Myles Kennedy approach. Trying to come at it as Axl does is definitely a little more tricky for me. Using a thinner mix/head voice is something I’m going to have to work on!

[@rasmusbaltser7761]

Kennedy’s vocal it pretty basic. It’s like a rip off of Axl’s vocal and style but with less edge and less raw power. His and Slash’s own songs are amazing but he murders every GnR song he sings completely. He’s a great singer but he should never ever sing another GnR song while trying to imitate Axl

[@nahiyanalamgir7614]

@@rasmusbaltser7761 Agreed.

[@Zwopper]

Your take on Glenn Hughes would be GREAT!

[@alexnora-hp9or]

so thx to youim 14 and stopped singing for a while then sang after a long time and tried to sing one of the easiest songs i like which was sweet child o mine and now im slowly getting to the high range singer i was when i sang two octaves higher then freddies the great pretender with speaker its not bragging its an achievement not proving im better then freddie as my parents say freddie is an amazing singer with nice high vocals so thx to people like u for showing me techniques im trying to get high note on dream on

[@newsalad7644]

Any of AC/DC singers are gonna be shown here? I'd love to learn something about both of them ❤️ And thanks, I think this channel really has lack of subscribers Very informative

[@eduardofeitosa9757]

Dude, you just gave me an extra octave with this video lmao

[@chrisliepe]

YESSSS :) !!

[@LeeJCander]

Love your videos! I'm mainly as a classical singer but love rock and metal. Would love it if you did someone like Pavarotti!

[@sangremexicana0996]

Really amazing video. Pls make one for Biffy clyro Singer: Simon neil. i would love to see how you explain his way of singing. Greetings from Mexico!

[@hedaros17]

Nice!!

[@hunteroswald5023]

Would love to see this for Tom Keifer from Cinderella. Now there's a unique voice

[@acrushtic]

yeah...nobodys fool

[@ellielovesbands]

could you please do Shannon Hoon next? since he was friends with Axl Rose. Shannon is such an underrated singer

[@cgutierrez7844]

Can you cover the David lee Roth style of screams. I’ve only really seen one other singer able to duplicate it and that’s Michael Starr from Steel Panther. A lot of vocalists have tried to figure this out throughout the years and I believe if you do a video on this subject many of us would really appreciate it.

[@chrisliepe]

Great idea! I'll have to figure them out first hehe :)

[@TJRFilm]

Sorry to be so brash, but how about Roger Daltrey, with the song water. What an animal. Love you channel, love your material! Keep it up!

[@SickestSinWithin]

I would love for you do a skid row or even steel heart it would be fantastic 😀

[@rasmusbaltser7761]

1. Great lesson 2. Your lesson lacks Axl’s rasp to make it complete. 3. Can we please talk about that absolutely INSANE Joker laugh @14:45 it was terrifying and awesome at the same time man....

[@bradford_shaun_murray]

4:28 ... sweet scream of mine.

[@bradford_shaun_murray]

5:26 bright blue sky

[@gillianomotoso328]

You would love assessing Happy Rhodes' use of mixed voice :) A much more honed and purified variant of what Axl does.

[@mohammadqhman4855]

Btw, i noticed some artists put their lower lips above their teeth making them move their jaw a bit forward. I noticed that you kinda do it. Does that help with anything?

[@chrisliepe]

A bit of tone shaping. Keeps the brashness and over bright sound at bay

[@spiritsplice]

You need to move your placement more towards the front and out of your throat when you go higher. Axl is doing the same thing Halford does in Painkiller, but with less scratch in most places. See Out to get me, or the You could be Mine. It is a very nasally pharyngeal pinch in the throat. That forces everything towards the front.

[@AmazingSam179]

Please please please do steven tyler next

[@Retsillan]

Just saw this on axl and its great. I was wondering if your could do skid row in the future!

[@robertplant6592]

Hi Chris! Is it possible to have a serious analysis of Hansi Kursh's (Blind Guardian) voice? 'Cause he has a very curious color, he can reach really high clear pitch, sounds like a Mermaid (listen The Eldar from Nightfall in the Middle Earth) and also he can has the darkest gritty voice like the Lord of the supreme evil but keep what he sings clear. He has a solid and unbelievable technique also in live and still keep his voice in shape at 55 years old. Please do a couple videos about him!! Thanks!

[@dedemomo4193]

Awesome Axl video Chris 😻 How about Sebastian Bach next?

[@mapinprasai80]

Sebastian Bach and axl rose they both use same technique like you said nasal mixed voice is it true chris

[@peytonparabdeen2413]

How are you not a certified rock singer?

[@laburnibyboone3435]

This is epic

[@rasmusbaltser7761]

The “Baaaaah” sound @18:10 sounded a hell of a lot like Freddie Mercury😳

[@marka2773]

Can we get an Ian Gillan demo? That guy knew what he was doing.

[@АртёмСалахетдинов-ь9в]

Hey this is Chris Liepe and were gonna DIEEEEEEEEEEE

[@p_ter2934]

Please, make one about Paul McCartney

[@vincent_vidal]

This is great! Thanks Chris! Very helpful! Now, adding the « chockin goose », « crow » thing, strains the neck and its hard to imitate axl for long periods of time...

[@BrexDeMercy]

I alredy get this a lil bit like when u teach the dying cat method...i tried to sing dying cat+nasal and kinda like open smily face ....but i feel like i have wierd sound now but i hit the note..😂

[@ichzerowan-music6591]

Should also look at Klaus Meine, he's singing using his mixed voice, but rounds it so that it is both powerful and beautiful. Have a question, how to get rid of kinda "plate" part of the voice? Very often in mixed voice I can hear some unpleasing creak...

[@chrisliepe]

Check out this video! I think it will help you out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n3vTqWNmr69mbKM

[@IchZerowan-dev]

​@@chrisliepe thanks, I have already followed that video recently :) Ok, I'll try to figure out how to combine the two for the sound I am looking for

[@d.hunter1099]

hey Chris, amazing video as usual! really enjoying the course and all of your content. Do you have any plans of making a video like this about Benjamin Burnley ? (Breaking Benjamin)