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 ;-)

[@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.

[@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. 😂

[@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🥰😢

[@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

[@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?

[@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

[@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

[@duskoparipovic7110]

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

[@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...

[@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!

[@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

[@PhiDX]

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

[@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

[@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?

[@tomaseisenhammer8291]

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

[@ojoyful1]

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

[@ludwiggengnagel6093]

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

[@kadosoto]

Now this guys is a REAL teacher, comprehensible

[@lindacooke7840]

My dream is to sing like Axl haha

[@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!!!!

[@RealUncraizable395]

his voice suprised me at first

[@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

[@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

[@niklaskoeberl0]

3:30, thats where Stevie T's sound is explained ^^

[@hunteroswald5023]

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

[@acrushtic]

yeah...nobodys fool

[@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

[@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!

[@s.kanessuperbiatv6464]

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

[@ellielovesbands]

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

[@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..😂

[@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.

[@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!

[@thejackers1502]

14:17 - skips to this part of the video... alright what am I watching

[@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

[@kraakvmaar1505]

You really sound like that. I wanted to be able to sing as well but there is so mutch to learn and I feel like I cannot control my body or voice to do what I should. I just dont feel these things and it frustrated me going to a teacher for half a year and only getting worse

[@АртёмСалахетдинов-ь9в]

Hey this is Chris Liepe and were gonna DIEEEEEEEEEEE

[@GianlucaImprotaPT]

can you do "how to sing like Sebastian Bach" ???

[@tadeo1976]

In those years he just Scream, but in the last years and the chinesse democracy his voice sound small , but he can reach higher notes than the real gnr last years 93-94

[@zoltannagy3710]

How about Mikael Akerfeldts growls and vocals? I really 'd like to see a tutorial about his techniques. Peace and out

[@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...

[@hedaros17]

Nice!!

[@sbowmetal7540]

Hi Chris love your content thank you so much for doing what you do you are helping a lot of ppl I appreciate that a lot can you please do one of your "How to Sing" videos on "Jorn lande" thank you once again cheers

[@vera_seppuku]

i have the reverse problem. For me the high notes are natural....but i cannot make the voice raspy

[@chrisliepe]

Try this? www.mymusicalvoice.com/p/the-aggressive-vocalist-s-master-plan-of-attack

[@alecvlogs2311]

Hello Chris, I really like this video series. I think its really helpful and revealing! Id love to see a video of how to sing like Rory Rodriguez (Dayseeker) Cheers

[@meowza]

I started this video wanting to sing like Axl Rose and ended it wanting to sing like Chris Liepe.

[@emilrasmussen8110]

Is there any falsetto influence in his singing?

[@chrisliepe]

Yes! Quite a bit actually!

[@aalfray]

Great! It’s kind of a running gag, but I think Chad Kroeger would be interesting. I recently stumbled upon some old accoustic versions of their hits (how you remind me) here on KZbin and was surprised how good he was/close to the recording. Also his voice in newer videos has changed, maybe because of his (wrong?) singing style?

[@darielfstrom2298]

How to do mongolian throat singing!

[@laburnibyboone3435]

This is epic

[@FERNANDOPENAS]

Wonder what Chris’s neighbor is thinking…. Specially around the part… nahnahnahnahnahnknees kneeeesss!!! Great work.

[@chrisliepe]

hehe... thankfully my neighbors can't hear all my vocal meandering (in this house) ... But I've definitely had living situations where I had to make really good friends with my neighbors so they knew I wasn't torturing animals :)

[@blaseproductions1978]

Can you do prince

[@aleksanderringstad8402]

How big of a factor is getting the perfect tightness of the tighty whities to sing like Axl Rose?

[@Herocross64]

[16:00] Sounds like a Rock/Metal styled Pinky.

[@obitouchi-ha7981]

Do Bruno Mars too.

[@BillScrash]

really nice! BUT WHERE'S THE HOW PATTON WE NEED PATTONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN'S

[@yannisvill6806]

patton is the man of a thousand voices.. chris cant cover them all

[@chrisliepe]

Very true!

[@hatredburning]

Please do Eric Adams (Manowar)

[@roseclarity1493]

Less of a goose and more some kind of gremlin. Or wicked witch. Vince Neil is the goose. I'll get you my pretty and you little dog too. That's how you find Axl voice.

[@stillbrian9448]

What do you think of his voice nowadays?

[@chrisliepe]

Not what it used to be, that's for sure... The Rockstar lifestyle can take it out of you BIG TIME as we see with lots of guys from this era... but age also plays into things a lot too

[@ivan-marojevlahovic1337]

15:00 You're tha God😂😂😂😂

[@Genetaylormusic]

Can you do Steve Perry??

[@Rojata19]

You actually sound like axl does nowadays.... Not sure if that's a good thing

[@adrianaewa3293]

How to sing like bruce springsteen please🙏🏼

[@peytonparabdeen2413]

A strangled goose🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣💀💀💀💀💀 soooo truuuuue

[@denilson1224]

7:58 looks like freddy mercury

[@RodolfoCruzMusic]

haha your videos are the best

[@evilcowboy]

Well how did I do in my cover of Don't Cry (Alt Lyrics) here kzbin.info/www/bejne/i6CspaiYit18mpo Kind of curious of peoples opinion of it. Have to listen to the end cause he doesn't do the Axl thing until later in the song.

[@willscorner8423]

Just to note here, uhm he sings “If you got the money honey” 😅

[@memesterboi]

My man lookin like joe Rogan

[@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?

[@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

[@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

[@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

[@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

[@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

[@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

[@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.

[@skylacken]

I want to sing like Axl Rose but end up singing like Dave Mustaine lol

[@chrisliepe]

Close enough :)

[@nahiyanalamgir7614]

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

[@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.

[@NinjaSpecter]

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

[@NamikSokolovic3778]

Axl drinks gasoline and eats gunpowder...

[@chrisliepe]

That explains his intense, ahead of the curve aging process :)

[@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.

[@juanv5375]

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

[@barry1369]

Or shackler’s revenge even lower

[@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.

[@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! :)

[@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.

[@williamskrainski8407]

11:07 "If you got the money, honey we got your disease..."

[@PeteCurrington]

I can’t believe he messes up the lyrics here...so disappointing

[@AzaiKang]

@@PeteCurrington This is a vocal tutorial, not lyrics school.

[@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!!

[@Nick6661992]

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

[@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

[@DouglasComical]

I disagree. I used to think GNR had two singers because of the difference in character between Axl’s lower and higher registers I also just realized Axl Rose should have been included in the Celebrity Deathmatch between Eddie Vedder and Scott Stapp

[@12aw23asd]

I was waiting for this for so long, thank youu

[@thomasche]

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

[@RobbieFitzgerald]

Your control is out of this world.

[@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.

[@joelzuniga5690]

Please do a Sebastian Bach video

[@lloydzama4406]

My neighbors: ahh here we go again!!🙄

[@rasmusbaltser7761]

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