How to Sing Like Serj Tankian. System of a Down (Versatile, Musical Acting) Break Out of Your Shell

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There aren't many singers able to pull off the diverse energy and theatrical versatility that Serj Tankian does. He and the rest of System of a Down have mastered the DYNAMIC performance! At the same time, Serj's voice is fantastic. His range, tone and approach can teach us a great deal about our own voice if we know how to study it. Join me as I break down some of the techniques he uses to get his sound and discuss how, taking a cue from his reckless abandon, we can break out of whatever shell of shyness or self doubt that we trap ourselves in.

[@brandondufrene4706]

A Jack Black video would be interesting. He is an underrated vocalist with a lot of versatile vocal techniques.

[@anderswik9487]

Very good point 💥

[@saidoterodiseno]

YESSS! He's amazing!

[@sciexp]

He is comical, probably this has something to do with it...

[@herman-phillipkleingeld2578]

Definitely down with that! 🖤

[@first1097]

Yes pls

[@Artofwar3004]

This is the best KZbin channel, EVER.

[@ComradSputnik]

A screwed up Freddie Mercury... Nailed it

[@J.P.-Panahi-il1sg]

Oh I love this! Hoping for more Srrj in the future, this guy is a goldmine

[@josea.salinas6784]

the best of your videos is when you make comparisons of the sounds one after another for showing us the differences

[@RobertT1999]

There are master tracks, including vocals for every song featured in this video, if people are interested. As well as Spiders and Hypnotize.

[@han36solo]

Awesome lesson Chris!

[@Steve__________]

"It's almost like a tongue twister." I-E-A-I-A-I-O

[@FCValle]

yeah but "ieaiaio" comes right after "peterpekerpickedanotherpicklbearpussypepper WHYYY" so yeah

[@half_emptygirl]

@@FCValle HAHAHAHHA

[@Tessimistic420]

Great story behind the track i-e-a-i-a-i-o that's what they were singing when they were thinking about the lyrics for the track and it sounded so good they left it in.

[@Tessimistic420]

I-E-A-I-A-I-O is a Great vocal warmup too💯❤️💯

[@Rodrick_pookie]

​@@Tessimistic420 ieaioaio is a kkk chant

[@Gworan]

I don't even sing, just wanted to see someone else try this.

[@chrisliepe]

Cool!

[@sambosak]

Same!!! It was so facinating to see him break down, analyze, and demonstrate all the different vocal profiles Serj Tankian uses. I appreciate all the details he brings out to everyone!

[@stranayadevushka]

The best compliment I've ever gotten after performing is that "I'm like a female Serj". I'll never forget that! 😁😁😁

[@chrisliepe]

Awesome!!

[@stranayadevushka]

@@chrisliepe yea dude. He's my #1 vocal inspiration. I've also been compared to Grace Slick ,Cher, and Delores O'riordan, too! 😁😁😁 but Serjie- poo is my main squeeze . Lol

[@emilbrandwyne5747]

@Harley Violet Staley 570 Yes I am very special too

[@itsbritneybitch7253]

holy shit

[@noname-bu1ux]

is it because you have a sweet beard, or because you sing well?

[@Artofwar3004]

He said that he never took vocal lessons ("i m not a trained musician")...now imagine his IMMENSE talent, combined with 10-15 years of vocal coaching...that would have been insane

[@szabolcsmezei4088]

I think the struggle against one's own technical limitations and the freedom of a non formal training are very important ingredients towards an interesting career. With Serj I think it's more about the freedom, another favourite singer of mine, Bono (before 2000) was more about the urge to go against his limitations (including the band's untrained musicianship).

[@ziudra91]

@@szabolcsmezei4088 I agree. The shouty singing style he adopted for the Toxicity record which is not healthy for your voice simply would not have happened had he been vocally trained.

[@noname-bu1ux]

Its a lie. His parents had him in lessons in childhood, its probably just that they didn't teach him anything.

[@pedrobasso2503]

@@ziudra91 it’s really impossible to sing like he did in Toxicity without hurting your voice? There are ways of sing like that with the proper technique?

[@ziudra91]

@@pedrobasso2503 No because he is shouting and shouting is bad for your voice.

[@gamingguitarist6927]

This man's confidence I would never 💀

[@chrisliepe]

😁

[@RobbieFitzgerald]

I want to hear a full cover of Chop Suey now. Edit: this one seems like the most fun to do. And I think Serj had some operatic training.

[@flanimate]

Actually i think he said he learned all this by himself, and that makes him even more amazing!

[@harleymumford94]

Just so you know Daron is screaming 'why do they always send the poor' Keep up the good work Chris, love the videos, super informative and helpful

[@chrisliepe]

AH YESSS! I knew someone would know... thanks!!! :)

[@THernane]

@@chrisliepe That and the other high register scream (the one that is panned with the clearer voice of Serj in BYOB) are from Daron too.

[@UMF6]

It's mixed between "Why do you/they send the poor".

[@Luke-qe8so]

serj is literally my number 1 insperiation for singing, ive based everything off of him

[@alexsgameplaysmore4839]

14:15 he is saying "why do they always send the poor"

[@user-oy7gz5bf2h]

Yep

[@ashscott6068]

No, it's "Why do they all hate Centerparcs?" And the answer is the shitty food

[@giuliano8031]

Ash Scott But why is the lyrics in the internet saying the above one?

[@suicideisproofoflife51119]

Why do they always send the poor! 🤘🏻

[@Soldier1287]

I thought it was “why do they always hit the floor”

[@CarlosValman]

It seems like you're having a lot of fun making your videos. It's contagious. 😄

[@chrisliepe]

I do have tons of fun!! Thanks for watching them and commenting on them :) It means I get to make more and more!!

[@no.9464]

My name is Carlos too 😲

[@ronnydzaster5279]

How to sing like Jonathan Davis or Chad Grey would be really cool.

[@chrisliepe]

Thanks!

[@breakingbetween8963]

jonathan davis please

[@ashscott6068]

Oh yeah. Johnathan Davies! His distortion it really unique and so is his tone. Like him or not, you always know it's him singing.

[@KrishmanyuThakur]

Fun fact: Serj and Freddie Mercury's vocal range is almost the same. I think it's about 4 octaves 🤔

[@mateocontreras6641]

Actually, 2001 Serj would sing bohemian raphsody perfectly

[@barlowjmb]

@@mateocontreras6641 if I could go back I would fight for this.

[@jacobsowles]

That demo of screaming "disorder" was such a great example of how much placement can change your sound. Looked like most of the change was coming from your tongue position too, which is interesting. I'd love to see one of these videos on Wayne Static. He's got such a percussive sound on the lower end, and keeps a lot of voicing in his screams. Pretty unique sound.

[@agustinjauregui2127]

can you do tatiana from jinjer? screaming aside, she has a really unique singing style

[@suicideisproofoflife51119]

I can do growls like her it's really easy if you can growl like Nergal or Phil or like Corey can even do highs like Oli from the previous Deathcore Era of theirs Count Your Blessings - Pray for plagues ... Growling takes like 9-10 months if you practice like 1-2 hours a day... Highs will take maybe 6-7 months..

[@radiotipo.studio]

Goddess of music

[@agustinjauregui2127]

@@suicideisproofoflife51119 ok?

[@dorukyucebasoglu9539]

@@suicideisproofoflife51119 How do you know if you got the right technique though? Let's say I found a way to produce that sound (which I haven't) and practiced that for a year, then destroyed my voice. What does the correct way to do it feel like?

[@suicideisproofoflife51119]

@@dorukyucebasoglu9539 I use my diaphragm dude I don't hurt my voice anymore & Chris's videos have helped me a lot I can scream easily & I don't feel any stress or hoarseness in my throat practicing with the right technique won't fuck up your voice & you can use your brain while listening to the songs as well just try to tap in what the singer is actually doing on which part they stress or loosen their voice accordingly listen to the song precisely & you will come to know how to execute them & just refer to these videos religiously... And you can use his free vocal course to unpack your voice basic build up is a must. You can't get screaming instantly you need to understand the variations & you need to build up your voice once you are done with your base voice then you can start getting into the scream part by part you need to loosen up your throat & that's how you do it...

[@satanasluciferi7278]

I know I'm 2 years late but he says "why do they always send the poor?"

[@UMF6]

FYI daron is saying " Why do you always send the poor!"

[@Zavgorodny]

Yes. I believe it's "Why do THEY always...", actually.

[@UMF6]

@@Zavgorodny It's actually they/you mixed throughout.

[@groovemoustache]

And also it's keys being left upon to table, not kids.

[@Walterwhite-fd4vy]

@@groovemoustache I used to always think this when I was younger and I thought the song was about an actual father lol

[@RichardFriendartist]

this will be fun. I am friends with John the drummer. Serj almost has a Jello Biafra bounce to his voice...Daron is great too. I love his voice honestly and his band Scars is great/ Your rock Chris!

[@veRGe02]

I would love to hear a video from your perspective analyzing the controversial changes in Serj's vocal technique between his 90s/early 2000s performances compared to after 2005 (or especially 2011)

[@Artofwar3004]

Same

[@noahchristopher3390]

You finally did it, I’ve been waiting for SOAD for a long time. I’m not disappointed, great job man! Keep up the great work! Also, side note, Daron is screaming “Why do they always send the poor” in the beginning of BYOB

[@chrisliepe]

Thanks, and I'm glad it was all you were hoping for :)

[@nicosilva8724]

Daron deserves his own video also

[@JULIUSPROJECT]

This content is pure gold ..You are basically covering all my favourite singers....Thanks Chris!!!

[@IsraelIvanCastro]

X2

[@pacodelabarraangelm.1666]

my mom enter to my room: what are you doing? me: 15:37 XD

[@tnfloose9023]

I would like to see a Vocal breakdown of Dreaming by System of a down.

[@Soadownz45]

I second this.

[@itsbritneybitch7253]

YES

[@salamon90]

16:38 Serj was loooking through your browser history and found porn sites

[@chrisliepe]

haha

[@gmTyler]

WHY DO THEY ALWAYS SEND THE POOR!

[@chrisliepe]

THANKS :)

[@X-EvilAsh]

Can you please do a B.Y.O.B Song Cover?

[@crisisnite1]

Some where be tween the..... he isn't exhaling the whole time he breaks his breathe its chunks of air bursting out. That's why it's so separate sounding.

[@deworldzlastpunk666]

Can you please do Rob Zombie?

[@Mcrapansel]

you need to do Mike Patton he has ALOT of sarcasm and humor in his music as well. I am pretty sure Mike Patton is Serj' number one influence^^

[@RonnieGavelin]

Yes yes! Really looking forward to a Mike Patton-video!

[@lyqst]

This would be awesome, but how do you cover everything Patton does in a short video? Dude does so many different things with his voice.

[@kirstenjewell5297]

Serj is such a unique and talented vocalist, I love SOAD! got a new sub from me!

[@chrisliepe]

Great! Welcome to the channel! :)

[@kishalayroy4978]

The more i watch and try to understand Chris's videos the more i understand about my own voice. I absolutely love your content, keep up the amazing work!

[@chrisliepe]

Thanks so much!!

[@thomster8639]

Man, I don't comment on YT videos very often but I just gotta spit it out. This video was absolutely fantastic my dude, SOAD is one of my most loved bands and people often try to analyze Serj's singing just in theory, and I really appreciate how you explained and demonstrated everything, whilst having a lot of fun - made the video that much better to watch. Keep it up dude!

[@JaEbala]

Really nailed those Serj tones. Great and practical lesson, thanks a lot for your good work!

[@ConfydeMusic]

I sing in a System of a Down tribute band, this was so helpful even though I've been doing it for over 5 years!

[@chrisliepe]

Nice!

[@youtuberson4077]

5:00 sounds like he's teaching a stadium full of fans, i love when you can hear the fx chain during a speaking part

[@illuminati666]

Yes!!! Daron Malakian is my hero! Not very many people talk about or respect him! 🤩💯😍

[@mrJoshSullivan]

WHY DO THEY ALWAYS SEND THE POOR?

[@markmalinowski5951]

I'd love to hear you sing BYOB in the style of Panic at the Disco but Ten Second Songs wouldn't be happy

[@chrisliepe]

nice... good idea!

[@Torrment]

Such a good character voice, still think you should do Darroh Sudderth from Fair to Midland - crazy control, lots of forward placement but oddly soft consonants, manual vibrato where he pinches his throat skin, crazy low distorted vocals - just a bunch of tricks in the bag.

[@OldMateRiver]

There are so many things about his voice that I'd love to learn about.

[@michaeljennejohn8969]

I'm sure someone had said it but its "why do they always send the poor" not WEGBLEDLEBLEHBOOR"

[@haykolikhaykolik8593]

12:38 you're wrong. there is no mix here. if you listen ever before the middle east singer, they all can do this flip. it's a special gift for armenian and kurdish people. ı request to you listen şivan perwer and harout pamboukjian. serj's sound similar these guys

[@coronaguy1829]

I can do that n im not an armenian or middle east

[@lastor9283]

Please do a Jello Biafra series? Soad took a lot of thier influence from the dead Kennedys.

[@hluv77]

"Why do they always send the poor" They're talking about wars. It's always the poor on the front lines

[@RhiannonTyler]

Something about this relates to your cover of I Hate Everything About You, which is excellent. Also a breakdown of Concrete Blonde would be interesting, The Vampire Song and Days and Days, there’s great bass playing and some unique vocals

[@chrisliepe]

Great ideas!

[@liukeiner]

This is awesome!! Although I expected to see the part of Spiders when he goes like "befoOore you knoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO" hahahahaha

[@georgeferns1234]

This guy have a unique style of singing and screaming

[@FreimannMusic2]

Chris, could you give some advice how to hit notes such as G4 with a chest voice like in the first example? I can only do mixed voice and pretty thin :(

[@altEnte]

14:15 : Why do they always send the poor ?! P.S.: Finally got the difference by ear between compression based grid and the Chest/Head sweet spot. Thank you so much!

[@elrealoide3197]

15:20 I know its a little late, but if someone looking at the video needs to know, he's saying "why do we always send the poor?"

[@cainedavenport1187]

this is serj but he shaved his face and talks about himself in the 3rd person

[@RonZombie91]

Dude I've learned a lot from your videos but you often get the lyrics to the songs wrong.

[@FatherLamb]

respect! Learned a bit here. But btw its "leave the keys upon the table" lol

[@praffeserx]

DISOOOORDERR...DISOooOORDER...DISORDER...DISORDER.....DISOOOoOooOOORDERRRRR

[@usamahijazi9499]

you have to cover some of serjs vocals on their first album. that would be awesome!

[@x_aureum]

the second sentence in the description of the video is so rude and unnecessary when the first sentence sums it up perfectly fine without the comparison to a mental illness, that when afflicted by, your life span is immediately cut by 9%-20%.

[@chrisliepe]

I've changed it. My sincere apologies for my insensitivity. Thank you for bringing it to my attention, I will be more careful about my phrasing in the future!

[@x_aureum]

@@chrisliepe thank you my friend

[@joenorway47]

2002 Serj is probably one of the best singers ever

[@crispybacon3168]

5:00 sounds like goku

[@Scucca1]

The eyebrow work at LA LA LA LA LA ououououhhh is amazing 😂😂😂

[@vonkatartistry]

"why they always send the poor" Is the line Darren screams lol

[@Dani-rs9ik]

Daron is screaming "why do they always send the poor"

[@marcoarriagadadiaz9183]

Amazing!!! Waiting for Tom Chaplin and Luis Miguel

[@RichardFriendartist]

oh and since people always throw out video ideas. I'd love to see you do Shannon Hoon. I have never been able to emulate that breathy quality he has...Galxie is an amazing track to break down...I'd die if you did it. I would love to incorporate a little of that vibe into my voice. I know you like to lean to live versions...his voice is a little tore up here...but check this and then the studio versions for the difference. kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3immJqLlJ6lmKs this version on Letterman is a little better: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jZfNm36wgZp8mpo

[@vinnymatos]

Serj changed his way of singing... Its different now to my noob ears

[@Utmus]

Daron is saying “Why do they always send the poor” 😁

[@needart3904]

I love the fact that you apologize for a misplacement of the neck engagement coz it proves the technique actually works so good !!

[@blue5had0w]

"WhY dO tHeY aLwAyS sEnD tHe PoOr!!!!!"

[@GuppyAlienVT]

It is my life goal to sing like Serj

[@Nicole-fx3ei]

pls do bjork!

[@gabrileo8]

Can you do John Lennon??

[@gergoretvari6373]

Daron screams "why they always send the poor?"

[@shane864]

Man you're a great fucking communicator. I'm sold, gonna start your course when I get home after the holidays. I've realized recently that everything I want to produce REQUIRES a vocalist that's in my head and it's just impossible to find, so it has to be me. Have to put in the work. I've been looking for the right person casually for a while. Yer it.

[@chrisliepe]

Awesome Shane! Thanks for watching and engaging with my videos. Looking forward to working with you more!

[@thelionzmusic]

How to sing like Chet faker?

[@clueless_mitochondria]

Daren is sauubg why are they always send the poor

[@AgentBravo45]

I like how this video was uploaded the day I got back into SOAD ha what a coincidence

[@PontodIl]

bro, you are amazing, so impressive

[@00Towelie]

Why'd you leave the kids upon the table?

[@owa-fc7bk]

Darren is saying why do they always send the poor

[@noname-bu1ux]

Daron: "why do they always send the poor?"

[@madelen9279]

It’s funny when you do it I can recognize many of Serj’s facial expressions when he sings and understand why.

[@honzanavratilcz]

6:10 😂😂 I died. By the way thank you for video, Serj Tankian is very original and great singer.

[@leonamfidalgo7603]

Thank you David Draiman! LOL

[@lucaloureiro9428]

"This isn't Slipknot..." XD

[@newsalad7644]

I guess he sings "why do they always send a poor" And I'll be happy if you'd made a video about AC DC and Bon Scott primarily, even tho rock n roll ain't that popular these days...

[@Ani-bw4dx]

“Why do they always send the poor”

[@thebeetalls]

9:50 you got me with that "honk". ^_^

[@skoomadealer5173]

Thank you so much Chris. I requested this artist (as I imagine some other people did), but didn't think you would do it. Serj and Daron are two of my favorite vocalists and I've been waiting for something like this for a long time.

[@henriktumasyants5699]

Why do they always send the poor?

[@Remixdestreamers]

Subtitulos pls

[@CodeProvider]

do you have a vid of your mic set up?

[@chrisliepe]

Not yet. Great idea!

[@CodeProvider]

@chrisliepe oh, thanks. looking forward to it. this vid was awesome btw.

[@makoshark7122]

"WHY DO THEY ALWAYS SEND THE POOR!" Daron

[@ACTUAL_FACTSS]

I cannot hear the song the same again

[@michelangelo1136]

My thing is how in the world does he scream in the middle of suite pee. He sounds like he's inhaling or exhaling all I know is it's very unique

[@chrisliepe]

ya that's awesome!

[@coronaguy1829]

Suggestions screams is more unique

[@twistededge8307]

Phil anselmo is a great singer. He doesnt get enough credit