Vocal Coach REACTS: Tool - The Pot - Maynard James Keenan (MJK At His BEST) Aggressive Singing Tips

Free Voice Lessons: chrisliepe.com/free-your-voice/
My Website: chrisliepe.com
This is an incredible song and I think, one of MJK's best performances. There are many dynamics and textures to his voice and, in this song specifically, there isn't a whole lot of production getting in the way.
His performance is front and center left undiluted by lots of doubles or vocal arrangements. It's raw, heavy, emotionally-infused ROCK. Thank you Maynard!

[@djhaughey1]

Anyone else get chills listening to Maynard sing?

[@chrisliepe]

Yes

[@dantemack88]

No, his voice is not as enjoyable live anymore 😞

[@Merovinjian]

@@dantemack88 bruh he's older. He's going to age. Lol

[@dantemack88]

@@Merovinjian lol same 😈

[@tobiaswedin]

@@dantemack88 His voice is enjoyable but in a different way. I miss the growly anger in his voice when doing Tool but if I listen to the latest album thinking it's A Perfect Circle it's awesome lol. But yeah, the choir style melodicals he does nowadays isn't really Tool

[@Heatwave9000]

Finally a reaction channel that doesn't just pause to say OMG this is so good.

[@chrisliepe]

Double heart! :) thanks for noticing and watching!

[@robertlorenzenjr9801]

I think one of the most underrated aspects of Maynard is his ability to get handed these crazy songs/instrumentals 😂 and put great vocals and a story to it.

[@chrisliepe]

I agree!

[@kitpalmer1583]

What he did with Rosetta Stoned is maybe the single greatest reactions to a piece of music ever put to record. How the fuck do you hear *that* piece of music and respond with that all-time great vocal and lyrical performance?

[@EisensteinPrime]

Tool doesn't block. They love sharing this sort of content. If you contact the band they might be open to letting you use the isolated vocals. Maynard especially believes in art and educating people about art and its value in society and our individual lives. Great video. Not a singer but it's always fascinating to learn how one performs vocals like this. Especially Tool/Puscifer vocals.

[@kitpalmer1583]

Unfortunately the thing is, it's the record label that blocks stuff. And I believe mostly it's done automatically- they'll have a setup where any copyrighted audio is automatically detected and flagged. I don't know that for certain, but that's the impression I get.

[@jarltrippin]

Maynard captures anger better than any other vocalist I've ever heard. I've always loved how pissed off he sounds in this song. It feels so real.

[@chrisliepe]

Even when he’s quiet and subdued he sounds angry :)

[@EricLS]

Agreed. Though, “Hooker with a Penis” is the most pissed off song of all time. I feel like he’s able to capture anger at this point in his career, whereas on Ænema he just literally was angry.

[@damanOts]

So what youre saying is that you dont know who Corey Taylor is

[@dantemack88]

@@EricLS agreed Ænema you could tell he was upset and frustrated and at the outro “I’m praying for rai-an” (he extends the “in” in rain for it to sound like “rayen” again amazing song and talent

[@viking_nor]

@@damanOts he sounds angry when he tries to be. This is not really the same.

[@coma13794]

wow, hearing a world class vocal performance being broken down by a male vocalist in that field....doesn't get much better. I have appreciate the emotional/visceral response of many other coaches, but this it the first I've heard that goes into this level of technical detail. Absolutely outstanding, thank you!

[@chrisliepe]

You're so very welcome! Thank you for watching, appreciating and seeing the value in my approach!

[@br00cezx]

Can we just acknowledge how entertaining this guy is?

[@ericgoodwinart]

Wow, I’ve never seen a breakdown video that not only talks about what Maynard is doing but also teaches it and replicates it in spades. Killer video! You’ve got some amazing vocal chops👍🏻

[@laurapechonis9172]

Chris, for the pure record here, as someone that comes from a VERY musically talented family, but also as just a musical lover, you are absolutely insanely talented, my friend. Much respect and appreciation and thanks and love.

[@callyatheoriginal]

What can I say it's my favorite Tool Song (Vocally) and it makes so much fun to sing! Now even more with you helping out. Thanks a lot Chris

[@chrisliepe]

You’re so welcome!

[@alsatia1]

My favorite too! There's just so much going on in the vocals! So hard to try to learn correctly...

[@SethChirdon]

I absolutely agree 👍🏻

[@lemurowskii]

One of the greates vocal performance in the whole TOOL discography, even though the bar is set unbelievably high.

[@chrisliepe]

I very much agree Mikolaj!

[@ciphergrey6298]

Really? Tool is easy for me. What makes you say The bar is set unbelievably high? Then again, Sober was one of the greatest songs for my vocal development. I’d like to understand your thoughts on this.

[@conorhartfitness2103]

Cipher Grey- i would say maynards dynamics, vocal agility, and odd cadences in phrasing make it unique and difficult for some

[@lemurowskii]

@@ciphergrey6298, I would say that if you look at the development of Maynard's vocals, he has always been at the top of each process. If those are the skin-shivering screams at the Opiate EP (love Hush, Jerk-off, and the title track), Undertows' energy, phrasing and dynamics (well, he had awesome help from Sylvia Massy, who is an awesome crazy producer and helped him deliver on spot, you can read stories as she ordered him to run around the blocks outside so that he was angry at her), Aenima is just another planet for me man if I have to be honest, that's when Tool peaked in my opinion as a band, but the vocals just take you to another dimension. Then his vocal technique was world-class at Lateralus and 10,000 days and the latest album as well. That's why I believe that the bar was set unbelievably high and as I can assign specific characteristics of performances to other vocalists, Maynard seems to be quite complete.

[@ciphergrey6298]

Most appreciated on the responses guys! I’m always looking to improve, and your opinions help more than you may know!

[@jospehmoore6625]

Finally a male vocalist breaking down Maynard’s vocals. This is refreshing and was needed. Not taken anything away from the woman that have done it, but to really have a better understanding of Maynard’s voice you really need a male vocalist that knows what he’s doing and this guy does an excellent job in breaking it down.

[@Muyumbui_Curtis]

Word.

[@jessekroon987]

When I was just a wee lad I always thought the intro was sung by a woman. Such a great voice.

[@chrisliepe]

RIGHT!?? He really does a good job at becoming a different character for this one, especially at the beginning!

[@christophervolosevich7567]

@@chrisliepe Joe Barresi, the engineer of this album, had a lot of really cool production tricks he used on this track you can look up. Really creative stuff.

[@user-03-gsa3]

@@christophervolosevich7567 gonna look into this, thx

[@luismejia6802]

I love these breakdowns. They let you in on subtleties that you can apply to your own singing. And the way Chris demonstrates with his own voice what the artist is doing....golden.

[@jessekroon987]

My favorite Tool song. Had to watch this.

[@chrisliepe]

One of my favs too Jesse!

[@fb39371]

I seriously have never clicked on a single video and not learned something. Your consistency is inspiring and truely speaks to the understanding of your craft. Your a game changer man and I think your being stifled for it; you should be WAY bigger than you are.

[@pendragon3434]

You taught me things about a song I've listened to countless times before that I had never noticed. Always a good feeling to get goosebumps when you finally notice a particular technique. Definitely earned a sub from me

[@tenzobanz1953]

I love how Chris nerds out over Maynards Heaven sent voice. I know brotha. I know.. 😭💯🤘🏾

[@jamiegunn]

Love how you do reaction videos, and all your videos. Your demonstrations and explanations, and how to internalize it in a personal way, but it is more than technique you bring out. You show how to reach deep into your own heart and pull out your expression. These are treasures. Thank you so much Chris for all that you are and do.

[@chrisliepe]

You're so very welcome Jamie! See u on Zoom soon!! :)

[@oldwolf3218]

Thank you Tool…taught me how to listen to music. Welcome to the Tool Army if you choose…🇨🇦❤️🙏

[@schism6976]

🤘🤓🤘

[@axc1080]

This is amazing! Tool is one of my fav bands and this is my fav Maynard vocal. Thanks a million for doing these, very insightful

[@bryanscheafnocker2526]

It's interesting how in the intro he masked his voice by making it thinner and lighter and ended up sounding more like an aggressive female vocal, which is more impressive cause if you listen to some of his other stuff where he sings much lower you can definitely tell he doesn't even have a naturally high thin voice.

[@philedry]

Thanks so much for making these videos. Your analysis is what gave me the confidence to join a Tool tribute band. Keep it up man.

[@bularecordz]

Chris, you deserve a Noble Price in phisiology of singing :) awesome video, sending this to my friends who listen to Tool to encourage them to try to sing. You are a hero, man!

[@DavidBatson]

This was awesome to listen to. I've been on a bender of watching tool reactions and this is a great different taste in the middle of that banquet. Thank you very much, it was super interesting.

[@tactical.precision.disarray]

I’m learning so much! Please keep doing more reactions like this

[@not2sharpmd]

I agree that this is MJK at his best. The Pot, for me, should be regarded as one of the best studio vocal performances of all-time.

[@kyubi1997]

Muchas gracias Chris!! Cada vídeo tuyo es una experiencia de mucho aprendizaje y mucho disfrute.

[@codebox3377]

Top reaction Chris! One of my fav all time bands!!!

[@ryanweiskopf888]

DUDE!! Lot of vocal coaches on here and most of em just talk about it vaguely or maybe sing the same notes, but damn you can back your shit up! Great talent dude. Subscribed

[@chrisliepe]

Thanks for the sub!

[@abramtreadwell722]

I love all of the tones in this song. Amazing recording from top to bottom

[@mbrad2669]

What a breakdown... showing the difference of vocal levels and intensity

[@EmbraceTheWorld1990]

Love your videos Chris! It blows my mind how much you sound like Cornell when you add that grit to your higher notes 🤘🏻

[@chrisliepe]

:) Thanks! on several levels :)

[@notarumnazop6786]

Hello Chris, you are realy the best Vocal Coach I´ve seen in my Life.

[@jacksharpe1953]

Amazing walkthrough! I’ve been struggling with getting volume when compression and I’m moving in the right direction now thanks to your videos

[@hamescradel4175]

I enjoyed that mate ... thanks for doing it 👍

[@MagnumMuscle1000]

Maynard's performance on this tune is amazing. It's an extremely wordy song and his timing and phrasing is on another level. I've been working on it off and on for a week and it's tough.

[@Mattskito529]

This is amazing! Thanks Chris! This song slaps!

[@han36solo]

Awesome stuff thanks Chris!

[@squishy312]

Great job! This is the most informative reaction to this song that I've heard yet. The Grudge (Lateralus) has an ever longer vocal fry at the end.

[@plasmaquark]

I love these vids👍helps a lot with my vocals, been on a deep dive with Chris Cornell and learned a lot from you on how to annualise vocals, keep up the good work fella.

[@anfie2495]

I absolutely love how you break down all the nuances he's using! I being a layman totally overlook it, I just know it sounds good, so I listen haha

[@mikeh4068]

I love this!

[@dmarkin]

Chris teached me vocal rasp/mixing voice/hitting high notes without actually teaching, he's a pure talent i think, thanks a lot! Inspiring

[@TheClicheGaming]

when you replicate the exact phrasing bang in tune with same tone and expression, impressive!

[@ninjanutzforfun1105]

Been wanting work on my singing awesome video!!! Exactly what I needed love this song been nonstop listening to Tool

[@NeXusZT]

Man Chris, you've been nailing it. Big wreck and now another Tool? Crazy good stuff. So much to learn from these incredible vocalist/songwriters.

[@chrisliepe]

I've been having a lot of fun digging in lately :) Thanks for coming along!

[@NomadicBrain]

I love the way you describe different vocal tones, the distribution in body. Not something i see often.

[@GapcrozMx]

Ufff amazing vocal review of Maynard :P I really enjoyed it

[@christophervolosevich7567]

Was lucky enough to see this live during the 10K Days tour in 2007. They play it a whole step down now, which is totally understandable as MJK is older and that song is hard as hell to nail.

[@CoachJasonCurtis]

Remember, MJK’S intent is to sound more like an instrument rather than as a separated voice. He likes the background, literally and figuratively

[@ciphergrey6298]

One of the greatest songs in my arsenal,when I first learned my true voice, was sober. Props to Maynard!

[@ServiceInstaller]

Never seen your videos before but I will watch more. This is by far the best "reaction" video I've ever seen. It's more of an analysis rather than just some dumb surprised faces. The way you emulate Maynard is second to none. Makes me consider the process he went through to create the vocals to this song.

[@ractorstudios]

🤘🤘 I love how you love it. Maynard is the king

[@chrisliepe]

:)

[@schism6976]

Very cool video🤘 Thank you!

[@TimiTamminen]

The perfect person to react to this song, since you’re both a fan and a very talented singer/teacher yourself with a similar voice to Maynard’s! It’s definitely among his greatest vocal performances, there’s so much nuance and unique power to his performance that is a joy to listen to yet he also makes it all sound so effortless while sitting up there in that upper area. Maynard’s a technically talented singer but his voice also has that ‘special something’ to it, his vocal tone is just naturally pristine and pleasant no matter what he does with it. Love this video! Would love to hear you react to something by Graham Bonnet in the future, for example his solo song “I’m a Lover” (ridiculously good vocal performance), “Hiroshima Mon Amour” by Alcatrazz or “Stand in Line by Impellitteri. Very powerful, effortless voice back in its prime.

[@goochmcduck4285]

Such a primal and tribal feeling. Awesome video

[@giuseppefenu3377]

Bellissimo lavoro❤️💪..good job🙏.respect!!!

[@jonathanaxelsson9484]

Just started listening to Tool 2 months ago...cant stop going down theese rabbit holes of people reacting to their songs! each one enrichens my experience! Such incredible musicians!! Don't think i will ever go back to "Booring" metall...

[@abysswatcherparabellum2960]

Nice! Severed from Mudvayne deserves a video too.

[@justtv1164]

Thank you so much Chris! 👍🙏

[@crawlFace]

Great exploration of the vocals, super fun.

[@djhaughey1]

My favorite band of all time!

[@cristian9657]

You such a great coach bro

[@alsatia1]

My favorite Tool song. So many great intricacies in the vocals. So glad there are people breaking it down. I honestly don't think he sings a melody line the same way twice except for the "Weeping shades of indigo" line in the 3/4 bridge (or whatever you want to call it) section. Some things, like the chorus, might be close to the same but there are always at least small changes to the note selection. Even if it's one or two notes, such as how many different ways he sings the word "high."

[@pat2100]

The baritone video and now this! your videos have really been hitting lately

[@chrisliepe]

So glad Patrick! thanks for watching!

[@beehype46and2]

Comment for da algorithm Streak count: 129 Hell yeah one of my fave singers

[@minjamike]

Holy crap this was fun to watch!!

[@pw5803]

Very helpful with the broken "crow" scream. I'm having trouble with that singing Maynards songs. I sing to clean. This was great. Cheers from Sweden.

[@Johnny_Blaze]

I got to your channel from Courtney LaPlante...but I am gonna stay because you got a bunch of Maynard. Consider me subscribed!

[@dillonquackenbush3895]

When I listen to this on my system and actually pay attention to the song I get chills the entire time and can’t stop drumming along to it haha. Also the bass guitar in this song I hum way too much randomly haha

[@chrisliepe]

It's a pretty deep song all the way around for sure. Maynard caps it off in an amazing way. Might be my favorite Maynard performance.

[@GregorizZ]

So many of my interests condensed into one video!

[@chrisliepe]

NICE ;)

[@sicariusflamus3033]

"hopefully youre experimenting with your voice while im doing this" your insight on how maynard is singing like this is helping me try to evoke what he felt as i sing along to this. granted im 4 shots of vodka deep but it still significant i think

[@oxpersonaltraining8335]

Anything and everything Maynard does is 👌 I would really enjoy seeing/hearing you do a breakdown of Lamb of god - Laid to rest

[@thirdeyeblondabbyarrington1083]

One of Maynard's best! Who am I kidding? Everything Maynard does is Maynard's best!

[@tanner3285]

I was so excited because at first I thought this was Mudvayne! Oh for the sweet love of God please do Mudvaynes song called Dig. You rock!

[@dillonquackenbush3895]

That would be absolute insanity and I’m here for it if you’re up for that craziness Chris haha

[@DansSmegead]

Amazing! This is great stuff. Hope you can find those iso tracks some day :D

[@chrisliepe]

ME TOO

[@amindehghan5754]

MAN you have a great voice yourself! 🤘🤘🤘

[@chrisliepe]

Thank you!

[@fenderfox5080]

I think this is one of Maynards best

[@mitsanut5869]

What I always hear (when listening to their music) that's so different with Tool from all other bands is the symbiosis of massive but not dirty guitars and very well voiced drums with ever present Maynard's velvet color to his voice, kinda like soft veil hanging over it at all times that makes it such a pleasant listening experience. What this guy is describing does takes practice but I think that many of the singing skills, especially in rock music come naturally to vocalists like Maynard, Plant, Sting or Gillan. They are simply gifted with tons of ability to feed off of the music that fits their natural tendencies where most others have to train hard just to get similar results. With vocalists like that, there is always a huge dramatic element to their voice that cannot simply be copied. Another thing that wasn't described here at all is the feel for the underlying beat if the song and maximizing the effect of it by alternating between using the vowels, either with emphasizing the hard beat and inserting syncopic element with very skillful phrasing and using the unique elasticity of English to drive the emotion. Every TOOL members understands better than anyone else today that the sound of every instrument (and voice is an instrument, too) is critical to emotions they want to evoke for everyone, including themselves when their music is being played. Pot exemplifies this more than any other of their music. It's just pure perfection from start to finish.

[@CoachJasonCurtis]

MJK is the man in music. 💯🔥🔥

[@PhrankJWhite]

Please do more Tool or A perfect circle songs. Really enjoyed your analysis . Hope u can get some isolated vocals that would be amazing. Great video .

[@User-SHar]

For me, it was hard to focus on listening to vocals, because instrumental part is so f*** cool in this song! Love it!!!

[@ltlt1219]

Good job!

[@TamboProducciones]

gracias!

[@jasonstanko]

Awesome explanations! Would love to see fear inoculum on here someday

[@innosanto]

MAynard is a great master of singing.

[@theletteronyourcoat]

Live, they play this song down to C instead of D these days. Adds a whole new dynamic. It’s pretty awesome.

[@philedry]

Oh man, got to see if my Tool tribute band will do it down a step now. That seems way easier to sing live.

[@theletteronyourcoat]

@@philedry Definitely. Pretty sure it’s why they do it with MJK in his late 50’s now.

[@richskater]

I understand not wanting to immediately do this song again, but would love to hear your compare/contrast of the cover from Sophia Urista and Brass Against at some point. The Tool Army is picky about covers of MJK, but this is one of the few that get the stamp of approval.

[@shyamseepersad7599]

full 100% agree. it was because i heard that cover i decided to learn this song

[@scrabs9]

Same!

[@claymiller2409]

Bro, awesome video and breakdown! Just a humble suggestion from a fan with no channel and zero followers, I'm sure you get this stuff all the time haha, but there are a few times where after hearing your analysis of a pass and explaining what's going on, it would be nice to hear it again before moving on. Just to kind of be able to hear it again once armed with the technical knowledge you provided. Thanks for doing what you do!

[@chrisliepe]

Thanks so much for the suggestion! I'll definitely keep that in mind as I move forward!

[@johnseward2934]

lol this was so great to watch. I feel like Chris needed to spend on hour on vocal warmup just to do the reaction and analysis.

[@WinterhouseRecords]

Chris! Another recommendation. Check out Jonny from Nothing More! That dude is insane and has quite a variety in their last 2 albums. If you need some songs recommendations: 1. Don’t Stop 2. Jenny 3. God Went North 4. This is the Time 5. Go to War Can’t go wrong with any of their songs but I tried to find some diverse options!

[@RhiannonTyler]

Dat bass ❤️❤️❤️

[@DamonDroop]

Supposdly Maynard is purposely using that "thinner" voice at the begining of the track as a representation of a secondary narrator.

[@scrubsscrubs694]

This was hilarious 😂 and so entertaining

[@ZL1LoVeR]

Love your videos, Chris! Will we get Vessel from Sleep Token on the list? Incredible and unique voice. I recommend “The Offering” for a first listen

[@ivsiguitarist]

Please analyze Warrel Dane from Nevermore, one of metal's greatest voices. Give a listen to The River Dragon Has Come. There's a live version on KZbin which really shows his techniques.

[@brunos.6852]

Awesome video!! Could you make a video about Billy Corgan's unique singing?

[@almostdarkslide3851]

Video filled with quality. Thank you. Now I dare you to react/analyze The Grudge, especially the final scream he does. LOL I also suggest Rosetta Stoned, he use his voice in many different ways. I love the part when he sings: "Overwhelmed as one would be, placed in my position Such a heavy burden now to be the one, Born to bear and read to all The details of our ending To write it down for all the world to see " I wish he expanded that part a little more, anyway is one of my favourite songs, but with Tool is like saying you like one of your children more than the others.

[@Muyumbui_Curtis]

Great video. Learned alot. 🤘🏿 And you kinda resemble Chris Daughtry or he resembles you. 😆