Why practicing Distortion is safer than most clean singing...

It's baked into our minds that if it's harsh, it must be dangerous... But this mindset often leads us to sneaky injuries when we're singing "clean" because we think it's safer! IT'S NOT. Let me explain why! Free Voice Lessons: chrisliepe.com...
Here's a playlist you might like with more vocal care and practice tips:
• Vocal Care & Practice ...

[@chrisliepe]

Get the foundation you need to practice all kinds of singing safely and freely. Join my free course! chrisliepe.com/free-your-voice/

[@shayyan_shaikh]

Hey, big fan :)

[@WhiteCr_0w]

no matter with how many vocal techniques people come up with, your approach will never be outdated. If you cannot feel yourself, you will not be able to execute anything right consistently. With the experiments you come up with, one can learn that. I think the biggest issues people have with this is 1) being confident creating awkward sounds (I think you're doing a great job alleviating that) and 2) find an environment where they can practice that. (Also being open minded about it in the first place)

[@christopherharv]

James LaBrie used to have one of the greatest ranges of all time, but he lost it around the mid-late 90s. His voice still sounds great to this day in lower registers, but when he tries to go high it’s tough to listen to. He’s always been a major inspiration to me regardless so I mean no disrespect. ANYWAY, I would love to see you react to some of the live footage (usually fan footage) of him failing at the high notes and diagnose it and tell us what’s going on. Broadly, singers losing their voices as they age sounds terrifying.

[@MaximusAdonicus]

I've heard about this before. You'd think a singer of LaBrie's caliber would be properly trained to know how to do things properly to NOT lose their voice 😬 But I know less about the matter than u since I don't listen to DT.

[@christopherharv]

@@MaximusAdonicus LaBrie himself claims it was due to food poisoning and not taking the proper time off after to recover. But Ken Tamplin has a very interesting video on it, where he says he thinks it's more likely due to LaBrie switching to mix voice at too low of a register and not developing his chest voice into the higher registers... breaking too early, or something like that.

[@MaximusAdonicus]

@@christopherharv Food poisoning sounds absolutely mad! 😀🙉 I've watched some Tamplin myself! His theory sounds at least more belieavable, though too technical for me to fully understand 🤔

[@xfourxshadowsx]

Most clean singers use 100% true vocal folds or close to. A harsh vocalist shares that load with the false folds. Not to mention using a gritty head voice to hit notes comfortably and powerfully vs trying to achieve powerful notes in chest voice.

[@thepizzaking358]

Definetly something I've noticed, often when I try to sing fully clean I end up over-doing things, pushing too hard, straining on high notes, etc. Instead I try to dial in my distortion first before even going for any high notes. I think something thats important for people to understand is: No singer sings the same way, just like how no artist draws the same way. We all have our own unique voices, what we can do however is seek inspiration in other singers, and this is definetly something your videos have helped me with. That being said, I think another reason is that people like to think that, simply because a vocal sounds "harsh", means that it's unsafe to do, even when that's not the case at all!

[@VibeVocalStudio]

I'm constantly encouraging my students to pay attention to what they FEEL while singing, and I guide them into what feels the best. When singing feels great it's one of the best things in the world - and when it feels bad it's one of the most stressful things. I also have my clean singers learn growls or rasp at some point, and my rock screamers have to learn cleans as well because they benefit each other!

[@plattklum]

John Mayer has had major vocal problems in the past, probably because he sung with a ton of air in the early days. I wonder why a lot of rock vocalists had to change technique over the years though. For example Chris Cornell in the later years or Tim McIlrath from Rise against now. It seems like they used less (frequent) distortion but rely more on twang.

[@essac1]

Hey man, love your videos! I just wanted to ask if you wouldn't mind checking out/ doing more of a deep dive in Shaun Morgan's voice from seether ? I love his rasp and really would like to learn how to get that sound. I love the song "Pass Slowly" cause of his range in it but in the song "Like Suicide" he does some screams which are super impressive! Thanks!

[@ArronLukeMusic]

It’s all about listening to your body. There’s a video on KZbin critiquing Daniel Gildenlow and the person said a lot of what he was doing was damaging. And he also said any type of screaming/grit is inherently damaging. His argument was that if you look at vocalists who do this long term, they tend to develop vocal issues and need surgery. But this is like looking at bodybuilders and pointing out the injuries. You wouldn’t just walk into a gym and stack 100kg and bench it.. When I started out singing 12 years ago, I was fully focused on the Brett manning speech level approach, I developed a clean singing voice, and expanded my range. Harsh vocals would hurt, I couldn’t add grit without tickle etc. Years later, I can add grit as and when, and harsh vocals feel comfortable too. It took a lot of time, but thinking back it’s easy to see how I could have been discouraged (check out my KZbin videos if you want to hear my album and progression over the years to see what I mean) To anyone who read this far, always take care of your voice and keep developing it!

[@EtherealFrequency2024]

This is such a wealth of vocal knowledge for all types of singers. I can say that by personal experience with Chris’s courses. A great thank you!!

[@brentrobinson2662]

Thank you for the content as always but im still trying to hear your thoughts on shannon hoons(of blind melon) approach to vocals. Dont listen to no rain pls.

[@CyclesAreSingularities]

compression really is the key to doing this safely I feel like. I found out how it allows you to do things that normally might hurt your voice, without hurting your voice. for example if you try making your voice sound over compressed without compression it slams your vocal fold together. with compression it's like your doing the same thing but way quieter, except there's no actual volume loss. today I was looking for a way to do grit in my high chest belts, and I found I could very easily create a raspy sound by just adding some air. I was worried it might hurt my voice but because belts have such high compression I found that I could push it quite a bit before it got too uncomfortable for the duration. the thing is that everything that has pitch hurts your voice ever so slightly, which is fine as long as you give your voice time to recover. technique minimizes the amount something is gonna ware down your voice, allowing you to do it longer without actually hurting your voice. you could have to most horrendous technique and still have good vocal health if you minimize the duration of your vocals. that's why there isn't really a 'correct' way to do something, there are just better and worst ways.

[@andresyenes7261]

I think that comments like "harsh vocals are intrinsically bad for your health" come from ignorance. It can also be a fallacy of hasty generalization (a generalization based on insufficient evidence)

[@Olkam-w5u]

Chris broke the wall of tradition again!

[@CaptainChu]

Wow... what a coincidence My vocal coach just asked me how I can sing for hours every single day without straining and losing my voice from overuse (well... apart from that 1 time I tried ado's scream in unravel and lost my voice) I've always had the sensation over sound mindset. Never would I have guessed that other people don't have the same idea about singing. I wonder if my coach struggles with continuous, long periods of singing exactly because of this mindset.

[@Nippey]

A guy I really like, has a beautiful "naturally distorted" voice. Henning May from AnnenMayKantereit. Check out his collab with Giant Rooks: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYC5oqaueduNf8k

[@billiehockett4350]

Good day Chris, thank you for all of your ambition and your phenomenal help for everyone. I had wanted to know, if you could analyze a song from the band Ghost? Specifically, a song that is based around the upper register? Some examples of this would consist of square hammer, spillways, Mary on a cross etc. thank you so much for your time, I just really want to advance my singing and I will never give up. You sir have an amazing day, thank you yet again!

[@TheIAmThat]

This video is a strong reminder that you have not yet had Henning May with his band AnnenMayKantereit on your channel. He has the most beautiful gravelly voice. His band first went viral with their Tom's Diner cover but I recommend with "Ich geh heut nicht mehr tanzen" (they have English and German songs) as Probenraum Session (practice room session). The Probenraum Session s are just so much fun as they have their friends with even more instruments there. You will love them almost all videos are live recorded, wether it’s outside, on stage or in their Probenraum.

[@cosmic_baptou]

Thanks for mentioning him. I discovered him on a featuring with the french band HER (On & On). I'd love to know what for a technique he uses... Throat singing also ? Plus that guy has a built-in octaver in his voice.

[@TheIAmThat]

@@cosmic_baptou sadly none of that, but he thinks beautifully gravely with a lot of noise and goes in and out of it as needed - especially to adopt in duetts. He is quite young for these skills.

[@Outkaz745]

Hey from paris Chris, I discover your channel last night with MJ, Amazing job ! You love [ado] too, she play like Mercury or MJ with her voice ! (Listen Uta/one piece songs of her). I love David Ruffin' voice too (ex lead of Temptations), listen a concert of the group in 1966. I love a japonese rock group too, "Nico touch the walls", the lead singer Tatsuya Mitsumura is amazing !! And, he's very famous in Japan since 2006 but sing in a street for the peoples with his guitare 😂❤ The voice is the best instrument, enjoy with him !

[@marianasousabezerra3645]

React to Gabriel Henrique singing the song And i am telling you by Jennifer Hudson.

[@tiagoc9754]

I've heard that a couple of times

[@russellspear6188]

I know your goal in making this particular video was "to get a great discussion going." Are you pretty happy with the discussion it has generated so far? One thing I would be interested in seeing is what you described as "lots of new information showing how safe it is." Will that be forthcoming on your Monday video to keep the momentum of the discussion going? Have a good weekend!

[@JoeStuffzAlt]

One thing I noticed. Metal singers in their 50s, 60s, and 70s are able to sing competitively or sometimes better than they sang in their 20s. Maybe it's a mix of they know they need to be careful, but also that metal might not be as bad as people think.

[@saskiadarbyshire9446]

It kinda just comes down to over straining the muscles you are using

[@josephl6727]

I have to use alot of vocal distortion or I lose the bass in my voice. It's soft and high naturally. Lol😂 🤦‍♂️

[@jakeah1175]

I find dialling in good support easier for belting or using compression in mix… but consistently using correct support (and hence singing safely) seems harder for regular quiet verses

[@KSwapTheWorld69]

3:36 Thanks For Being My Coach!😁 I couldn't agree with you more, your body will tell you something is messed up WAAAAYY before you mess up your voice with clean vocals!

[@beehype46and2]

Comment for da algorithm Streak count: 325

[@Sixsoul]

Impressive streak

[@beehype46and2]

@@Sixsoul thanks!

[@hellopsp180]

To all you dirty singers out there ;) ;) ;) 2:05

[@RudolfHorvath]

I don't understand why people think harsh vocals are more damaging that other vocal techniques. I always likened it to animal noises, for example crocodiles have very primitive vocal cords and they still make those noises. Or dogs have rather similar anatomy to us and yet they produce very different sounds. Animals don't damage their 'voices', so why should we? It is just over the millennias of speaking to communicate we grew out of touch with this primal side of ours. In a way it is rather cool we rediscover this long lost ability. Normal people complain they cannot understand the lyrics but we all understand the primal and raw emotion behind it, that's why I think we were always meant to produce these sounds. I actually found my technique through doing pig squeels and dog barks first. Then I just started adding words into it and working on stamina.

[@russellspear6188]

How many harsh vocalists do you know of who have had 25 or 30 year careers and haven't lost some of their ability? Phil Anselmo has lost the whole top part of his range!

[@RudolfHorvath]

@@russellspear6188 I am sorry, but this argument has rather weak legs to stand on. First, even clean singing for that long doesn't guarantee a healthy voice. For example Adele, still in her mid 30s, already had multiple surgeries and she is considered one of the greatest singers alive. Add the fact that metal and hardcore bands play live way more often and it is even more astonishing the number of surgeries is rather low. Second, the harsh vocals are still a rather young phenomenom. People started experimenting with it in the 80s and screaming as we know today became a thing in the 90s. These guys were the pioneers, they walked so the younger generations could run today. To answe your question, Slipknot released their first album in 1999. That means Corey Taylor has been doing extreme vocals for over 25 years (they played live before releasing Self-Titled) and he still sounds fucking great. I've seen him live last year in November and the dude was a machine. Greg Puciato has been screaming for over 20 years now and he sounds more vile than he ever did. And these are the guys who have great cleans as well. Then you have the one-dimensional vocalists who have been doing harsh vocals exclusively such as Corpsegrinder or Jacob Bannon and still sounding as good as when they started. Both been performing for 30 years and more.

[@russellspear6188]

@@RudolfHorvath Don't be sorry. It's not my argument. I was just speculating on what might be the reason. While you named some who still sound good today, Corey Taylor had some serious vocal issues. M. Shadows as well, I thnk he needed surgery. Matt Heafy blew out his voice 2014. James Hetfield only uses a fraction of the grit he once did. The singer from Tool says he cannot sing his old material, etc, etc.

[@RudolfHorvath]

@@russellspear6188 I think it's unfair to put all blame for vocal damage solely on harsh vocals. I think it is ironic that all these singers who had health issues do quite a fair share of clean singing as well. Meanwhile the guys who just do death growls their whole career are pretty much unscatthered. I cannot say about the other singers because I do not listen to them, but I know the Corey Taylor story. People always blame the 'Iowa scream' but Melissa Cross (a famous harsh vocal coach) said in an interview that he came to her after he got sick on Vol.3, tried to push through it and by doing so he hurt his voice. If you listen closely, he never really struggled live during Iowa cycle. It is not like he lost it, you can even hear him doing it during the Vol.3 tour from time to time. It's the high screams that are the voice killer. He sounded different on third record because it was his conscious decision to try something new as he got freshly sober (he used to drink 2 or 3 whiskey bottles a day during Iowa), but he did struggle live in 2004 and 2005. The scream he does today is result of vocal damage and of a more controlled technique. Seeing him recently live with both Slipknot and his solo band he sounds great, his breath control is incredible. With that being said, we can also say all these health issues might not really be a result of bad technique per say. Maybe it's the lifestyles and substance abuse.

[@russellspear6188]

@@RudolfHorvath It's not a matter of putting all the blame on gritty or aggressive or harsh vocals. That's the subject at hand, so that's where the attention is going to be put. If this had been a video about the effects of drinking and smoking on vocals, then the attention would have been put there. Look at Ronnie James Dio. He was perhaps the most respected metal vocalist there has ever been and his voice aged beautifully! Rob Halford of Judas Priest was the trailblazer for heavy metal vocal technique. He was doing it way back in the 70s! His voice is still in excellent shape. That's wonderful, but how many success stories can you point to like Dio or Halford, who had equally great mastery of clean and distorted vocals and who kept their voices in such great condition for as long as they did? Not too many! By the way, I don't see more guys like them coming along. There are a lot of guys these days who scream and do nothing but scream, but that's very limiting. It is essentially a justification for white guys to rap. I'm serious! . They have whole songs where they only use two or three notes. They're rapping with distortion.

[@mrbubbies_]

needed this today, thanks!

[@professorpro9400]

"Experience your voice rather than strive for a particular sound" Paraphrasing but honestly, I have been watching your videos for over a year now trying to reshape my mindset and learn how to sing. Since then, I have come so far and feel like this is still kinda mindblowing because of how important it is. Thank you so much for creating all these insightful videos and awesome (often hilarious) singing lessons!! World needs more passionate teachers like you 😄❤

[@AtomizedSound]

Preach brother, preach

[@Elisabeht-Swan]

@chrisliepe Have you listend to Milet? Then my sudjestion are "Tell me" special studio live and "anytime, anywhere" I can't remember seeing a reaction video on her with you. So better ask then not.

[@kevinsheppard2312]

Great video Chris! I'd absolutely love to see you analyze Chad Kroeger's singing and technique. I have a bunch of their multitracks I could forward.

[@camilolagosaguero7047]

Hello Chris! And thanks for your incredible videos! You're right about it. In my case I can say that distorion helps my clean voice. I feel more resonace before I made some dirty vocals. Regards!

[@Micro-Mangled]

When singing Wild Child by W.A.S.P. At the end of the weekend and my distorted singing was on point but was no longer able to hit that falsetto at all. And it’s not even that high. I had to improvise with distortion. My clean vocals said “nope you’re done.”

[@nyquilthegreat]

I feel like your videos have taught me a lot about false cord closure. Do you have any videos about exercises for primary cord closure, or exercises for manipulating primary and false cords independently and together to kind of tell the sensations apart?

[@Olkam-w5u]

But if you take a biological approach, then screams and distortion are more natural for a person than, for example, a soprano

[@noiZtheartist]

I've messed myself up plenty of times with clean it's usually the clean where my weaknesses show most often usually I hurt myself with holes in my clean technique after tiring my voice with distortion but I've also hurt myself plenty of times with just clean technique as well either one is bad but clean issues are easier to ignore

[@shunedits6155]

i can only scream really. I can't sing without being flat or sharp. If i have grit involved it feels better. you see i started as a screamer and only sang a bit to develop my support and range a bit.

[@pejter717]

I cannot sing at all apart from being able to hold a note and basic stuff like that as in when I start singing people are going deaf. However, I was able to master the basics of false cord growling quite easily and fast, and without any vocal strain.

[@SimonKranzDrums]

Thank you for pointing this out! I notice it every time I try to sing something just to remind someone of a melody VS using distortion when singing along to music or even recording. My pitch is so much better in my distorted singing because I have my support working for me, while just casually singing doesn't trigger that reflex.

[@efim_061]

this is so true, the other day I was recording some nasty metal/hard rock vocals and it took like three hours, after that my voice felt just fine, I mean, of course it was tired but there was no pain, and no decreased strengh on the head voice notes, vs the past week when I was rehearsing for some folk pop clean vocals, I also ended the session with my whole instrument working but I got to admit I felt the fatigue kicking in earlier, also I ended with a raspy tone.

[@quino25]

I need a mashle op2 reaction 😢😢😢😢

[@into.the.wood.chipper.]

I agree with this, and tend to sing dirty when I can't sing clean.

[@nikitadopustim1387]

i fully agree with chris

[@Top_Dawg360]

hi

[@justingolay]

Chris, could you do a series on the next steps after you've started to discover your voice? Like if someone went through your course and felt like they were starting to sing freely and sound better, how could they take that and sing in a band? Or start to record vocals? If someone wanted to perform locally, what things would they need to do to go these various routes? I trust your advice way more than some random person on reddit. Haha.

[@chrisliepe]

oh man! haha... have you gone through Discover Your Voice? I have this EXACT program/series: www.mymusicalvoice.com/p/sing-together-365-experience Look at the curriculum. You'll see some of the focus areas you're asking about and also a LOT more!

[@justingolay]

@chrisliepe I'm so glad you shared this. I have discover your voice and a few other courses from you that I'm working through. I didn't even realize you had this course, so I'm excited to know what I can do next!

[@zichxyna7]

Totally agree with this. I much prefer having a balanced approach and doing both clean/distorted vocals. On days when I just do clean vocals, or getting back into singing after a break and focusing on the cleans I definitely notice more fatigue compared to when I balance the two. I also noticed this when using range, my voice is always happier using its full or close to full range then just singing in one style/place eg just chest notes or head voice. Great video and awesome discussion!