Nail Rasp and Distortion in Singing!

Nail Rasp and Distortion in Singing! with tags singing lessons, vocal lessons, voice lessons, singing tips, singing lesson, vocal tips, vocal exercises, rasp, distortion, james hetfield, randy blythe, kurt cobain, billy corgan, false vocal cords, false vocal folds, singing distortion, sing with distortion, sing with rasp, matt ramsey, ramsey voice studio

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There’s nothing cooler sounding that when a singer adds some rasp or distortion to their voice

From Kurt Cobain, Rancid, Lamb of God, System of a Down, Smashing Pumpkins and Metallica distortion is here to stay

But what actually causes this sound and how can you find it without destroying your voice?

Rasp and distortion are vocal effects created by the false vocal folds, also known as the vestibular or ventricular vocal cords vibrating with the true vocal folds

Large muscles that surround the true vocal folds to protect them and help you swallow

In most singing, they’re not involved. In most western singing, there’s a huge emphasis placed on getting a clean tone where it’s just the true vocal folds vibrating completely

However in rasp and distortion, the false vocal cords get contracted while the true vocal cords vibrate

When they get involved, they create what vocal scientists call “noise” and what we call “rock”

But in heavier styles of music like rock, metal, punk and grunge, vocal distortion comes from false vocal folds + true vocal folds

Traditionally happens on more open vowels and higher intensity, often accompanied by a higher larynx and very high breath pressure

But before I show you a few exercises, you absolutely need to learn how to sing well first

Start by finding a clear tone first--otherwise you’ll just learn bad habits to push through your notes

Don’t just come at this off the bat and start practicing. You’re going to hurt yourself

If you feel pain, stop

There is evidence to show that too much of this so-called distortion, metallic or raspy sound can damage your voice

There are a ton of singers that can do this and sustain it, but there are lots of singers whose vocal cords are a bit more sensitive to this abuse and it won’t take a lot to have problems

Demo the note on an “ay” and “oh” vowel on a comfortable chest note first

Try to press in with the distortion pedal--demo “ay” clean to dirty and back

Find it with imitation

However you find the distortion, I would recommend not practicing more than 5-10 minutes of this per day since more can cause serious damage to your voice if you’re not working with a vocal coach who has experience in this area

Even the “screaming” vocal coaches preach having good breath control, pitch and not raising the larynx when you sing

So I believe that there’s some acceptance even with the coaches that exclusively teach this that singing with distortion is something you can do sometimes, but shouldn’t replace good habits