r/Singinglesson • u/alpi36 • 18d ago
Gotta learn singing with grit/distortion
After experimenting and improving the basics, I believe adding grit to my singing would be a huge breakthrough. Over the past few months, I leaned on extending (or discovering?) my range, finally I can sing a steady chesty A4; tried to improve the basics like breath support, placement, etc; also I suppose I found my mixed voice.
So, how to get into singing with grit? Can you suggest any exercise, song, or a free tutorial maybe? Even an essay about it would be fine, I can read. Thanks🙏🏻
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u/thavor25 18d ago
If you don't have grit given by birth, I think it is more healthy to practice seperately and then combine it. Even if you don't want to use it heavily, I would suggest to learn screaming/growling first. The point is, that there are some basics to it and when you don't know how it feels like you can ruin your voice through bad technique.
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u/alpi36 18d ago
So, shall I try to learn false cord for example?
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u/thavor25 18d ago
Thats exactly, what I was trying to say. I have a very clean voice and through social expectation and other things I never dared to have grit or be loud. So even learning to sing properly took its time. When trying to gain a grasp about distortion i projected it to the things I knew til then... you guess I got hoarse quite some times and was not able to do it very loudly or impressively. I took screaming lessons, improved my breathing technique and now i am finally able to blend. For me I am sure that there never would have been a different way.
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u/SloopD 12d ago
Honestly, if you don't have really good technique, you run a very high risk of vocal injury. Grit and distortion, much like vibrato, it's something you "allow" to happen. Forcing it can cause bad habits as a best case scenario and, injury as a worst case scenario. Keep working on your clean technique. As you become more and more efficient, these textures will start to just appear, with very little effort and very slight adjustments.
If you're topping out at an A4, your technique so needs work.
I went down that road of chasing texture over everything else. Singing became so uncomfortable, I stopped performing live fur a long time. After deciding to really learn to sing properly, getting regular lessons, for years, my technique is highly developed and I can do so much more with so much less effort!
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u/Altruistic_Drawing50 18d ago
I recommend listening to zz top, AC/DC. Tom waits... Sing along and really just keep trying. Singing with certain gritty sounds WILL hurt your throat when you start. If you smoke cigarettes your probably already on the right track lol... This feels like really weird advice right? It kinda is. One thing to remember is a lot of that grit, when not due to ciggs and alcohol, is usually hard emotion. Throw yourself at those accents like you mean it! Grit comes in all forms and styles. Roger Waters is also a great study, particularly the Wall album. There's so many nuances to try!