# How to: False chord growls -> Youtube is no help at all



## Lindmann (Aug 3, 2017)

Hey guys...

I wanted to switch over from fry screaming to the false chord vocal technique. Fry screams are easy to do but they really don't cut it.

So I made the mistake of watching several youtube tutorials. These videos didn't help at all. They were all about breathing, beverages, living healthy and all the jazz but had a very brief how to acutally growl tutorial at the very end of each video. And this could be sumarized to "make some sigh noises and then push em harder". There are tons of tutorials on youtube but non of them was really helpful.

I ended up making agressive sigh growls which sound okay (at least better than any fry screams) but which consume so much air that it it impossible to sing more than two syllables until I run out of air. I know how to use the diaphgram and I actually use it to push the air out but it doesn't help. And after a couple of minutes my voice starts getting hoarse. Or I am getting dizzy due to hyperventilation caused by the massive air consumption.
I already spent a lot of time practicing.

It is obvious that I took a wrong turn somewhere and I feel that I am in a dead end by now.
So do you know any tutorials that might help me out or which helped you mastering the technique?


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## bostjan (Aug 3, 2017)

I'm right there with you. I've tried video tutorials and even some of the more descriptive text-and-diagram vocal training sites and nothing gets me understanding what I am supposed to do, at all.

I struggled with this for years, actually, long before youtube existed, I was taking lessons with a vocal coach and, even with a real-time person face-to-face trying to explain how to perform certain vocal techniques, I felt like an idiot and a bad student, because I simply could not mimic very well.

This is probably bad advice, but it worked for me, and anyone with better advice is free to correct me. What I have done in the past was just to make noises with my voice whenever no one else is around. If I happened to stumble onto something I though I might be able to use, I would play around with it. Then, typically, I would record myself once I thought I was onto something, and listen back to it, and usually realize how dumb it sounded. It was discouraging for a while, but, eventually, I realized that it was improving my overall vocal techniques.

I think that, if practicing guitar improves you at a rate of 1.0x, then practicing vocals improves your voice at a rate of 8.0x, at least. Practice practice. But also, I believe, there are some techniques that a specific person might never be able to master. But, constant practice gives you better muscle control, and better breath control, which will make you a better vocalist, no matter what style of singing you do. 

That's my odd-ball approach, in a nutshell.


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## prlgmnr (Aug 3, 2017)

I haven't tried this for a while, but I used to do the "coming through me, souls imprisoned in gore...." bit from Bloodbath's Buried by the Dead over and over when there was no one in the house just to try and work on this. I'd start from a whisper and repeat it a few times getting gradually louder without forcing it, making sure I wasn't making myself hoarse.

I'd know I'd nailed it when I could get a long rolled "R" on "funeral bell rrrrrings to celebrate the dread" without particularly feeling it at the the top of my throat, or without any throat discomfort. Some days it just wouldn't happen though.

As for it sounding a bit dumb, I think out of the right context it is a pretty dumb sounding sort of....sound.


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## Lindmann (Aug 4, 2017)

Hmmm...it's not that I didn't practice a lot or that I didn't try several kinds of noises and funny voices.
I believe that further practise won't get me anywhere as long as I don't get the initial basics right.

I wish I could forget what I learned before and start all over again.
When trying different noises and voices I tend to fall back into the same old technique that didn't lead anywhere.


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## Dayn (Aug 9, 2017)

I'm still developing the technique myself, but one thing that really helped was being told to imitate Marge Simpson. That helped me to 'place' the sound; it's a very nasal sound, with your breath leaving your mouth, not your nose. Then lose the vocalisation so it's just a snarl. You should be able to snarl like the Hunters from Left4Dead in this way. It'll be higher-pitched.

Once you've got that sound placed at the top of your throat, you lower it in your throat, and open your throat up. That'll deepen it and make it lower pitched.

At least for the higher-pitched snarl, you need very little air to make the sound. If you get it right, you can do it for as long as your breath holds out. I find I can sustain a sound longer that way compared to my head voice.

As for feeling light-headed, I would place that on your breathing technique. It's something I'm still learning. My own lung capacity is huge, so getting the technique right (letting your stomach out for a big rush of air) is vital to getting enough air, both to sustain a note, and ... well, to get oxygen to your brain. But being able to do it quickly is a skill.

That's about all I can say from my own experience and how I go about doing it. I've been taking classical singing lessons as well, which has helped me to recognise different parts of my throat and how they're used. Also in how to breathe, open up and avoid any strain on my throat. Maybe a good teacher can help you in that.

But most of all don't be discouraged. It can take years to get a good singing voice from a good teacher; it won't be any easier trying to teach yourself this style that barely anyone else teaches.


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## Lindmann (Oct 9, 2017)

Hey dudes...

what can I say...it finally happened!
I tried the stuff you suggested and eventually I was able to do some growls.
These ain't very consistend yet and after some time my throat gets a little sore, but these growls sound b00tal and are way heavier than the weak fry screams.

I was able to reduce the soreness already a little and I am quite confident that some more practise will reduce it further as I think I found the reason for the soreness.

So let me thank you all for your advice!
You made this planet a heavier place!
...and you've proven that this message board is better than youtube.


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## Dayn (Oct 9, 2017)

Glad to hear it. Just remember that if it ever hurts, stop immediately and adjust your technique. It should never hurt.

Half the time I can't even get that right myself, but it's great when it finally clicks. It's just a matter of figuring out _why_.


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## ite89 (Nov 6, 2017)

Hi! I don't know if you've already seen it but Melissa Cross zen of screaming 1 and 2 are actually really good instructional materials! you should check em out


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## Lindmann (Nov 7, 2017)

I checked these long time ago.
But I couldn't get much out of it.
Too much warm ups and singing over a pencil but not not the actual technique.

I didn't watch the entire thing though.


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