Does scream-singing really ruin your voice?

Question

I've always wanted to learn how to scream sing like Maria Brink from the metal band In This Moment. She also sings melodies beautifully. But I was wondering, does it really ruin your voice? Anyone know of a place I can take lessons (in SoCal)? And how long does it take to perfect it? Note: I pretty much have been told that I sing pretty well, hitting many of the octaves on the piano pretty good, so I'm wondering if that's an advantage. Thanks!

Answer 1

Performing harsh vocals correctly shouldn't do any harm to your voice.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

You can definitely hurt yourself straining too hard in singing, like tear a vocal chord.

For my own part, my voice got more sandpapery when I would sing loud a lot. But then during breaks when I wouldn't sing for a while things would return to normal.

I just listen to my body. If I'm feeling pain in my throat it's time to back off. Don't push it. Your vocal chords, like any other muscle in your body, get stronger with exercise. I've actually been able to extend my range to sing some Robert Plant and such by just trying a lot but not pushing it too hard when I started feeling strain.

One of the things they teach opera singers is to sing like you're shouting. When you shout, you're pretty relaxed in the vocal chord area and are really pumping the diaphram. Lots of people when they sing want to tense up the vocal chord area, perhaps to try to sound like someone else. But this increases the likely-hood of injury. You'll be surprised how loud and how long you can sing if you do it this way.



Hope this helps