A troublesome situation

[Joe. W]

So my previous singing teacher/vocal coach of a couple of years is holding singing auditions for a production and she told me it'd be great if I could audition but the songs in the actual play that I'm auditioning for has a lot of old rock songs with the growling voices and distortion and well as 90's pop and soft rock. Problem is, I've been Estill trained since the very beginning, and I've been taught that I shouldn't growl too much because it requires constriction of my false vocal cords (or the newly discovered way with the aryntinoids which I know nothing about), so while I can do it, I know that even if I do it for the auditions, I'll not be able to withstand the growling constantly during the actual show. Do you guys think that I can get away with doing a 90's rock ballad or adding growl-like sounds through glottal attack instead?

Thanks so much!

 

[ronws]

I was going to give the standard reply of "get a coach" and then I read that you already had one. What does he say about singing this kind of style? Or did the Estill program come after that?

And if you are not comfortable singing with a lot of growl or cannot do it as easily, then why sing that way? Even our illustrious benefactor, Robert Lunte, recognizes that each voice is capable of certain things.

 

[Sexy Beast]

You don't have to sing with distortion/growl all the time I would save it for certain phrases or words where it makes sense to use that color.

[EisaCurry]

It depends. If you aren't confident with your technique, growling can turn a decent performance into a good performance.

[Joe. W]

6 hours ago, ronws said:

I was going to give the standard reply of "get a coach" and then I read that you already had one. What does he say about singing this kind of style? Or did the Estill program come after that?

And if you are not comfortable singing with a lot of growl or cannot do it as easily, then why sing that way? Even our illustrious benefactor, Robert Lunte, recognizes that each voice is capable of certain things.

He said "It's a shame, because growling can be such a nice sound, but because it's produced by making sound through constriction, you shouldn't do it too much, and after you do, make sure you 'clean up afterwards'". 'clean up afterwards' is a term he liked to use which essentially just means to revert back to good technique.

My problem is not so much the growling itself, but having to do it over and over during rehearsals and the actual performances, so I was wondering if you guys had any tips on how I should minimize the strain that it'll put on my voice.

 

 

[Robert Lunte]

11 hours ago, Joe. W said:

So my previous singing teacher/vocal coach of a couple of years is holding singing auditions for a production and she told me it'd be great if I could audition but the songs in the actual play that I'm auditioning for has a lot of old rock songs with the growling voices and distortion and well as 90's pop and soft rock. Problem is, I've been Estill trained since the very beginning, and I've been taught that I shouldn't growl too much because it requires constriction of my false vocal cords (or the newly discovered way with the aryntinoids which I know nothing about), so while I can do it, I know that even if I do it for the auditions, I'll not be able to withstand the growling constantly during the actual show. Do you guys think that I can get away with doing a 90's rock ballad or adding growl-like sounds through glottal attack instead?

Thanks so much!

 

Actually in the last few years, Estill has rather been forced to pay attention to vocal distortion techniques because there is such a high demand for it. Therefore, they are not turning their nose up at it as much as they used to. It could be that your teacher "didn't get the memo". I actually know the guy that was commissioned to do vocal distortion research for Estill.

In any regard, that doesn't mean you are going to be able to distort and get what you need because.

1. You will have to find a coach that not only embraces heathy vocal distortion techniques, but also understands how to train it and can demonstrate it themselves. In the Estill camp, I would rather wait for a meteor to hit the Earth then hold my breath for that to happen.

2. Estill does not provided any vocal training content. No files, no scales, no mp3s, no online course work you can TRAIN with. They seem to think that if you understand their 6 "vocal figures" in great medical detail, which are nothing more then TVS Physical Modes... that some how, just having the book knowledge of laryngeal physiology will, manifest itself into you being able to actually sing well. This is the dumbest presumption I have heard. For an organization that does such a lovely job on research and physiology, they really are missing the point when it comes to training and application to singing.

For the record, i think Estill has done a great job on research and helping the world with their physical modes. It is a great program, that is why I have certain elements in The Four Pillars of Singing that are inspired by it... however, the lack of training content for students is like building a Porche and never driving it. It is absurd... but this is what happens when you have a vocal technique organization that is led by people that don't actually train or sing.

I can help you. Purchase my program, The Four Pillars of Singing, it shows you how to do four different kinds of vocal distortion with audio, online course and video demonstrations from me... and it gives you content so you can actually go practice. You should also get in front of me with Skype lessons so we can go over these techniques and I can help you with your song. This is the ONLY way you are really going to get your concerns addressed. There is not way to fix what you are concerned about by reading "tips" on this forum or watching YouTube videos for some "secret tip" , which I know you are also doing...  You can't make real, lasting progress with your voice, looking for "free tips"... 

Get serious, and train... I stand by to assist.