Summary of "How To Fry Scream | Metalcore Tutorial"
Main ideas / lessons
- Common goal: Learn how to scream/yell in metalcore while sounding uniquely like yourself—safely and with good technique.
- Two vocal approaches (preference-based):
- “Voice acting / beast mode” (common in deathcore/death metal): less human, more animal/creature-like.
- “Yell & scream / human emotional” (common in hardcore/metalcore/punk): more human, emotional anger, clearer “person” quality.
- Safety & sustainability: Screaming is loud and physically demanding.
- Warm up and hydrate.
- Don’t push through pain or dryness.
Speaker/source credibility & background
- The instructor is Brandon Pajazik, who:
- Plays guitar and does vocals in Structures.
- Performs bass and some backing vocals on Northlane’s Alien album and its tour cycle.
- Has been screaming for ~19 years, learning what helps and harms his own voice.
- Notes he also learned from his vocal instructor.
Methodology / step-by-step instructions (vocal tutorial flow)
1) Preparation: hydration + general care
- Hydrate first.
- General health matters.
- He mentions that while some people claim “don’t drink caffeine / don’t smoke,” he says successful vocalists don’t always follow those rules—but general self-care is still important.
- Whether someone is vegan or not isn’t the point—general care is.
2) Warm-up / stretching sequence (before screaming)
- Face stretching (Melissa Cross exercise)
- Make your face as big as possible, then as small as possible.
- 4 repetitions.
- Tongue movement (tongue out)
- Tongue out; move up/down: 4 reps.
- Move left/right: 4 reps.
- Tongue circles
- Tongue out: 4 clockwise movements, then 4 counterclockwise movements.
- Repeat tongue mobility with tongue inside the mouth
- Tongue inside, between lips/teeth (“inside your lips between your lips and your teeth”).
- Do the same directional/circular movements.
- Sensation check
- By the end, you should feel it around the “here” area he mentions (implied throat/mouth/upper area).
- Chris Liepe warm-up exercise
- Start at your comfortable pitch range for the day.
- Ramp from high comfortable falsetto down, staying within what feels safe.
He references a fuller Chris Liepe routine beyond what’s described.
3) Additional warm-up (scales/thirds; avoid screaming too early)
- Do scales and thirds once you’re warmed up (optional singing is fine).
- Do not warm up with screaming:
- He calls it a “sure way to blow your voice” before recording or live performance.
4) Full-body technique warm-up toward screaming
- Screaming/singing are full-body, involving:
- Stomach/diaphragm/chest
- He also mentions back activity, emphasizing the body rather than the throat.
- Posture
- Sit or stand comfortably.
- Keep your neck straight (don’t push it forward).
- Breath + sustained consonant sounds
- Take a big breath.
- Hold consonant sounds, examples:
- “B”
- “sh” (s-h / sh sound)
- The goal is to compress a bit and hold the sound as long as possible.
- This is presented as a key technique before adding distortion.
5) Vocal projection / “where to place sound” (uvula concept)
- He teaches projection concepts learned from his instructor—based on how singers projected before microphones (theater).
- Core idea: replace “throat” with full-body placement.
- Uvula targeting
- Sound at the back of the uvula = “full body” sound (used for certain screams/lows).
- Sound “in front” / more toward nasal front placement = “nasally” sound (used for higher screams).
- He frames the process as moving resonance from back of uvula to front of uvula by changing how the sound resonates (he demonstrates conceptually with vowel placements such as “E”).
- Used as the approach for pitch screams and different scream registers.
6) Screaming technique (core method)
- Environment
- Practice somewhere you can project without self-consciousness.
- Overall approach
- Ramp from a low note to a higher note:
- Start low → build up to a comfortable high.
- Add distortion at the high end.
- Ramp from a low note to a higher note:
- Register mechanics
- Distortion comes from the chest/upper body, not from the throat.
- He emphasizes:
- “I’m not doing anything in here [throat].”
- If distortion sensation appears in the neck/front of the head, he claims it’s not the origin.
- Highs vs lows
- Highs: ramp concept, but push uvula placement toward the front for a nasally-like resonance.
- Lows: opposite—placement toward the back of the uvula.
- Distortion remains described as coming from the chest.
- Breath + distortion
- Always take a big breath before attempting.
7) After-scream / sustain & stopping rules
- Don’t hold back—full-body intensity is expected.
- But don’t overdo it:
- If your voice feels fried, dry, or your tone is degrading, stop.
- If you get dry during a session:
- Cut the session and come back next day (often better than forcing it).
- He notes that on long tour days he sometimes loses his voice later (example: moving around during early tour antics, then surviving through the show, then losing voice at the end).
8) Optional next video / extension
- He offers to make a separate video for pitch screaming if there’s interest.
Style preferences / influences (mentioned)
- He prefers vocal styles that sound emotional and like yelling, naming favorites such as:
- Sam Carter (Architects)
- Marcus Bridge (Northlane)
- Brandon Murphy (Ending / Ending [Counterparts]; “ending counterparts” likely Counterparts)
- Brian Garris (Knocked Loose)
- He emphasizes the value of vocalists who sound like nobody else, plus bands with interesting drum parts.
Speakers / sources featured
- Speaker/Instructor: Brandon Pajazik
- Referenced vocal warm-up sources/instructors:
- Melissa Cross (face stretching)
- Chris Liepe (warm-up exercise routine)
- Brandon’s vocal instructor (projection/theater concept; uvula placement idea)
- Referenced performers / bands:
- Northlane (Alien; his backing vocals/bass contribution as described)
- Structures
- Architects (Sam Carter)
- Counterparts (Brandon Murphy)
- Knocked Loose (Brian Garris)
Category
Educational
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