gravel voice? [without smoking]

Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2007 2:24 am

Ok I'm not sure if this is quite the right place for this, but i've scoured the net for this one to no avail, how do i make my voice gravelly\raspy?

Now im a personal trainer in my real life so I'm not going to be taking up smoking, that being said I'm happy to permanently alter\scar\damage my vocal cords for the gravel. Also things I've already tried: gargling salt, gargling lemon juice, gargling whiskey, shouting heaps and singing all day...

any thoughts?

Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2007 5:15 am

Practice singing like Louis Armstrong for an hour and then sing your song? If your vocal chords are not bleeding. Razz

Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2007 6:20 am

I've been singing for 30 years and have, on occasion found a gravelly voice. But not regularly. If I could choose a voice, it would be John Lennon's. However, if I can't sound like Lennon, I prefer my voice over anyone elses, even if mine is "too clean."

Enjoy your own voice, and do what you can with it. It is uniquely yours, and can be your "signature" sound!

Cheers!
Scott

Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2007 7:21 am

From my limited experience: You either have such a voice or not. When I am really tired I sense a hint of Chris Rea, but the range is very limited. When in good shape my voice is clear and the range much better. Trying to make that sound when not having it is abusing your voice, ruining it in the process.

Then again, my experience is limited. So any other comments are welcome, especially if they prove me wrong.

Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2007 8:42 am

You get a distorted voice by singing wrong and irritating your vocal cords.

There is no easy way to sound like that. I used to have a clear voice and I know what you mean, it didn't work well for blues. But even though I tried to use the proper technique I still started getting more and more grit in my voice.

Alchol and cigarettes help there but I do neither. I did smoke lightly years ago. And from lifting weights I lost my ability to sing in falsetto, over developed neck muscles hurt your ability to sing correctly.

Just keep singing and your voice will become more and more gritty unless you use superior technique. If you have no technique I would venture to say there is a good chance you might lose your voice because of nodes on your vocal cords. Some people even need surgery.

One case is a female punk vocalist from New York who was doing a Janis Joplin show and lost her voice. She had to stop singing for a year and then went to vocal lessons. She had a lot of hits and was on MTV all the time. I cannot for the life of me remember her name, no it wasn't Blondie. But she had blond hair and had a video with professional wrestlers.

Anyway, until you have been singing for about 10 years and I mean a lot, you will not develop the raspiness you seek. If you try to do it you will ruin your voice or sound phony if you try and make it sound that way.

Like wine your voice improves with age, it takes time. But your voice is an instrument and you must practice...a lot!!!! learn to sing correctly by using your diaphragm and getting an opening. Learn as much proper technique as you can and sing, sing, sing. It will come, it takes time and a lot of work.

I just remembered her name............Cyndi Lauper!!!!! It just popped into my head, I guess the morphine kicked in.

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