David Lee Roth's screams (Page 1 of 2)

Check this out; you'll hear how he screams a lot more clearly and that might help.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlgE5TKXWsA

Yes James is right, it is an inhale;)

I realize I'm not adding any expertise to this thread, but I agree with Jamie and James - It has to be done with an "inhale". I'm not trying to emulate, just trying to accomplish this technique, but just can't "get it down". Definitely hard to "copy".

I believe I'll just continue to do what works for me - stay with my own technique. I certainly don't want to damage my vocal folds. Guess as far a cheating is concerned, I can nearly duplicate it with the "Double Take" TM on my Kustom Profile PA. Close enough for me, and no damage.

Just a "thought"...

The YouTube I'm referring to is from the link submitted by Aus above:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlgE5TKXWsA
Very cool to hear Dave singing dry without the music by the way!

Doesn't sound at all like inhale to me (and I've been doing the inhale thing for a very long time now).  I don't believe it's possible to enunciate words such as "oh god, I'm runnin' ah-ya" at about 2:38 with an inhale.  If you listen carefully you can hear him take a breath (in) before letting out a scream (out). "I've heard a few other singers do this with an exhale as well, but we can agree to disagree.

I hear two voices mixed together.
It is very easy to make this kind of things in the studio.

It is something I'd have to show you. It isn't easy but can be done. I actually use it to create sounds like something from the Exorcist, haha.

Check this nice DLR TRACK   1:19  and  1:38 ...just brilliant !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVBjvdyhssI

Hi Curtis,i know the exact way you have to start doing it
You have to scream with no voice,try that
just push air,scream hard but do not use the voice
then you will feel air pushing thru it and will hear maybe a little little whisper
you have to make that grow,and that "hole" will get used to that air passing by ,allowing you to "whistle" it requires practice,i started back in 1996 and i was trying that for a year until i got it !!!
and i found a second whistle (train whistle) which Roth does now because he has his "classic higher whistle" blocked maybe because he smokes.
You will need to do what i say,try to scream hard but not using your voice
its there its hidden,everybody can do it,it just requires practice
Bon Jovi did that scream too,he did both "classic" and "Train"
You can hear the train in "I'll be there for you" and "Blaze of glory"

Blaze of glory : Check 3:40
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upenR6n7xWY

I'll be there for you : Check 3:48

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yA_WextBeNQ

Bad Medicine Check : 1:08  - 2:48 for little screamies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sJxDUxrlqE

Lay your hands on me Check : Im sure he ripped roth on this little scream at the end of the phrase 3:24

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7QYNgJwDwk

hey hotwheel, it's been a while, but thanks so far.

I can do the "I'll be there for you" scream (love it) most of the time. I just can't pitch it much higher. That's how I do my rasp anyway, and it leads to some kind of Axl Rose gritt when used for singing. Unfortunately I can't do this all the time and not forever... don't know why. It doesn't hurt or anything, but it just goes away after a song or two.

Anyways, I don't really understand what you mean by "scream hard but do not use the voice" - any further explanation on this?

Thanks

Last edited by CurtisDolan (2010-02-14 05:54:37)

David Coverdale is so hot looking in this video. Not only does he have the cute smile, but he has the outrageous car too. He is driving down the road in a car with his girlfriend (who by the way is his real girlfriend in life) and she is trying to distract him from driving. Then you will see her on top of the car straddling the car and doing some cool moves on it. This video is just so sexy and the two of them together are hot! “Like a drifter I was born to walk alone, going down the only road I ever known.” I loved that verse in the song.

____________________
chris

The David Lee Roth Runnin' With The Satan Soundboard is loaded with Roth's best Van Halen-era whoops, nut-grabbing squeals and shrieks, and different crazy wails and moans.Some of them are given hilarious titles like 'EWWWWWYEEEEAAAAAYY' and 'HHAAAAYAAAAAAAHHAAH.' All are a freakin' riot.
His voice is rich and baritone, not excessive and whiny, so work on making a sound that's full and comes from the chest. Work on his pronunciations. For some reason, he often sings phrases like "burnin" as "boynin." Additionally work on his excessive scream, which almost feels like two notes without delay, whereas being careful to not tear up your vocal chords. Additionally follow a guttural "ooh," a syllable that sounds nearly as if somebody has punched you in the stomach.

Hotwheel...man do I ever owe you one..

I've been wondering, struggling, striving, and failing to execute that David Ruffin scream for a long time now..and I've hurt myself a few times in the process.  It's something I've got to have..I can feel it you know?  I know when I could really use it in a song, so the soul is there..and you've opened up the secret for me - this is going to be fun.

Loved watching you use it in those videos, you sound awesome..and I cannot wait to feel that power, man.  I'm a soul singer and Ruffin is god to me.  So I basically want to say thank you very much for the tips.  I think I'm getting it.

Last edited by Mister Icco (2010-12-24 04:51:03)

Hotwheel is definitely correct. And after looking at his links!! I see it's Sammy my friend. Thats hilarious. I stumbled upon this thread. I'd like to show you how to do all the Roth screams. I'm a trained singer, have a music performance degree. I sing everything from pop to metal to opera. For many years I have been totally fascinated with Dave's technique. And it's funny, I have met a lot of opera singers that thought it was so cool. I learned how to do the screams from a lot of careful listening and I got some advice from a friend named Sammy/hotwheel who lives in south america who could do the whistle scream very well. He could tell I had the technique down but helped me to improve it. I use to be very protective about this info but I'm at the point where I want to share it to anyone who is interested.

First off. You are all right Because Dave has 4 different screams.

1. The inhale/suck in scream - He started to do this later in the 90's because he got lazy and was not working on the whistle scream.

2. The falsetto scream. He uses this often and is so good at it, that it can sometimes be mistaken for the classic scream. This is one is used a lot on runnin with the Devil. He has this technique down to a science and can smoothly transition from singing a note to going into the scream. It sounds seemless so it's very confusing to the listener. It often has a bit of a raspy quality to it as well.

3. The one that sounds like a train whistle. A good example is the scream on the song A little ain't enough. He screams out "Baby please" like Baby...PLLLLEEEEEEEEEAAAESE!!

4. The classic scream or whistle voice. He does this scream on every VH album but a great example is Van Halen 2. He did it like crazy on this record. Outta love, somebody get me a doctor, your no good. These are all great examples. You definitely hear two pitches. This scream is like lifting weights. You have to practice it on a regular basis or you will lose the ability all together or it will become weak sounding. You have to huff air, blow air really hard over the chords. You aren't singing, you aren't yelling. Just pushing air, and it creates the sound. It takes a lot of work to do it consistently. The technique is similar to the way you hear old men do a raspy laugh. The more you practice it, the more power you will get and also you will be able to hold pitches for longer lengths. Geting good at it..is not easy to do at all and takes a lot of hard work. It also takes some time to be able to control the pitch. It feels nothing like singing. There are female singers such as Mariah Carey that use the technique. It sounds quite different when a female does it. Bon Jovi does it a bit. There are a few other guys. Dave mastered it though. If you listen to Easy Street on his album "crazy from the heat" At the end of the song there is a sax solo with Dave screaming in the background. It's totally insane. Some of his best ever.

I can explain all these screams in detail and will record an mp3 for you. If anyone has any interest. I know this is an old old thread.

I just joined a new rock cover band recently and we are performing running with the devil. I am pretty excited about it.

Last edited by yomaster (2011-06-13 06:18:27)