Scoop: Beautiful Screamer

A new DVD shows you how to lose it without losing your voice

By Seattle Mag December 31, 1969

Category: Arts + Events Articles

 

A new DVD shows you how to lose it without losing your voice

Have you looked at your 401K lately? Tried to park on lower Queen Anne on a Friday night? Squeezed onto a standing-room-only Metro bus next to a cell-phone yapper? You may feel you have ample reason to scream, which is exactly why you should watch The Art of Screaming: Total Training for Vocalists on the Edge—so you can master your technique. This educational DVD and CD (yes, really!) teaches those for whom screaming is a daily occurrence how to keep it up while keeping their voices intact. Vocal expert Susan M. Carr, who splits her time between Seattle and Los Angeles, has coached such (screamin’) local bands as Alice in Chains, Vendetta Red, Sunny Day Real Estate and Minus the Bear. In The Art of Screaming ($29.99), she shares vocal exercises that can help musicians—and other screamers—both locate the physical source of screams and growls (hint: practice the German word “Nacht” or “Nicht”) and craft those sounds to avoid throat damage. Part of the delight in watching this genuinely useful DVD rests in watching Carr (with her chorus-teacher looks and piano) help tattooed rocker students practice her techniques on their own lyrics, such as “RATFACE! ENEMY! COMIN’ TO HUNT YOU DOWN!” Which may also provide useful phrases for when you’re stuck in the Mercer mess.

 

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