How to Sing Like Kurt Cobain (Relax, Get Sorta Angry... Sing: Compression, Developed High Chest)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ส.ค. 2024
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Like some of the other singers of his time, Kurt mastered the art of lazy aggression. It's tough to sing Nirvana songs because as vocalists, we immediately try see and try to hone in on the choruses... The higher, gritty melodies that Kurt does so well. But to really bring his vibe into our own voice, we need to study the wide range and spectrum his voice covers. Let's look at several studio examples and one live example so we can put some of this amazing lazy aggression into our own singing!
You're the best Chris, joined your course 3 weeks ago, best singing decision I've made in my life!! much love to you.
Awesome man! Welcome Aboard!!
@@chrisliepe hvchjnn
I'm a guitarist and a singer, and this helped me out with my vocals. Thank you Chris so much man.
Chris: "RAAAPE MEEEE RAAAPE MEEEE RAAAAPE MEEEEE!!!"
TH-cam: "Demonitized."
haha... hopefully NOT!!
anyone remember "wafe me"?
@@BrokeAtBestMusic YESSS LMAO
@@chrisliepe I had this on my studio monitors nd my mom was like wtf
I like to scream “BRAIIIN FREEeeeZE!!” From the Simpsons
"Wanting to be someone else is a waste of who you are" - Kurt Cobain
Ok boomer
Ok snowflake
@@mariajordan8855 kisses princess love you😙
@@zombie-ix1qs 😘
well he took a lot of inspiration from a lot of his favs so as long you straight jacking it’s not a bad thing
Kurt really had an incredible voice, the Unplugged album is a testament to that. But I want to add that on their studio recording, Kurt's distinct sound had a lot to do with the double tracking of his vocals, which are locked-in on a godly level. He really could blend his voice with his own voice like I rarely heard since.
No -- had nothing to do with his voice, only the chorus effect on Nevermind. The other 2.5 studio albums didn't have much if at all double tracking. His voice was amazing, period.
He sounds best live imo
One thing I really appreciate in Kurt's singing is that it was really "straight", like cutting wood with an axe... it didn't have any embellishment, no breathy tails at the end of the phrases, and he would hit the higher notes with anger and laziness (and irony sometimes), so not in a powery virtuoso posh way. I see this kind of attitude in very few other singers: John Lennon, John Fogerty, Ozzy Osbourne, Roger Daltrey, Jack White, Neil Young, John Garcia (from Kyuss)...
I like the cutting wood parallel. :)
Well he is from wood cutting capital of USA!
Life hack: Just smoke a lot
heroin
Syring for 20 years hasn't changed anything
@pogoandgob smoking def does change your voice it makes it raspier. Heroin doesn’t do anything but it can make you slur kinda like ozzy Osborne because of all the drinking and heroin.
This is true
No. No. No. Smoking does not make your voice raspy. That is just wrong. Not until you’re 40 years into it anyway. But what it will do is destroy your lung capacity and make it harder to get a full breath. Which will actually make it harder to gain control over your voice and thus NOT allow you to get a good raspy voice.
This is thinking nearly on par with “shaving will your hair grow back thicker”. Please no.
Another factor in achieving Kurt's voice is having stomach pains
“I’m on warm milk and lactivies, cherry flavored ant acids”
He was over that in the early nineties
And a crippling heroin addiction
@@slick4415 not true. He says in his suicide note: "I love you, from the pit of my burning, nauseous stomach".
@@powerstation0872 "suicide note" 😂 you mean the one written for him
"..but we don't care as much because he's high and aggressive"
Yeah, that's basically what we loved about Kurt.
rip my throat singing territorial pissing when im not drinking anything
GODAFINAWEYABATTAWAYABADDAWAAAAYYYEE
I remember singing it when I was 12yo and my mom after work wondering why do I sound like I'm sick... Gotta admit that thanks to Chris I can roast it now without any issue and it sounds decent. But I've torn my my throat so many times on this kind of singing hahahah
I feel you
relatable af
I used to do that as well.
I wish I had a soundproof studio so I could learn and practice all these more aggressive and louder singing techniques... But I don't wanna make my neighbours hate me :(
find a band practice space per hour, they usually have smaller rooms and sometimes they offer them at a discount if it's only for one person.
Try singing into a straw
Get a solo cup and put a pin hole at the bottom. It’s helped me so much
dude... I was watching your videos for so long and it never realy worked but now... something just clicked. I was waiting for the Kurt video bc Nirvana is one of my fav bands (yea I know Im basic) so I tried to sing along, push my limits and now... Im literaly crying from happiness. I dreamed about sining agresive for a long time and now its all coming together. I cant belive I finally can do that.
NIIICCCCEEEE!!!
@@SandrisOfficial I’m sure they’ll call you first when they do lol
Was going to sleep but I gotta check this out first. Didn't know about this unlisted feature on TH-cam. It is an honor to have been given this link. One day I'll get the hang of mixed voice distortion - until then, I'll make the best of Chris' videos here on TH-cam. My singing has greatly improved overall - today I was singing quietly in the shower and realized that when I do that, I naturally use mix to hit higher notes easily. Reminds me of what David and Chris went through in the "What You Didn't Know About Your Speaking Voice" video that Chris provides for free. Amazing how much we can learn from making noises!
A lot of the time Kurt Cobain mimics the guitar sound with his voice. So if you’re trying to sing Kurt, don’t try to sing like him (it’s impossible.) Try and compliment the guitar sound and you’ll find the right tone for the song.
Which is what David Gilmour does too
Exactly! That's why he's the best at that Melodic Chaos sound that he has.
Ive also noticed a lot of how he sounds simply comes from the way he pronounces words. He almost sings kind of like a country singer sometimes
@sabbracadabra I was thinking about this today! Country singers tend to make great rock singers because their accent has a natural twang & allows for the right resonance to achieve rasp with more ease!
Coo-ole. That's how he pronounced the word cool.
y'all missing his biggest secret... cobain was legit screaming to get those distorted notes. towards the end of his life he was diagnosed with acute bronchitis and laryngitis.
I read an anecdote once (not sure where, many moons back) that Kurt used to head out to a lake from time to time with some girl and start screaming and shouting with all he had. The girl would ask him: “wtf are you doing? lol”, and he’d explain that that was practice for when he’d get on stage.
Would appreciate if anyone could confirm where this came from and if true or not.
@@Adrian101882 That's really neat! Wonder if it's true 🤔
@@Adrian101882 I'm not sure I've never heard that before but it's def an interesting anecdote
Yup it was reported by the end of their last tour Kurt was having all kinds of problems with his voice. His singing style was not sustainable
@sabbracadabra awesome. Thank you for confirming!
The way i was taught for the lazy type signing, my coach told me “have heroin mouth, and keep your tongue down against your bottom teeth-and relax your throat...heroin mouth and it clicked haha
nice!
What does heroin mouth mean exactly ?
So imagine a person on heroin if you can, theyre extremely loose and relaxed, jaw vertically elongated rather than horizontally like smiling. And a lessened enunciation of vowels, imagine being like really tired and not wanting to sing or caring much about what you’re saying.
@@brianbailey1681 man this helps alot ,
Glad i could help :)
8:25 when you’re singing and you step on a lego
haha
Chris Liepe love your channel and vids ❤️❤️
Haha. I'm scared watching this too loud, so my neighbors wont come and ask if somethings wrong
🤣🤣🤣
😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂
It is so hard to sing like Kurt did. There was just something about his tone combined with his grit that makes it so hard to imitate.
no its mostly false cord and easier than you think
@@grammarcop5673More like false chords with head voice and amazing vocals fry with the ability to actually sing when he wants to. Ive heard a lot of people try to sing like Kurt but I’ve never heard anyone that could actually sound like him. Link me to a video of you singing like Kurt if it’s so easy.
Impossible to imitate
@@davidasher22 Exactly. Still waiting to hear it. The dude who made this video is a good singer but he sounds nothing like Kurt
@@jasoncoffmanandhunterjimmithy th-cam.com/video/_o7z6Ypnpxk/w-d-xo.html this guy sounds just like kurt
Amazing lesson and analysis.
You have such amazing control over your voice.
I really think Kurt Cobain is underrated as a singer. That unplugged performance is one of the most powerful things i've heard and seen.
The recent cover of About a Girl by Puddle of Mudd shows the biggest difference between the two singers- when you watch Wes Scantlin recently performing and having to give his all, vs when you see Kurt perform it unplugged in 1996, and how relaxed Kurt was when delivering the grit with the high notes... you nailed it, and I’ll be sure to study myself through this video! My goal is to be able to do that kind of grit without killing my vocal chords
I know you know Kurt died in 94 and unplugged originally aired in 93. Cheers❤
Thanks for making this Chris, I think there is a hint in the documentary about Cobain on how he actually developed his rasp, he used to practice A LOT in a whispery falsetto, while at the same time developing the ability to rasp in that mode. which then translated nicely to higher volumes
@Chris Liepe, you are the master when it comes to teaching and exploring vocal technique. I can't believe you can imitate so well and mix the singing styles of my musical heroes from the 90's, Chris Cornell, Kurt Cobain, and Jeff Buckley! I learned so much from you, as you clearly explain the exploratory steps to reach the desired sound, unlike in other tutors' videos.
Hey Chris!! Great video like always. I think the key to many of Kurts screams are letting a little more air through. Kurt always sounds free, like he's using vocal fry in his belts. Also his speaking/singing voice sounds almost always like its on the brink of vocal fry. Practise that and you'll really get that Nirvana feel you're looking for. Keep up the great work Chris!
You are the only channel on TH-cam that has actually given me advice I can use.
I love this lesson style, they focus on a range of aspects and continually review key skills in singing in a way that's really interesting. I also like how he is happy to show the experimenting/getting it 'wrong' part of learning - really helps with my development.
I've been waiting for for this video! Amazing stuff Chris! I'm in a Nirvana tribute band and during lockdown I've been watching your videos and learning more and more and our first band practice back my bandmates said I had improved vocally alot!
Nice!
Brilliant Video Chris, Ifeel privileged to watch this. Always loved Nirvana and his singing style seemed almost impossible to work out, love how you've cleared the mud and shown how underrated Kurt really is. Also love how you always speak about him in the present tense, I can see that was deliberate, awesome job, valuable video!
It's like your singing just to sing when you listen to the way that Kurt sings with such feeling behind it. It's like he's actually singing with such raw emotion you can feel and his voice
I'm curious of your take on Peter Steel of Type O Negative. He's notorious for his lows, but had a lot to show in the upper registers, too, was very versatile in terms of range but clean/scream as well. I feel that there would be a lot to unpack.
Maybe this will be a little difficult for Chris, because Peter had a bass voice.
@@ownway7976 I considered Steele as a baritone, regarding his upper register, but there are loads of singers considered baritones, even Eddie Vedder or Chris Cornell, that I don't really know what to think. I remember Chris said he's a baritone in a video.
Anyway, what I like about Chris is he teaches to inspire, not to imitate. We all have different ranges, but everyone could use expanding his range downwards, too - no matter if tenor or baritone. I might not be able to hit certain notes, but inspiration can help me expand anyway.
Yes, please!
@@xavierlagore5569 Maybe Peter was a bass-baritone, he isn't going too higher, around C4-E4, Chris Cornell sing much higher than this, like a tenor, but he's timbre sounds like a baritone.
PLEASEEE CHRIS DO "HOW TO SING LIKE SERJ TANKIAN" FROM SYSTEM OF A DOWN
OH YES +1
Literally everyone wants this
He is a voice box lmao
You can literally talk about every song of his
OMG YES!!!
He made that video a month ago! 😉
Chris : "I love this line"
Kurt : "RAAAAPE MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"
Just what I needed.. 🤘Amazing tutorial.. So easy to learn.. More power to you. Love from India😊🙏♥️
Thanks a lot Chris, I saw your newsletter and instantly checked this video! And while watching it I instantly started singing better in that laid-back rasp and distortion, had some fun singing Kurt's "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" way better now. Of course I've watched your previous videos about distortion in mix voice.
I appreciate your tribute to Kurt, he is way underrated and snubbed out by singers and teachers, his singing was unhealthy etc. etc. etc. but he was one of the most expressive and relatable, he wrote and sang the real sh*t.
Man I agree... REAL. and as relaxed as he sounds, he was laser focused in the studio. John Lennon was a huge inspiration to him and he had him to live up to in a way.
5:48, nailed that release, exact as Kurt's
Man, the amount of work and dedication that you put in your craft is insane
As a beginner vocalist I see these little things that display the level of your understanding of the vocalists you observe on your channel
It's not only about the mechanical side of things
Even the mindset, emotions, forming of vowels etc matter
Recently I discovered how to scream properly and your videos were the key to this difficult (for me) side of singing
Just so you know that your work pays off:)
Keep rocking and best wishes from Russian fans!
Thanks for the awesome comment man!
This was fun and healing to SCREAM WITH U
when i searched this topic, i was hoping to find a video from you! so glad you went in depth & uncovered the types of techniques instead of glossing over the fundamentals
I loved it. Thank you! I started singing because of Kurt. Have you listened to Negative Creep from the first album? His vocals always amazed me. I don’t think he ever sang that song again like he did in the studio version. Another even more insane Nirvana song on vocals is Hairspray Queen from Incesticide.
yep this Bleach version is just insane
8:40 sounded perfect with the clean sound
Damnnnn dude i dont think ive heard anyone sound that close to kurt. You the man.
Thanks!!
th-cam.com/video/A9bL2LhA1BY/w-d-xo.html
Your joking
Bro I literally fucking love all your videos, you don’t even know how much you’ve been helping me out
Great to hear!
YESSSSSSS thank you so much for doing this, great video as always
You always have such a unique take on singing. It's so refreshing and great!
Omg, man, that is so wonderful! You're amazing! It's the best vocal channel I've ever seen. You're awesome. And that's so great that you show raw way of singing (like in the real time) when you're not on your best - it helps to feel more comfortable to practice. Thank you so much!!!
Thanks for the awesome comment! Glad you're enjoying the channel!!
@@chrisliepe I posted a short video of practicing that "Rape me" song to my Instagram @oles_dmytrenko. It's really funny 😂
This demonstration/tutorial was really good! It's cool seeing someone be able to dissect Kurt's softer range in addition to his seething caterwauls.
I know I've already probably asked you to look over our good ol' Southern Gothic lover Nick Cave himself, but after getting deeper in his discography there's been a lot more to his voice that I found. In addition to his commanding baritone and good note control singing melodies, he's probably one of the most *expressive* singers I've heard no matter what mood he goes with. His evil jauntiness on "Curse of Millhaven" sounds worlds apart in mood from something like the painful heartache of "Girl in Amber" but both sound equally amazing, and I think it'd be cool to see how he manages to be so emotionally evocative without sacrificing voice quality.
A perfect example is Mojo Pin from Buckley, those screams turning so clean and beautiful
Oh an also great advice on relaxing, I noticed it too with his style of singing. Sometimes, especially in the unplugged live MTV performance you can hear Kurt's voice actually crack a couple of times. It also sounded like on that performance when Kurt would go for softer singing like on the beginning to every line in "About a Girl" he had a sort of underlying hoarseness thing going on, almost like the hoarseness was causing his voice to sort of fade out on lower registers. Its hard to explain but its there.
Cool tip from Kurt when watching him, when he sings softer he almost always pushed his lower jaw out, like an under-bite, with the closed mouth its sounds really close. I assume this is what makes it sound like the tip of his tongue is being brought back.
You are leaps and bounds ahead of any vocal coach I’ve ever seen on TH-cam..... I love how you break down all the nuances. Timing, technique, and everything in between!
Not sure if you’ll see this… i’d love for you to break down Steven Tyler. In my opinion, his voice sounded better at 40 than it did when he was 20.
Someday, I'll do Steven Tyler! Thanks for the great comment!
I learned how to sing like Kurt simply thanks to the title of this video
I mean no joke it's actually spot on and easy to visualize and feel
It is like sleep singing instead of sleepwalking :) it definitely helps. I kinda didn't notice before but now when I watch him he does look like he is asleep in some parts.
Heroin
i found your videos not too long ago and i already love them! your videos have been the most helpful and you explain everything so clearly! thank you so much :)
this is great! love the authenticity! I just found this channel, hopefully will be singing like this with some practice!
Your analysis shows that he is the best singer in the world.
One of them for sure! So many gem moments.
@@chrisliepe I like how you distinguished whether or not he did things on purpose early in your video. This is an interesting cross-sect of authentic voice vs technique beyond the disclaimer of not trying to sound like someone. All said he remains underrated with his learned skill and ability, his years of hidden practice beforehand. Still quite young, a beautiful perfect storm he was.
One of the most passionated singers for sure, but not one of the best 😄🙈 But let me be clear: I F***** LOVE Kurts voice. So Don't get me wrong you know ;)
one thing kurt does really well is going with voice cracks and not really caring what it sounds
Ahah I’m so glad this video has come along, I’ve been silently wishing you’d make this for a while but now I wanna make a vocal request, maybe a “How to sing like John Lennon” would be an interesting one to do! Thanks for the great videos!
Sounded like Weird AL for a minute there. Just teasing, but yeah, I get it. I sing similarly, he's the only "vocal coach" I had. Thanks for showing so many the way.
That was in-cre-di-ble! You're really good and made us understand very well voice resources.
Would you do one of how to sing like Courtney Love? 😁
8:44 - 8:49 That's some soundgarden!
yep, those influences come through no matter what :)
@@chrisliepe Indeed, i would like to say that after watching this video. God. I have no more doubts. You are indeed one of if not THE best voice teacher in youtube, i learned a lot with you, to the point i am able to sing Alice in chains! Thanks a lot! you changed my life!
@@sheriffedits453 Thanks so much man!!
Thanks man! You really helped assist in our project with some unknown vocal technique. Cheers. :)
Perfect imperfection
Amazing Master Class!!! I enjoy every video with your wonderfull skills. Bravo Maestro!!!
Congrats again for your videos! I've been waiting specially for this one, and it's awesome! :D
Btw, Chris, Are you planning to make a video "How to sing Like Jim Morrison"? That would be great :)
This video was very unintentionally funny lol great info as well
Niice man, great video!
its always good to come back to this
He sings those low notes like he's nodding out on heroin...probably because he was most of the time. Such a tragic loss of an amazing musician
Thats actually what my vocal teacher told me when singing alice in chains and nirvana, she said have heroin mouth and keep your tongue down
@@brianbailey1681 BRO that helped so much!
@@l3tha11 right such a simple thing to do and all the difference
Awesome man, love your approach to these skills.
Man, this is very funny. I bet Kurdt had no clue he was doing any of that, but you're right about replicating it, minus any vibrato.
"Rape me" I love this line lmao man that couldn't have been timed any worse. All jokes aside this video is golden man thank you so much for this! 😊
2:17 How to sing like goat,just kidding bro:v
Thanks Chris :)! Maybe you don't remember my name but I've been spamming you with requests for this video in the comments for a pretty long time now... 😁😁😁❤️
Hehe. YES. The day has finally come :)
Kurts yodels are key to distortion and breaking up
Yes!
"Dont matter how dumb u sound " goated teaching lesson to know
13:43 the parrot in the bedroom finally started talking xD
bro ur actually good at this
Hey Chris i really love all your how to sing like videos,can you do someday Michael Jackson?Like the raspy voice he sometimes do for example.
No pedophiles allowed.
This is just What I wanted
You should do a style video for Bowie! His nasality, tone and power is so unique!
David Wallimann was here...
Uh OH!! Let me OUT OF HERE... OPEN THE !@#$ing DOOR!!!
@@chrisliepe Hahaha!
Chris delivers yet again with another banger! Love this analysis of Kurt's vocals. He's definitely in my top 5 favorite vocalists. There's so much that could be taken from his voice.
I would LOVE to get an analysis on Jeremy Enigk (Sunny Day Real Estate)! Not sure if that was ever your vibe at all, but his vocals on the Diary album is really something. "In Circles" being a great example
Cheers!
THANK YOU!!! cant sing with grit yet but as usual, a SUPER GREAT VID!! saving this one to come back to again later!
great stuff!
You did it !!! Thank you again, Chris!
low key.. your one of my mentors. keep it up!
Yay Chris!!! You Rock Brother! Thank you so much! You have provided all the best Seattle rock vocal stylings! Eddie, Chris, Layne, and now Kurt! With your lessons I’m trying to put all these styles into my vocal vocabulary and apply them to my own music! I listen to your lessons almost everyday! This lesson made my day! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Keep up your amazing work. I do have another request. The vocal stylings of Jim Morrison. Thanks again brother.
YES!! Ultimately it is about YOUR voice... You GET IT!!
Chris Liepe I get it because I have an awesome teacher! 😎
Are you kidding me? I discovered your channel yesterday through the Hetfield video, and 3 hours ago (2h before the upload) I searched for "Kurt Cobain vocal technique" and didn't find anything useful. This is brilliant, thank you.
Ha! Great timing!
I’m joining your course as soon as I have a place to practice lol
NICE... You can practice in a car... nice and isolating! :)
Chris, I encourage you to take in "Do Re Mi", the supposed last song. You may be surprised.
yes, finally! now we need julian casablancas!
i love how he sounds like mr. meeseeks
Chris, I encourage you to go for everything...
John Lennon
David Gilmour
PauL Mccartney
Phil Collins
Sting
Bee Gees
Elvis
Blessings
Do you know Nate Barcalow from Finch?
Also, i still really love how your showing your process like it isnt snap that instant one can suddenly know how to add distortion, and how you're breaking down the 'personality' of the voices in this series
Finch is one of my favorite bands. I don’t meet a lot of others who know who they are!
Hi Chris, I absolutely love your videos. One thing I’m having a hard time with is some of the aggressive singing. I know you’ve already done a video on Chester Bennington, but if you could do another one about how he sings in songs like The Messenger, (my favorite Linkin Park song by far) that would go a long way. Love your videos.
YEAAAH!!! FINALLY
You forgot the voice cracks he purposely has, like jumping from your head voice to your falsetto voice
He just had that voice and attitude man... dosent hurt to try though lol.
*Chris, can you make a few full covers of Nirvana?*
Hey Chris.. can you do a vocal tutorial for "Dave Gahan" (Depeche Mode), "Scott Weiland" (Stone temple Pilots), and "Jim Morrison" (The Doors)?
Dave Gahan would be awesome!
Great and helpful video as always! Please do "How to sing like Julian Casablancas"!
Hey Chris, I'd love to see your take on Deryck Whibley from Sum 41. He has some serious range and versatility in his tone between really clean head voice and more aggressive styles, I think you'd have a good time dissecting his voice! (also getting some pop punk representation on the channel!)