@Aalekh Saxena Welcome! Leaving your job for music is no easy feat! I like your attitude though. As you dive into the material here, feel free to ask when you need help or clarity. I'm happy to help!

@Ethan Barbour Great story! I could never bring myself to pick up Alto Sax again after early high school, but have played piano since I was 6; and picked up guitar in college since it was the only instrument around. I understand that itch to play. I understand the allure of heavier music too. Don't beat yourself up too much about not liking your own voice. Not only is it a learning curve with a LOT of instruction out there that is either misinformation or too general of advice to give you a solid direction towards your goals in extreme singing; we are also our own worst critics. For example, I say this not as a brag, but as a solid example of being your own worst critic: I've been a professional singer/musician for 35 years, a recording/mixing/mastering engineer for 30, and a music career coach for many of that too. I've shared the stage with some huge names in the mid 90's, my band got signed to John Elefante's (Kansas) record label, and even went on after that band to share with many more nationals in heavier bands. For years, I joined forces in coaching bands with metal icon, Alex Staropoli of Rhapsody of Fire. I sold millions of a song for charity, wrote for TV and Film overseas, and much more. AND YET, I still don't feel like I've done anything, I still don't actually see any of it as a big deal since it was just the career I was in, and I still don't like my voice despite years of refining it and having the recording skills to make it sound even better too. You may never like your voice as much as others do, or see your performance and accomplishments the way others do. My best nights on stage, where I was very happy with my performance, were the nights no one said anything to me about it. What I thought were my worst nights were the ones that everybody was praising me for my passion and energy. Energy is what connects. That's not to say you don't want at least 85% skill proficiency too! Like speaking a language, 40% might get you by, but it's hard to connect. 85% is about the best the average native speaker ever gets to, and is good enough—then spend the rest of their life trying to get that final percentage. But even that 85% is like learning to write that language with your non-dominant hand, learning to sing is building fine-motor skills and muscle memory. Fine-motor skills take time, proper guides and the right training exercises towards your goals.

After watching this episode, Rick asked: "I have a Friday, then Saturday 3 hours each gig coming up. Usually after one night of that duration the next day my voice can be a bit rough. Can you suggest any tips to prepare or recover?" 𝐌𝐲 𝐀𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫: **𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐆𝐢𝐠 (𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐩)** 1. 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐦 𝐔𝐩 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭, 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠 - - Use light Big Sirens (as low as you can to as high as you can and back) into a 4mm diameter straw for 5–10 minutes (or “puffy cheeks” if not a straw). Keep it light-throttle with that top-down whimper (cry/sob). - - Follow with Straw Singing octaves at medium to medium-light throttle up towards the top of your range, always keeping resonance lifted behind the nose and toward the eyes. - - End with light vocal stretches — sirens or scales up to medium throttle — so your mix is agile, not stiff. 2. 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐂𝐫𝐲 & 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 - - Everything should sit in Cry Vocal Mode — top-down whimper or yawn, lifted behind the nose and eyes. - - If you want grit, build it from pure fry foundations so you’re not just pushing raw. 3. 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 - - Use/stay just below medium-throttle whenever possible. Save anything above medium-throttle for peaks, not whole songs. - - Throttle -- Assign a level of Throttle (light, medium, heavy) to each phonation. - - - - Light = little to no effort. - - - - Medium = some effort, good resonance, but still relatively relaxed. - - - - Heavy = shouting. Throttle is a spectrum from light to heavy. - - Volume -- Perceived loudness from the amount or size of resonance created. - - Bracing -- Core bracing, squeezing the rib cage, or “planking” is necessary for sustaining distortion or longer phrases, rather than pushing or upping throttle. **𝐃𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐢𝐠** - 𝐏𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟: Think of it like athletic endurance. Not every song needs to be sung at “all-out” throttle. - 𝐒𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠: Between songs or even during instrumental breaks, hum lightly on a lifted /Ng/ or /M/ to reset resonance and keep cry locked in. A 4mm diameter straw helps too. - 𝐇𝐲𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐥𝐲: Small sips, don’t flood the system all at once.

@Rick Stumbaugh How did it go?