I'm sure you've seen the odd tutorial out there for singing with gravel, grit, distortion and overdrive - I'm talking about classic rock "sung" distortion, not false fold metal screaming. Most likely advice like vocal fry, pulsing the false folds, pushing, belting and smiling into the sound, right?

But what if I told you that singing with a bit of tasty grit is actually VERY easy to do, and isn't taxing on your voice at all?

It's really the #1 question I get on my YouTube voice coaching channel, and very common in my coaching sessions with singers of all levels.

Instead of just giving you another set of funny sounds and vocal fry exercises - I'm going to tell you how NOT to sing with distortion; these 5 mistakes you're making with gritting singing are an absolute voice killer, so let's fix 'em.

1 - Yelling

Classic rock distortion like Paul Rodgers or Layne Staley simply doesn't come from yelling. Sure, there's a bit of a yell to something like Danzig or even Jim Morrison occasionally, but if we're talking seriously great singers that excel at singing with a gritty tone without torching their voice, then yelling and grit really aren't related.

The key here is to understand exactly WHAT is distorting - and it's not actually the sound of your vocal folds being chewed up like one of those sink disposal machines from the 90s. Now, there's actually different types of grit, and yes, you CAN actually pulse the false folds while you sing to create a gravelly sound - but you want to sing grit on your higher notes without sounding like you're gargling rocks, right? In this case, you're really hearing the overtone distort/decay - think about the sound of 4000 cicadas all singing at the same time; the sound becomes distorted as the soundwaves bump into each other and get interrupted. This is much the same as a Layne/Cornell style grit (Cornell also has a touch of false fold pulse thickening the sound).

Understanding that your distortion should really sit in your resonance and within your placement is going to be a game changing change to your approach.

But it all begins when you STOP YELLING.

Stop it.

Seriously.

Just stop.

2 - Straining

I get it, grit sounds gnarly like your favourite singer is spitting glass and shredding their vocal folds with barbed wire - but it's all an illusion in most cases. Sure, some singers just suck at singing in a sustainable way, but again I'm talking about real singers who have mastered the art of singing with overdrive and grit without torching their voice.

Now, there's two reasons you're straining when you try to sing grit;

The first is that you suck at actually singing - so, go fix that first and worry about grit secondly.

Then secondly, you're pushing the grit out of your throat instead of altering your resonance and placement to grind the resonance instead of physically grinding your throat.

Sing a little quieter, stop pushing and try to go for a resonant, full but comfortable sound before adding grit to that comfortable setup.

3 - YTIAWYM (your tone is all wrong you muppet)

Go watch a Scooby Doo cartoon and listen to the sound one of the witches make - they're doing this cackley sound without pushing or yelling; it's really in the tone that you go for.

So, play around with making a gritty sound without even thinking about singing.

A witchy, duck, passive aggressive, annoyed sound works just fine - keep it cartoony and not too 'sung' to begin with, and then start bringing this tone into your real singing and you'll find that grit is really a tone rather than a physical technique in many cases.

Make fun of your favourite singer who sings with grit - like a total cartoon impression of John Fogerty or Axl Rose.

There you go, pretty easy, right?

4 - You're not really singing properly to begin with

Singers that are GREAT at singing with grit - from Chester Bennington, to Glenn Hughes, to Paul Rodgers right through to soul singers like Ann Peebles; are all GREAT singers even if you took all that grit and drive away from their voices.

How does YOUR voice sound when you sing clean?

I'm going to guess you want to sing with grit because your clean voice just doesn't sound that great, right?

There's your answer - improve your actual singing voice first and grit will become old hat to you because it will be so EASY and sound so GREAT.

5 - You're choking off your breath

What happens when someone pretends to almost punch you in the stomach, like one of your drunken buddies at the pub after a football game?

You clench your abs, and your vocal folds come together hard.

Need I say more? Push your belly FORWARD as though you're full of 9 buckets of chicken wings and a tub of beer and you'll notice that this panic/fight/flight reflex of the folds being excessively adducted releases and you start to sing on the air - yes, even with a gritty sound.

Now, you definitely do need to compress and add pressure when you sing with grit - actually, full singing of any kind. But, this doesn't mean that you physically hold your breath like you're underwater of holding a spliff - the key is minimal, but consistent exhalation when you support your voice.

Better than all of the above, watch this video to learn exactly how I approach singing with classic rock distortion and grit (and yes, there's also a followup video clarifying my use of fry and explaining terms like "backpressure");