Intro
1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.
2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.
Singers have been screaming for a long time. Think of Janis Joplin at her wildest, or James Brown’s raspy shouts.
But those performers only screamed parts of songs at their most passionate moments. In the 1980s and ‘90s, heavy metal vocalists began to scream entire songs. Bands like Mayhem and At the Gates released albums on which all the vocals were screamed or growled.
Recently, some bands that play poppier music have begun to incorporate screaming. Avenged Sevenfold had the number one song in the US for a few weeks last year, and they use screaming vocals. Listen to Beren and Marni talk about the trend.
Dialog
1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.
2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.
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Beren: So. Have you heard of this band, the Blood Brothers?
Marni: I have. I don’t know much about them. I’ve just heard the name.
Beren: Their big thing is they have two lead singers. One of them sings in kind of…he has an emo voice, in a way, and the other one screams. Like blood-curdling, piercing screams.
Marni: Okay. There’s that whole genre of just, like, screaming singers, screaming vocals.
Beren: Screamo.
Marni: Screamo?
Beren: Screamo. It’s like emo with screaming vocals. It’s pretty cool though. I’m into it.
Marni: I like it in some respects, and then, you know, I’m like, “I could do that. I could scream.” I’m sure a lot of people feel that way. But I do think there’s an art to a good screaming vocal.
Beren: There totally is an art, and like doing it without damaging your vocal cords, you know? There’s study that goes into screaming. Are you into any of those screamo bands or do you not know?
Marni: Tell me what you know.
Beren: I don’t really know a lot. I think their demographic is usually teenage boys, so…
Marni: Probably angry 14-year-old boys.
Beren: Um-hm. Not necessarily even angry, probably just…lonely 14-year-old boys. I don’t know.
Quizzes
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Discussion
Beren asks Marni if she has heard of the Blood Brothers, a well-known rock band with two vocalists. One sings and the other screams.
Marni notes that screaming vocals are becoming more and more popular. Beren tells her that there’s a whole new genre of music that uses screaming vocals called screamo.
Like many people who hear screaming vocals in a song, Marni sometimes feels like she could scream just as well as famous vocalists. Beren assures her that screaming is a difficult skill to learn. You have to be careful not to damage your throat.
Screaming vocalists are becoming more and more popular, Beren notes, mostly among young boys who may or may not be lonely or angry.
Do you have a favorite screamer? Do you think screaming can sound cool in the right song?
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