The Charismatic Voice’s Elizabeth Zharoff is Trying to Fund Vocal Research and You Can Help
If you’ve ever listened to some of today’s more expressive vocalists in metal, you may have found yourself wondering just how the fuck someone does what they do. I’m talking abyssal growls, soaring screeches, and everything in between. If that’s the case, you’re not alone because Elizabeth Zharoff, of the YouTube channel The Charismatic Voice is looking to advance vocal research to learn how those sounds are produced — and you can help make that research a reality.
Just yesterday, Zharoff announced and launched an ambitious Kickstarter project to help fund “the first ever harsh vocal research study of [its] kind with the top vocal research team in the world.” In order for that to happen, she’s hoping to raise $235,000 by Thursday, October 3.
As a trained opera singer herself, Zharoff said her YouTube page has led her to realize that metal vocals aren’t lesser-than forms of expression. In fact, she’s come to appreciate our little slice of the music world, spending a lot of her channel’s efforts on highlighting some wild metal vocals over time.
“I used to think that screams and growls were harmful to the vocal cords. Even with eight years of university opera training and a decade of performing, I believed these sounds were damaging. But I was wrong. We were wrong.”
If successful, 100% the money raised will go to a non-profit fund called The Charismatic Voice Research Fund. That money will fuel research involving top vocal researchers at the University of Utah. The work will be based on a pilot study conducted at The University of Utah that involved Lorna Shore vocalist Will Ramos. So far, seven professional metal singers have signed on to assist in the project:
- Travis Ryan of Cattle Decapitation
- Phil Bozeman of Whitechapel
- Mark Garrett of Kardashev and Kardavox Academy (YouTube)
- Melissa Bonny of Ad Infinitum and Kamelot (featured)
- Alissa White-Gluz of Arch Enemy
- Spencer Sotelo of Periphery
- Tatiana Shmayluk of Jinjer
- Devin Townsend
Within just one day of the project launch, the Kickstarter has already raised more than $171,000 from 2,492 backers. As for what you’d get if you back the project, there’s a buncha rewards on offer, including access to exclusive videos, your name in the credits, and even vocal lessons.
Ideally, if things go well Zharoff hopes this will spark an entirely new way to analyze the human voice. With enough work, she sees a future where metal vocals can be just as “classically trained” as opera.
“In ten years, I want to see programs on vocal distortion at Juilliard. I want classical singers to cross-train in these techniques because there’s evidence that training in vocal distortion could actually improve your high notes.”
If all of that sounds interesting to you, be sure to check out the Kickstarter page and contribute if you can. And who knows? Maybe your help will lead to the next Ronnie James Dio or Mike Patton some day…
