The International Screaming Contest in Thailand has been won by Sergey Savelyev from Russia, who 
squealed at 116.8 decibels, about as loud as an ambulance siren. He did not, however, break the record.
The record is held at 129 decibels, which was reached nine years ago in London. Savelyev said he’d be back to compete next year, stating confidently that, “I was only getting warmed up”. Contestants twist their bodies to get a good scream in.
The Russian walked away with about 30,000 balts ($1,300), and the bragging right of being the loudest person in the room this year. He was one of 11 finalists out of 1,500 contestants.
There are many strategies to scream louder, but here are some that will surely put you on top of the list for next year event.
- You should know what your voice range is (baritone, tenor, contralto, mezzo soprano, etc). If you don’t already know, then search for info on the different voice ranges. Find an instrument you can sing along to, such as a guitar or piano, find middle C (256 Hz), and figure out what range you fit in to.
- Warm up. Every good metal screamer does a warm-up at some time of the day before a performance. This is not a screaming warm-up, it’s a singing warm-up. People like Randy Blythe of Lamb of God, Byron Davis of God Forbid, and Phil Labonte of All That Remains, all practice conventional singing warm-up exercises before a performance; the same fundamental exercises that you would do before choir practice. This is very important for your voice so don’t be lazy and skip it. Find a singing warm-up routine, like singing the vowels–Eh, Ee, Ah, Oh, Oo–over a 5-note scale.
- When you first start learning, you’re going to be making a lot of dodgey noises. Like little cat growls and trying to speak like Marge Simpson. It’s important that you create your scratchy sounds from the nasal region in the back, above your throat, not low in your throat. If you make the sound from low in your throat, you will be teaching yourself to do it wrong and learning a method that will hurt you. Try to feel the difference between the Marge voice and the low-in-the-throat, gargle-like noise. You should be able to create the Marge voice without hurting yourself. Use these two points of reference as you’re learning. Remember to keep your scratchy sounds coming from higher up (the nasal region) so you don’t damage your voice. If you’re doing it wrong, it will hurt like hell. Practice intelligently. You will probably be screaming wrong in the beginning, so save your voice until you figure out how to do it right.
- Use your diaphragm correctly! Don’t hold the air in your chest! You should breath in and fill your stomach, not your chest.