Headaches While Screaming? It’s an Air Management Issue
- Extreme Vocal Institute
- Dec 5
- 4 min read
If you’ve ever finished a vocal practice, set or a recording session and thought, “Why do I have a headache after screaming?” — you’re not alone.This is one of the most common issues new (and even experienced) vocalists run into when learning extreme vocals.
The good news: most screaming-related headaches aren’t caused by the screaming itself. They’re caused by air management — specifically, pushing too much air, too fast, with too much tension behind it or not using enough air and trying to squeeze the sounds out.
Let’s break down why this happens, what it means, and how to fix it so you can scream safely and consistently.
Why Screaming Creates Headaches in the First Place
When your body senses a high-pressure situation — like trying to blast a ton of air forcefully through a tiny space — your system reacts by engaging your:
Neck muscles
Jaw
Tongue
Abs
Forehead/scalp tension
And yes… your vascular system
This creates a chain reaction:
Too much pressure → too much tension → blood vessel constriction → headache.
Most vocalists assume their tone or technique is causing pain, but the real problem almost always comes down to this:
⚠️ You’re using way more air than your vocal technique can handle.
No matter what kind of scream you're doing, false cord or fry scream, or how you're shaping them; tunnel throat screams, gutturals, pig squeals, etc., none of them require explosive airflow. If anything, the most controlled, powerful sounds use less air than you think.
⚠️ Not supporting your screams enough can also result in a headache.
Under supporting your screams can also lead to things like neck, jaw, tongue, and abdominal tension because in order to get the distortion you have to squeeze the sound out.
Signs You Need to Manage Your Air Pressure While Screaming Differently
If you notice any of the following, you're going to want to revisit how you're building your scream.
🚩 You feel lightheaded or dizzy
🚩 Your jaw and neck tense up
🚩 Your face turns red when you vocalize
🚩 The headache is front-loaded or behind the eyes
🚩 Your scream cracks or the distortion breaks up or falls apart
How to Resolve Your Headache Issue
The first thing you want to do is stop vocalizing 🛑. End your practice or recording session for the day or at the very least, take a break and then you can come back to it with a new approach later.
In a lot of our YouTube videos, throughout our EVI Now program and in lessons with his students, David talks about The Big Three repeatedly when it comes to screaming.
The Big Three are:
Air pressure control
Placement
Shape
The key to screaming and performing all kinds of extreme vocals safely and efficiently is to find the balance between these three things.
Focus on the fundamentals. Rebuild your scream from the ground up.
Whether your screams are based in a false cord or fry technique, there is going to be a sweet spot for each individual where you balance your air pressure control with your placement and shape and can get the maximum amount of output for the least amount of effort. This means finding the point at which you can make the scream still happen and sound the way you want after backing off and reducing the air.
1️⃣ Work on activating your scream gently. If you are one of our EVI Now course users, find the activation method that works best for you and use that along with the associated exercises. If you're on our YouTube channel, check out our playlists for false cord screams and fry screams to find a method that is helpful for you. Revisiting the fundamentals doesn't mean you're regressing, it means you're creating healthy habits for your voice.
2️⃣ EVI Now users should watch our course "Complete Breathing" and practice the exercises in that course. You can also used our video linked above from the Extreme Vocal Institute YouTube channel called "How to Breathe for Metal Vocals"
3️⃣ Slowly ease back intro practice, remembering to focus on the fundamentals of your scream and stopping if you start to feel headachy.
Headaches don't mean that you're bad at screaming. It just means that you have some work to do to find the right balance that will get you sounding powerful and aggressive without beating yourself up in the process. Once you find that sweet spot you'll find that you have more endurance, more control over your tone, more stable and consistent distortion and no headaches, dizziness or nausea.
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