Polly,

Screaming is absolutely the worse thing you can do to your vocal chords. Any throat doctor will tell you that. Try to avoid it if you want a long and prosperous singing career. It's not going to do your band much good if 6 months out of the year your canceling shows because you have no voice. Even worst than that, if you stretch your vocal chords far enough they can tear or snap, and your days of singing will be a thing of the past. If you like what your doing, and want to continue to do it for years to come, adjust.

Finding a key that best fits your vocal range will benefit everyone involved in the group in the long run, and if your guitar player really values your contribution to the group, he'll do a little transposing.

To be honest with you I sing and play guitar, if My lead guitar player says " I can only play that in this key" too many times, I find a more talented lead guitar player. If he really knows his stuff he'll find a voicing in another key that works.

He can use a capo, change the settings on his amp, and if a string breaks , no big deal, he replaces it. On the other hand, if you break a vocal chord , another set of vocal chords are somewhat more difficult to come by.

Billy Darnell

http://www.billydarnell.com

http://www.songwriterservices.biz