At my singing lesson tonight, my voice teacher determined that I may have the beginning stages of damage to my vocal chords. This would make sense since I had been pushing my voice in the past week, but I'm glad he was able to catch it early in the first few days of possible damage.
His advice was to just be cautious and not push my voice, that whatever possible damage that may have been done to my voice (if there is any at all) would simply heal itself if I was just careful not to push myself. He told me to warm up my voice in the morning before I even speak, something I already do.
For some reason, I'm really not satisfied with that answer. I take pride in my voice and don't want it damaged, so is there anything else I can do, possible vocal exercises, drinking tea, anything else? Going on complete vocal rest is out of the question since I have a very big audition in a few weeks and need the practice. Although I will try and be cautious, is there anything more I can do?
2007-10-25 15:14:32 · 4 answers · asked by White Knight 4 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Theater & Acting
Just to clarify, my voice teacher wasn't teaching me something improper or forcing me to sing out of my range. I had been singing something incorrectly and that was what caused the strain in my voice, he quickly found out what I was doing wrong.
2007-10-26 11:26:56 · update #1
No, there isn't any pain and it isn't a sore thoat. My voice teacher was able to determine I had the beginning of damage by a very subtle rasp in certain parts of my voice.
Haha, I already have a cabinet full of every kind of green/herbal tea out there...so I'm good in that department!
2007-10-26 15:27:04 · update #2
Listen to your voice teacher. Getting advice from non-pros online can get you into the irreparable damage area and I'm sure you don't want that.
From a medical site:
The term 'hyperfunctional' means 'overused'. Hyperfunctional voice disorders, and laryngeal pathology such as vocal nodules almost always result from some form of vocal abuse or misuse. It is therefore essential to identify abusive behaviours (hence the need for detailed case history taking at the outset of therapy) and reduce or eliminate them, so that the cords can heal and recover, allowing a return to normal voice.
Simple voice exercises, performed morning and evening, are helpful in many cases in “warming up” and “cooling down” the voice. These exercises are outlined and supervised, according to the particular patient's needs, by the speech-language pathologist.
Reference
Glaze, L.E. (1996). Treatment of voice hyperfunction in the pre-adolescent. Language, Speech & Hearing Services in Schools, 27, 3, 244-250.
be careful!
Marianne
2007-10-25 18:55:50 · answer #1 · answered by Marianne D 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Go to an ENT. The only way to tell if you have nodes is for them to look down your throat with a camera (I've had this done, it's not too bad). A teacher can't tell by looking at you, HOWEVER they need to help you sing healthfully. If you are pushing or singing with tension, that needs to be fixed and that's what your teacher is there for. If you're pushing, is it because you are singing out of your range? Again, your teacher really needs to address this because you should never have to push your voice out of it's capacity to sing songs in your vocal category.
It's true that if you have the beginnings of them, they can go down with complete vocal rest (I have a friend who was told not to sing a note for 3 months after she was diagnosed with the beginnings of nodes), which is obviously not what you want to hear, especially for a big audition. So, just to be certain, go to an ENT asap and in the meantime, rest your voice as much as possible and find a new voice teacher, ideally someone that has a background in vocal pedagogy. Check out the National Association of Teachers of Singing website for teachers in your area - www.nats.org
2007-10-26 09:58:55 · answer #2 · answered by Ashley 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hmm... I'm not a singer, or anything so I wouldn't take my advice to heart... maybe it's sort of like a sore throat... But your vocal chords ae like everything else in your body, huh? So, like if you were a runner or a weight lifter, don't stress your body too much. What you want and what you are capable of doing are seperate, in not inextricably linked. So take it slowly, ease into and you'll be okay. And, (since its winter!!) you can stock up on yummy teas and herbal spices that might make your throat feel good! By the way, did you notice anything at all or what it all determined by your instructor?? I'm not sure if you would feel pain with vocal chords...
2007-10-26 18:55:25 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. You are physically damaged and making this audition might be the last singing of your life. Priorities.
Life is full of sacrifices. Perhaps you will have to give up this one to enable there to be more.
2007-10-25 22:36:10 · answer #4 · answered by Flounder 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋