Ever Have Voice Problems?

[KRZ4TELE]

I play/sing in a pop/rock cover band. We are booked most weekends and I have developed some voice problems for the last several weeks. I try not to push the voice unless it is a gig and even then if the place is not packed I lay back a bit.
I can't just not perform with gigs lined-up for the summer.
I am about ready to go to the doc if this doesn't go away.
Anybody run into this problem?

[Tim Armstrong]

Yep. I don't have a particularly strong voice, and I have to consciously work on my breath control in order to sing well and on-key. Any kind of upper respiratory problem plays hell with my singing! I use Halls Mentol-lyptous cough lozenges, and irrigate my sinuses with a Neti pot, and lately have been taking Clariton to keep my allergies from messing up my sinuses...

I can't recommend strongly enough that you work on your breathing. Breath control and proper breath support of your voice can REALLY save it!

Cheers, Tim

[graphs]

you should maybe go to a doc even if it does go away. lots of people have had to re-learn how to sing because their old habits were destroying their vocal cords. best not to take a chance with it.

[KRZ4TELE]

Hey thanks Tim, I always read your posts with interest. You have a lot of common sense advice for fellow weekend warriors.
Not being a trained singer, I am not familiar with the breathing techniques you mentioned. Could you direct me to a good source of information on this?
Rock on!

[J-man]

Singing can put a lot of strain on your singing voice - it'll get better much quicker if you give singing a rest for a while. (If this is possible)

You can't really "walk off" this sort of thing, it will only make matters worse.

Going to the doctor is a very good idea.

[blacklove]

You really have to watch your microphones as a singer. I picked up a lot more sore throat maladies when I played out a lot. If it's a typical situation, you're sharing mics at your rehearsal space, and of course at the venue when you play. That's a lot of other people's mucous you're sucking into your membranes. I don't see that much of a difference between a mic and a harmonica, really. It's actually kind of gross.

+1 on seeing the doctor. Vocal chord damage can put you out of singing commission for a while. Better to head it off at the pass.

[Tim Armstrong]

Originally Posted by KRZ4TELE

Hey thanks Tim, I always read your posts with interest. You have a lot of common sense advice for fellow weekend warriors.
Not being a trained singer, I am not familiar with the breathing techniques you mentioned. Could you direct me to a good source of information on this?
Rock on!

Basically, proper breathing involves pulling your breath down fully into your lungs, which feels like you're filling your belly with air (you're actually just using your diaphragm muscle, located just above your stomach, to pull air down into the lower part of your lungs).

A quick Google will show all kinds of sites relating to this, and singing and voice teachers can help refine the technique, but the bottom line is that your voice needs to have a lot of air on tap in order to work properly, and many folks have an unfortunate tendency towards shallow breathing, which causes voice strain and difficulty with pitch, volume and tone...

Cheers, Tim

[Hucklebilly]

Just to elaborate a little, when you get to the end of a phrase and you feel like you're running out of breath, that's often when you'll get pitchy. The tendency is to try to squeeze the note out by sucking in your stomach--try the opposite: let your stomach expand--in fact push it down and out--and you'll find you have much more support for the note.

[Big John]

Some training from a voice coach would work wonders, you need to be singing from your diaphragm and NOT your throat, just ask Paul Young about that !!
I had to have a tracheotomy whilst in hospital and my voice was very wheezy and wispy sounding for a while but when i went back to the hospital for physiotherapy on my lungs i was taught to breathe from the diaphragm and it made the world of difference to me.
Dont rest it between gig's -- STOP USING IT COMPLETELY between gigs, it will help but obviously isn't easy.

Good luck with it.

[woodman]

warming up before a gig can help too -- gentle exercises to stretch your vocal cords before hitting them full-blast. same principle as stretching exercises before engaging in sports.

[Jakedog]

See a doctor, and don't push it too hard. A good friend of mine, who is a solo artist, and an international act, had to stop singing for a year and a half. For most of that, she didn't even talk. All she could do was take gigs playing guitar for other artists. She pushed too hard, and got herself a batch of nodes, like callouses but on your vocal chords. They gave her a choice, don't sing and try not to speak until she got better, or have a pretty serious surgery, and hope it didn't damage/change her voice.

you don't want to find yourself in a spot like that.

[Daddydex]

Rest! The best cure, but some don't have that luxury. It happened to me about 10 years ago. I would try to hit some notes but was treated to total silence. It was scary. I didn't have the luxury of resting my voice. I had to substitute lower notes for higher notes. My doctor put me on Nasocort (a steroid I believe) but it only helped a little. With time it passed. You might not be so lucky. See your Doctor and if you have insurance, see a specialist. If you don't have insurance, talk frankly with you doctor because doctors do favors for each other from time to time. If I had to rely solely on my guitar playing I would be back on the assembly line so I know how serious this issue is.

Dan

[Tim Bowen]

Good advice all around. If it's possibly a medical thing, definitely consult a doctor.

The only thing I'd add is that human beings have physical limitations, and it's important for the performer to be aware of them. I've always had decent pitch and range. I've done the breathing exercises, but even when I "eat" the mic, I don't have a particularly loud voice. I've come to terms with this and have learned to work around it by asking for a hotter signal from my vocal mic. As long as my cords don't have to work too hard, my pitch is pretty solid. A powerful voice would likely induce feedback city with the levels I choose, but then it's my mic.

My long time duo partner also does a solo act, and has been singing six to twelve sets per week for decades. He also underwent deviated septum sinus surgery a few years back. Whenever his voice is trying to wig on him and yet there's a job to be done, he makes this little concoction of scalding hot Earl Grey tea, lemon, and a dash of Jack Daniels whiskey, which he swears by.

[robbysturgis]

Be careful.

Voice problems are not typical. Maybe everyone has lost their voice shouting at a stadium event, or out in the cold, or during a sickness, but voice problems heal.

If yours is not healing then there is likely something wrong:

1) are you screaming during your vocalization
2) are you dehydrated
3) is there a structural problem

Solutions:

1) Warm up your voice with exercises days before and prior to the show - especially in a lower key - try a reverse scale (Do Ti La So Fa Me Ray Do) in any key, then reduce a half step and go again...see how low you can go...two days later see if you can go lower
2) drink water before and during your show - coming off a stressed voice, drink warm tea
3) have a doctor look at the chords - it is possible, but not likely that the doc could see a problem there.

[stephwills]

Any recommendation other than tea? I'm allergic. Makes my kidneys swell up like a football.

[Jakedog]

Originally Posted by stephwills

Any recommendation other than tea? I'm allergic. Makes my kidneys swell up like a football.

I don't sing as much as I used to. Used to be 12-15 sets a week when I did cover bands full time. Since I only do my own stuff now mostly, it's mostly one, or maybe two sets, once or twice a week.

Your voice is a muscle, stressing it too much wears it out fast. One thing I learned was to keep everything relaxed. Liquor helps. I'm not talking about getting smashed, or self medicating with a bottle of the stuff. When I would get worn out vocally, and have trouble hitting or sustaining things, I'd get myself a glass of Brandy. One would last most of the night. Just sip it slow, and easy. It helps keep everything relaxed and mellow in your throat and chords, at least it works for me.

I sing properly, lots of gut support and such. I played horn for ten years growing up, and know how to get the most of support and air-flow. But your throat plays into things big time when you're singing, and keeping those internal muscles a little more relaxed can do wonders.

[Michaell]

the problem you are experiencing?

You have not described what the problem is.

[garytelecastor]

Find a teacher that can show you how to sing from your head voice. It will cure everything.

[Tim Armstrong]

Originally Posted by Michaell

the problem you are experiencing?

You have not described what the problem is.

Yeah, what he said!

I'd note that we're having lots of allergy-related stuff going on around here, and that's certainly had an effect on MY voice...

Cheers, Tim