How do I sing when I have laryngitis or am sick?

Laryngitis is a general term used by most of us to describe when we "lose" our voices. Usually it's inflammation or irritation of the vocal folds, although it can also be extreme dryness of the vocal folds, acid reflux, or stiffness of the muscles in and around the vocal folds themselves.

Laryngitis can be caused by many things, one of which is trauma (screaming, yelling, excessive or loud talking, intense coughing due to sickness, over singing, etc). For singers, over singing (singing too high, too long, too loud, etc) is a particular problem.

If caused by trauma, and you can almost pinpoint moment you hurt your voice, stop singing or talking altogether, if possible, for at least 24hrs. If there is next to zero voice there, see an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist. This could be very serious, and continuing to sing or speak on it can cause permanent damage.

If caused by extreme inflammation where it is very painful to speak or swallow, again, take off a day or two and give your voice a chance to get a bit healthier before singing again. Now, most of the time, we just have stiffness, dryness or irritation of the chords due to overuse, allergies, acid reflux or sickness. When this is the case, we can still sing. We just have to warm up slowly, lowly and spread out. In other words, sing quietly and only singing as high as is completely comfortable, and for short periods of time. (By the way, acid reflux is very serious and needs to be dealt with ASAP, if that’s the problem).

We may only be able to sing a few notes of range, at best, to start. Just sing quietly (no more than a normal spoken level) for a minute or two at most, then give yourself a break for 10-15 minutes or more, and then try again. After awhile, your voice will start to loosen up, although it won’t necessarily return to 100% that day. If you’re patient, you might be surprised at how much of your voice can come back on that same day.

A huge help will also be lubrication. Use a throat spray that is aloe vera based. I recommend Entertainer’s Secret (and yes, I have it available out at www.SingWithPower.com, or at the studio). Entertainer’s Secret saved my voice when I discovered that I had acid reflux problems. It is a spritz inhaled across the vocal folds themselves. That’s the only way to directly lubricate the area.

There is a “door” called the epiglottis that shuts off the vocal folds area when we swallow. It keeps us from choking on food or liquid when we swallow, so if we just use a spray for the upper throat to help our voices, it never touches the vocal chords. It would be like pouring oil on the outside of the engine, rather than into the engine. Used liberally, a product like Entertainer’s Secret can help tremendously.

By the way, don’t use a spray that numbs the area if you’re going to be talking or singing. You want to be able to feel if you are hurting yourself. For instance, you wouldn’t use a numbing shot on a sprained ankle so that you can walk around. You’d be further injuring the area, even though you wouldn’t be feeling the pain.

Hope this helps!

How to stop scooping or reaching for the high notes.

Here's a simple solution to stop scooping up to high notes. Practice first by putting an "m" or "n" in front of an open vowel too which you are scooping. Tune the "m", and then open to the vowel.

For instance, if you're scooping up to a note on the word "outside", then practice first singing"mmmmoutside". The key is to be sure that your "m" is in tune before you open to the "ah" sound of "outside". Get in tune quickly on the "m" or "n".

Try to shorten the time it takes to tune up the "m". Work your way to singing "ON the pitch" (no scoop) on the "m" or "n".

After you get rid of the scoop on the "m", then try going straight to the open vowel ("ah" in the case of this example) in tune, ON the pitch.

You're listeners will be grateful!

Is "classical" voice training best?

Is "classical" voice training best? Category: Music
ELISHA WROTE:I hope it is ok for me to be contacting you like this! My name is Elisha, and I was just perusing local vocal coaches and came across your page. I'm a singer who has been classically trained, but who has a bigger passion for more popular styles of music. I've learned to express myself in many different styles and using different tone colors, but the technique of belting in the upper range is really keeping me from getting to the next level..

I tend to overthink and analyze a lot of things, and perhaps that is part of my problem, but I am getting hung up on whether or not I should be using more of a "fake/mixed/head voice" belt or trying to work to extend my actual chest voice. I'm driving myself crazy trying different placements and thinning out the sound, but nothing seems to be quite right.. when I flip into a fake belt, it sounds fine in the extreme range (F5ish+), but in the Bb4-E5 range, it doesn't sound "belty"enough to me.

When I'm singing a particularly taxing belting song, I've found that I get VERY vocally tired and sometimes can't make it through the song (I end up losing my placement and range), and I'm just not sure what I could be doing wrong. When a song sits in that Bb4-E5 range a lot or repeatedly keeps having me belt out notes in that range, I just feel like I keep getting tighter and tighter and no matter how relaxed I try to be, there's no stopping it...

I'm just really frustrated and starting to lose faith in my singing.. I'm also starting to fear that I am somehow damaging my voice. I'd love if you could send a few pointers my way if and when you get the chance. You can hear several samples of me singing different genres of songs on my profile for reference..

I'd also like to know what your pricing is for private voice lessons. I think I'm at my wits end and have gone as far as I can on my own, and my classical training won't help me with the problems I am now facing. Thank you for any info and advice you can offer!

Elisha


ERIC RESPONDED:

There is hope!!

Your problems are common with "classically trained" singers - especially women. "Classically trained" to me means "voice teacher who doesn't know how to teach students to connect the registers".

I love and teach all styles of music, but it is NEVER ok for a voice teacher to teach singing technique if they can't help a student seamlessly line up the voice so that they can sing any musical style or vocal range. Your teachers should have eliminated your voice "cracking" or "breaking" before pushing you into any specific style of music.

If you don't feel your vocal range, tone and control improving within a few lessons, then work with a better teacher who will help you attain your goals faster.

Here's a link from SingWithPower.com discussing finding a good voice teacher. Call Kathy in the office and let her know that I want to set up lesson with you. 866-910-7464

We will fix this.

Eric

Vibrato Development and Mastering Lesson Program

Eric has just finished a 2 1/2 hr vibrato development and polishing program. These lessons on vibrato will help students of every level learn to sing with a more musical, relaxed and natural sounding vibrato.