Getting back from a cold- hoarsness

[classical guitar]

So I'm right one pace to get my voice back just in time to play this weekend. I went hoarse yesterday, and since then i've been doing nothing but rest.

At some point I'll have to start engaging the vocal cords in time for them to be able to sing this weekend. There's no way a cold start on Friday morning is going to get me ready for the weekend, so I've been thinking about some easy vocal exercises to get some coordination going again.

I've been using very light lip rolls, doing sirens in my falsetto with the lip roll.

Anybody else have some very light vocal therapy exercises to refresh your voice after bouts with sickness, hoarseness, ect?

Thanks

[ronws]

You're probably already doing it. Drinking water, getting rest, keeping the sinus clear. When I get sinus drainage, it can tickle the back of the throat, making it raw. Or even better, drain when I am singing and put in a well-timed cough away from the mic.

[Steven Fraser]

So I'm right one pace to get my voice back just in time to play this weekend. I went hoarse yesterday, and since then i've been doing nothing but rest.

At some point I'll have to start engaging the vocal cords in time for them to be able to sing this weekend. There's no way a cold start on Friday morning is going to get me ready for the weekend, so I've been thinking about some easy vocal exercises to get some coordination going again.

I've been using very light lip rolls, doing sirens in my falsetto with the lip roll.

Anybody else have some very light vocal therapy exercises to refresh your voice after bouts with sickness, hoarseness, etc.?

Thanks

5 words: Slow, Semi-occluded consonant sirens.

4 words: Take it easy early

3 words: go running, dude

2 words: rest often

1 word: patience

[classical guitar]

take it easy early like "don't use your voice until the initial swelling of waking up has passed?"- hasn't been a problem since i feel so crappy...

what is a semi occluded consonant siren?

[davidaaronkatz]

I don't want to fill the forum with long posts. Instead I would like to offer some guidance nutritionally that could definately speed up your recovery as well as help your cords and muscles spring back much quicker and stronger. These can be found on my blog, Superiorvocalhealth.blogspot.com.

There are many posts dealing with this issue and the herbal solutions and combinations that can help you. Especially the one on singing with an over used or sore voice.

Good luck,

David Aaron Katz

Superiorvocalhealth.blogspot.com

[akarawd]

Semi-occluded consonant sirens.

It'd be great if we were given a definition of this.

Thanks in advance,

akarawd

[classical guitar]

Stephen would have a great definition. The only one that works for me really good is the lip roll. Voice is back by the way. Went from like 60 percent to 100 overnight. Think I had some swelling around my neck from the infection that was keeping some muscles from engaging properly. My lip roll ranges were 100 percent, but the breaks were in weird places. I was a screamin demon upon awaking this morning though. Close call.

[classical guitar]

Well... thought i had fully recovered. About the 3rd set i had to change some notes. My head register above B4 is just not working at a high volume. I wonder what the issue could be.

[Steven Fraser]

take it easy early like "don't use your voice until the initial swelling of waking up has passed?"- hasn't been a problem since i feel so crappy...

what is a semi occluded consonant siren?

classical guitar: a semi-occluded consonant is a consonant that partially restricts the flow of air out the mouth. A fully-occluded consonant, like K, hard G, B and P, stops the air entirely.

The semi-occluded consonants that can be sirened are are the voiced ones. They vary by the amount of occlusion:

M, N, j (as in the french word Je), V, Z, voiced Th.

A siren is a pitch-slide over a range of frequencies, without stopping on any particular frequency.

Soooo, to do a semi occluded consonant siren.... onset a note using any of those consonants, and slide the pitch slowly up an octave and back down. If done at medium-soft volume, the exercise is great for early in the day, and both shows you where registration issues exist, and helps to smoothe out those irregularities.

[Joanna]

My recipe:

vocal rest, steam, sleep, gentle stretching & self-massage around throat & neck.

5-10 min. every two hours of buzzy-humming, medium range, with VERY focused forward resonance ( Mmmmoooonnnn, zzzzzoooommm, nnnooooooonnnn) but maximum ease in the throat. (this is related to Steve's semi-occluded reference).

Whole-body exercise (unless there's a fever), yoga, massage, and good nutrition.

NO weight training.

And -- maybe hardest to do--avoid the temptations to constantly "test" your voice or push to sound normal when it doesn't feel normal (you'll just learn how to stay tense & use bad technique forever).

If no change in 2 weeks from when the trouble started, get to a throat doctor.

Instead of sitting around fretting about voice, use the time for NON-vocal career stuff (press kits, online marketing, writing, organizing mailing lists). Practice instruments, or hang out with silent friends at libraries. Keep yer mind off the problem, & observe the impulses to tighten up—what got you in trouble in the first place.

The best doctors in the world are

Doctor Diet,

Doctor Quiet, and

Doctor Merryman.

—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)

You might also check out my "visualizations for Singers" CD/Mp3, for the sections on energy flow and "healing vocal damage." see marketplace here or Amazon...

cheers - Joanna