Special delivery from my personal writings on Quora, answering many, many questions from all kinds of singers!
Now sharing valuable singing tips here!
The short answer is no. It’s too much of a risk to the vocal anatomy and in particular to the fragile vocal folds (cords).
Strong coughing in particular is harsh and violent, as the vocal folds smack together, are slammed together hard, and then are jarred by the forceful sudden explosion from the cough.
Please go to your doctor and say that you very much want to get to the bottom of what’s causing this. Tell the doctor you are a singer or an aspiring singer in that you need to have your respiratory tract clear.
If you already know that the source is common cold virus, and if you do not smoke cigarettes or have any underlying lung disease, such as COPD, etc., then the cold ought to run its course in the normal amount of days.
Many people report great results from the natural herbal cough medicine from elderberry syrup, obviously available without a prescription, or at least it is in the United States. Please ask your doctor. There is small chance you might be allergic to elderberry. From my knowledge, that would be rare, but it’s just not smart to take risks where your vocal anatomy is concerned.
You could try a small amount of the cough syrup made from elderberry, as mentioned in the blog article linked below. Try just a little bit and see if you get a rash or if you have any ill side effect that you believe has been triggered by the cough liquid. If so, you have to stop using it right away. If you think it’s agreeing with you well, then you can have a whole dose of it. I think you’re going to find that it works miraculously well And it really isn’t that expensive at all.
Try this article I wrote about combating flu with natural remedies. The same holds true if you’re dealing with the common cold:
https://singingandyou.com/natural-remedies-for-flu/
Personally, I like to read this expert’s articles, because he is a Harvard-educated MD with a great deal of knowledge about natural remedies. So you get the best of both worlds, I know that I’ve had excellent results from the types of remedies he advises. And if something is unsafe, this doctor will be one of the first to blow the whistle on it, warning everyone. Also if he thinks that you need to see a good MD physician and not any other type of health practitioner, he will speak right up and say so. In other words you’re not going to automatically be always told to use alternative remedies by this particular doctor. He really is wise. You might want this article a quick read:
https://www.drweil.com/health-wellness/body-mind-spirit/colds-flu/a-sure-cure-for-the-flu/
You absolutely MUST rest your voice! And you’ve got to drink a lot more water than usual. Unless a doctor says otherwise, drink about 90 oz a day of good clean on flavored water. In terms of vocal rest, I would stop singing entirely for about 4 weeks. I would greatly minimize all talking during this time. Difficult, inconvenient? — Yes. Impossible? — Not at all. If you follow this directive, you’re going to sing much better, and this is the God’s honest truth!
When you resume singing, make sure you are extremely well hydrated at all times. In addition you must continue to get good sleep. Sleep 8-9 hours or so in every 24-hour period.
You really cannot sing well if you are physically exhausted. It just won’t happen. You’ve got to get your sleep on a regular basis, without fail. More sleep and more water! There are no substitutes for sleep and for water. Cannot be over-emphasized! Please drink your water and get your sleep. Your voice will thank you — bigtime!
The thing is if you actually try these remedies, you’re going to find that you’re singing better, big time!
By the way, do you have a good water bottle? Water Bottle
If I can be of service, I offer an awful lot of free information and vocal health remedies you won’t find anywhere else. The email address is on the Contact page of the website.
All the best to you!
Why can’t I breathe well when it is cold?
Well, first it’s best to say that I am not a doctor. However, I’ve read and heard quite a bit about this throughout the years, and what I know is that what you are describing can be a sign of having asthma. I should hasten to add this is not at all intended to diagnose you in any way whatsoever.
Are you experiencing tightness in the chest or spasming when you feel short of breath? It’s important that you have proper medical care, so please do not ignore any shortness of breath or trouble breathing. Surely this is your body signaling you that it needs some special attention for the problem!
It has to do a lot with exhaling and your comfort level and capacity to exhale, particularly when exposed to cold temperatures.
Here is an article that explains it much better than I can, and this indicates it’s quite a common issue with asthmatics to have difficulty breathing when it’s cold. Valuable singing tips for those with asthma!
All credit to https://www.healthline.com/health/asthma/cold-induced-asthma, part of the article is as follows:
How to Limit Cold Weather–Induced Asthma
It isn’t uncommon for your asthma symptoms to shift with the seasons. Find out more about how to handle cold-induced asthma. Get the facts on why cold makes asthma worse, and learn about precautions you can take. Also read our tips on what to do in case of an asthma attack, how to prevent future attacks, and more.
My opinion is that you should the examined by a good doctor as soon as possible. It would probably be best if you could be examined by a specialist pulmonologist physician, which is the type of doctor that specializes in breathing disorders. Can your primary care doctor give you a referral?
All the best to you!
This is a great question, because it automatically requires a discussion of good body alignment for singing — one of my favorite topics — and one of the most fundamental singing tips!
Fast answer: No, it is not bad technique for your head to be upwards when singing. In fact it’s preferable.
There are many ways to learn good body alignment for singing. The one I might choose as my favorite, or certainly one of my favorites, is The Alexander Technique. If you will first spend a little time learning this, you can and should experience improvement in your singing. —Why? —Because your entire vocal technique depends upon supportive body alignment. It’s only with body alignment which emphasizes the constant lengthening of the spine that we have any chance for learning deep muscular support of our singing voices. If you’re looking for the most valuable singing tips, please give this a real try!
Gretchen Greenfield
SingingAndYou.com
Our next question is about finding help for allergies.
What is the best treatment for an allergy that changes the voice?
Well, try this great ebook: Natural Remedies for Singers’ Allergies:
https://app.box.com/s/
Like several of my colleagues on Quora, I am also a professional voice teacher, retired opera singer. Maybe I can help. There will be singing tips here you can use!
Your voice reminds me a little bit of this great singer from the past, and we call this vocal timbre a soubrette soprano, meaning a high light soprano voice:
Yes, it’s true that you need to flesh out the lower notes, but I believe from a little bit I’m hearing this is certainly possible for your voice. The quality of your voice has a sweetness to it, and I have to believe there is some potential here, how much potential remains unknown until you would have a few lessons with a teacher.
I also very much agree about not slapping labels on singers as to what voice part they are. How many questions do voice teachers get asked from people who will tell you that their range is from X note to Y note, and based on this they want to know what voice part they are, what type of voice they have?!
I really don’t mind going blue in the face explaining that the range of a singer’s voice is one consideration but not the whole story, determining what type of voice a singer has. And this really is not a critical thing for you to know right away. It can be limiting, to have some name of a voice part assigned to you, and then you’ve got some idea in your head that you can’t or shouldn’t sing higher or lower, because some teachers slapped a label on you too early. I agree to just put that to the side right now and just singing a healthy way. When you do that, what you will find is your voice is going to tell you what direction is best, as far as which music is best for you to sing, etc. Besides the singer’s range, it has to do with where the greatest amount of beauty is in the voice, for the longest period of time, without that voice getting tired. And here again it’s not necessary to go into a lot of technical detail here at the moment, in your situation. You have enough of a sense of what you think you should be singing for right now, from what I can glean, at least from this one little bit of singing you’ve offered.
I believe that you would do very well in singing lessons, because it seems to me you’re highly motivated to sing better, and that’s what it takes, the desire to realize your artistic potential.
You’re asking what you can do specifically right now to improve your voice, you’re singing, and why are you should bother going forward with this. To address the last part of the question first, it’s exceedingly tough as a profession. The only way to answer the question of whether you ought to pursue this is to first search your soul and ask if there’s anything else at all, any other profession, in which you believe you can be just as satisfied as if you were singing professionally. If the answer to this is yes, then I advise making singing a hobby, from which you can derive plenty of enjoyment, but as a profession go ahead and pursue whatever else it is in which you can find just as much gratification is singing — if that’s where it’s at for you.
Only if the answer to a soul-searching question of whether there is any other profession in which you can be just as fulfilled is actually a great big NO — as in you just absolutely have to sing to be happy in this life — only if you truly feel that way should you pursue it as a profession. I don’t mean to throw cold water, but you understand that the competition is so intense, overwhelming, just fierce, and there simply are not enough jobs for everyone to be employed on a consistent basis, not for performing alone. You can certainly become a teacher and a performer, but if you want only to perform, this requires a tremendous drive to succeed and undying optimism, an unwavering belief in yourself, and also a good measure of just plain luck! You also have to find the very best quality instruction available.
The communication between you and your voice teacher needs to be exceptionally good. We cannot see or physically touch our voices, not the same way as an instrumentalist can touch and feel his or her violin or piano and so forth. What we go by the sensations and also to some degree how it sounds, coming back to our own ears. You’ve got to memorize those physical sensations, when you know that you’re singing right, when your teacher tells you that something is right, that you’re doing it right, you’ve got to memorize how that feels in your voice, in your body. The way your voice sounds to you is not the way others hear you. Record your singing lessons and record your practice sessions. Even this can be deceiving, depending on recording equipment and so forth. But I gotten a lot of great help from recording my singing lessons, back in the Stone Age, when I was studying.
This is going to somewhat duplicate what I recently posted, answering another aspiring singer’s question, but if it’s allowed I’ll go ahead and set it out again now. I think this has some merit. Whether or not you read music, I think you can do this, because you’re an intelligent young lady.
Here we go then. What I want you to do is listen to this one time through, and don’t worry about a little bit of Latin words here and there; those are easy to pronounce and I can help you quickly.
After you listen to it once, and let’s say you don’t read music, just follow along as best you can with the notes and the words, actually it’s going to help you learn to read music a little bit. (It sure can’t hurt.)
I want you to sing this on the NG hum. The word SING of course ends in NG. Say the word SING and hold the NG. That’s the way I want you to hum. It helps for a lot of reasons, which we don’t have to really elaborate on right this minute, technical reasons that are probably too much to get into right here and now. It’s really a healthy way to hum, so give it a try please.
After you’ve hummed it through a couple of times, go ahead and sing the words, following along, so you’ll be singing along with the singer.
(By any chance if you know a pianist who would not mind recording the accompaniment for you, if you give them an idea of what your tempo is for the song and they wouldn’t mind recording just the piano part, the accompaniment, then you can sing along without having to also sing with another vocalist. This is another way to practice if you’re not quite ready to sing this unaccompanied for practice purposes.)
For those few Latin words, we pronounce them almost identically to how you would pronounce Italian, because this is Church Latin. For now just know this singer pronounces them accurately and correctly, and you can either duplicate what you hear for those few Latin words, if you want to practice the song in this way, or you can simply hum the tune, instead of singing the Latin text; use your NG hum.
I believe that a song in this range is going to begin to help with strengthening the middle of your voice. Of course there are many ways to accomplish the same thing, but I’m simply trying to be of assistance in a quick fashion, via this Quora thread.
For students such as yourself, I would be assigning certain vocal exercises from a famous book, which I know work very well for young voices, etc. But for right now, singing in this range for you, I think it’s going to help you become more confident about singing with a fuller and healthy sound in the middle of your range and getting more toward the lower middle of your range.
I’m saying this from what I know so far about your range. I happen to be a contralto, and I can tell that you’re certainly, at least as things sound right now from this recording I’m hearing, you’re a light lyric soprano or a soubrette. I’m not saying that you won’t ever be mezzo. No one knows what the future is going to bring and I don’t have a crystal ball. Right now, I’m hearing a very true comfortable timbre that is a light lyric soprano. I mean I think that’s pretty obvious, isn’t it?! I’m not overstepping by making that statement, surely.
Having said this, we’re not slapping any label on you or trying in any way to limit what you can and cannot sing. The point here is to get your entire range to be comfortable and beautiful throughout and then let your voice, as it’s opening up in a healthy fashion, guide us as to what sounds and feels the best.
Without good vocal health you’ve got exactly ZERO. The whole thing is contingent upon good vocal health or just plain forget it.
You’ve got to drink lots and lots of good clean water everyday. Unless your doctor tells you otherwise, 80 to 90 Oz or more, at least. You’ve got to get your sleep. Give your body a chance to recover with the amazing healing capabilities our bodies have, which is possible, when we sleep properly and for enough time. The voice loves sleep! And it needs good hydration. It’s when we’re dehydrated that the disease take hold, and it’s all the more important for a singer to have good hydration for the voice. If your vocal folds are inflamed or puffy or a little swollen, or even a lot swollen, you can’t go wrong with lots of good sleep. Obviously there are other remedies, and I know what many of them are. (I would never say that I know it all about anything. I mean how foolish is that?!)
If I can be of service, don’t hesitate to call upon me, because I offer a great deal of guidance to my fellow singers free of charge. If you want to sing, I want to help!
All the best to you and happy holidays, dear!
Gretchen Greenfield
SingingAndYou.com
What I’m hearing from singers are requests for “tips.” Seems like people don’t really want lessons. But they do want singing tips!
Our next question is about high notes that do not sound beautiful.
Have you ever worked with a singing teacher? It is very important to develop the middle of your voice. When that is stronger and more secure, it tends to be easier to extend the range in both directions, higher and lower.
Regardless of responses you might receive on Quora or elsewhere, the fact is your particular voice is special and you have individual needs for specific advice, vocal development, and expert guidance in order to maximize your vocal talent.
Also I would point out that we don’t hear ourselves the way other people hear us. So even if you’re listening to yourself on a recording, this can still be a distortion of what other people here in a live setting. In other words it’s probably best If you are not so judgmental of yourself and just realize this is an opportunity for beginning to discover how your voice can be cultivated and dramatically improved upon.
One thing you might try is to first listen a few times to this song and follow along as best you can (assuming you do not read music):
Think of the sound you make when you pronounce the word “sing,” — that “ng” sound at the end of the word. Say the word “sing,” and hold on to that “ng” sound at the end of it.
You can hum the tune of this song on the same “ng” sound. This is what I’m calling an “ng hum.”
So I recommend humming the tune of this song on “ng.” Practice that way for several days and then begin singing the words.
This song has just a couple of little Latin words in it. You can listen to how the singer pronounces these few Latin words and copy his pronunciation, because in fact it is accurate as recorded.
Possibly the article linked below would also be of some help.
Thanks very much and all the best to you!
Gretchen Greenfield
Our next question deals with how it is possible to sing better, with asthma. I’m always delighted to give new singing tips to just about anyone. But here we have a situation that truly calls for an exam but good medical doctor, preferably by a lung specialist.
How can a person with asthma improve their voice and singing skills?
Asthma is a medical disorder. So the first answer I have to offer is to make sure and consult with your own doctor and possibly also with a pulmonology specialist, a pulmonologist doctor, because they specialize in lung disorders and they treat patients with asthma all day long. Mention that you want to be able to breathe better for singing and ask what he/she would specifically advise.The first thing to try of course are the prescription medications that your doctors will recommend. If those aren’t working for you, or perhaps if they are and you would just like some additional support in terms of your breath control, I can make a suggestion about an herbal tea that you might want to try. Once again, I would urge you to check with your doctor before you drink this tea. It’s available over the counter, has been for many years, and is a safe product. But when you say you have asthma, then it’s better that your doctor is aware of all natural remedies that you are taking along with prescriptions that you are using regularly.By the way don’t overlook a condition called “exercise induced asthma.” Be sure to ask your doctor what this is exactly and look it up on the internet as well. Basically it is a form of asthma that is triggered by exercise. I understand that some asthma patients don’t really have symptoms until they are exercising and the lungs are getting a workout. Then the asthma symptoms are triggered, the bronchospasms, the excess mucus production, etc.Exercise-induced asthma is, the last I understood, a more specialized condition that requires a little bit of a different medication regimen. I don’t think it’s vastly different in terms of the prescription meds for this, the inhalers and so forth, but I might not be aware of the newest drugs for this condition. This is why it’s crucial to have a good asthma specialist doctor, a breathing specialist, and again they’re called pulmonologists (lung specialist doctors).
This tea is made from an herb called yerba mate, which a plant indigenous to the rainforest. It is scientifically known to gently stimulate your adrenal glands to produce more natural cortisol. This in turn brings down inflammation all over the body, including throughout your lungs. Please see below.
You can sweeten it with honey. (It’s already naturally sweet tasting.) What you might do is try just a little of this and make sure that it agrees with you okay. If you were to develop a rash or if anything strange like that occurs as you’re just trying a little bit of it, I think you have to assume that you’re one of the very few people that might have an allergy to it. In this case absolutely stop using the tea immediately.
From my understanding, reading about this for years, it would be unusual for someone to be allergic to this herb. But then again, anyone could conceivably have an allergy to just about any substance.
My opinion is that it really should be quite safe to try just a little of it and if you don’t find that you are upset by it in any way, go ahead and drink a cup of it. I would definitely have food in my stomach or be eating something at the same time you’re drinking this tea.
Let’s say that you tried a little of this tea. It’s likely to give you energy and allow you to breathe more easily. This is when to test your singing gently. If you feel that you’re better in general when you drink this tea, I would definitely report this to your doctor. You can tell your doctor that you first tried only a little bit of it and it seemed fine and so you drank a cup of it with your breakfast or your lunch, etc. And then when you attempted singing, you discovered that your breathing is better, you have better breath control for singing, and that you feel you’re singing voice is responding well.
Your doctor can research this specific herb, yerba mate, and he or she can then make a more informed recommendation about whether they would or wouldn’t advise you to continue using it.
If you are using an inhaler that is what they call a “topical steroid,” such as the one called AzmaCort (assuming that one is still on the market) or one of those other topical steroid inhalers, then I’m not sure that the doctor is going to be on board for this particular tea. This herb, yerba mate, is not going to be a substitute for an inhaler like AzmaCort or for any topical steroid inhaler. It’s going to work a lot more gently than any prescription medication. But it could well give you the boost that you’re needing. From what you’re describing, I think it’s certainly worth a try.
If your problem is due to excessive mucus production, I would recommend this article:
https://singingandyou.com/overproduction-of-mucus-in-your-throat/.
Any good doctor is going to want for you to be able to sing and to enjoy singing — given the vast number of healthy benefits that singing provides. Tell the doctor this is your purpose. He or she really ought to work with you closely to discover what the right combination of treatments will be, which will enable you to sing well and enjoy singing for many years to come!
All the best of you!
Can I learn to sing using videos on YouTube?
Is it possible to learn how to sing by watching YouTube videos? If yes, what are some recommended channels for this purpose?
OMG, please do not attempt this!
It is far more likely that your voice will end up damaged and it could even become **permanently** damaged, from relying upon YouTube videos, for learning to sing. Please have private lessons from a qualified teacher of singing.
Many people ask if singing lessons will really help. YES! Quality singing lessons make a hugely positive difference, for singing better! See this one from my blog: https://singingandyou.com/singing-lessons/
On to our next question:
How can you get rid of a crackling sound in your throat and a sore throat?
I would need to hear the “crackling sound” to get some sort of idea what this might be coming from, etc. Send a sound file, please. I will help you for no charge. Thanks for the great question!
https://singingandyou.com/vocal-fatigue/
For a sore throat, there are many natural remedies. First of all, please drink much more water — approximately 80-90 ounces per day, unless your doctor says otherwise. Get more sleep — essential for good vocal health and also to generally bolster your immune responses. There is a reasonable chance that a sore throat is due to allergies. This e-book might help. It’s loaded with great singing tips!:
Check my blog for other natural remedies. Did you already check this post? Recommended Products
All the best to you!
How do I stop my throat from drying up and preventing my voice to shake when doing a class presentation?
From what you’re describing, I think we should go with this in two parts. You have the issue of a shaking voice and also the issue of dry throat and perhaps your mouth is also dry as well.
First of all, the fact you’re reporting shaking of the voice during a presentation in a class indicates to me, as a professional voice teacher, that you could be suffering from some performance anxiety. Don’t worry as this is very common and can be addressed head on, so you can have some real relief.
You should give this breathing exercise her real try. It is based in ancient yoga traditions and is very powerful. In fact the more you practice this breathing exercise, the more effective it becomes. Another point worth mentioning is that aerobic exercise compounds the benefits of this incredible breathing exercise. I highly recommend this video and to give this a real chance to work for you. It is known to help countless thousands of people deal with anxiety, caused by various stresses of life.
Regarding dry throat, the first question is whether you can isolate the cause(s). If a prescription medication is causing dry mouth and dry throat, there is an over-the-counter product available in most local pharmacies called Orajel. This is a lubricant formulated specifically to counteract the side effect of dry mouth and dry throat, frequently caused by many prescription or over-the-counter medications.
For example, antihistamines, that are available either by prescription or over the counter, will absolutely cause dry throat and dry mouth. There is a thin surface layer of tissue that we call the mucosal lining, and it covers your entire respiratory system. In fact it also extends elsewhere in the body as well. Particularly throughout the respiratory system, the main purpose is to help retain moisture. That thin mucosal lining has other purposes as well and is absolutely crucial for good vocal health AND for optimum vocal sound quality.
If the mucosal lining is disrupted or dried out, the body’s defenses fly into action, trying to repair this. What happens is the body produces an excess of thick mucus, an attempt to restore and repair the disrupted mucosal lining, which is normally a thin superficial layer of mucus. Speaking or singing around a lot of thick mucus is a real mess and this alone can be an unwanted situation arising from having a dry throat.
But the question of what caused the dry throat goes back to you, and hope you will do some investigation to determine the answer. If you believe that you are suffering from covid, this or any virus can totally disrupt that then you cause a lining and absolutely cause a great deal of dry throat. Obviously the treatment in this case would be vocal rest, pushing lots of fluids including primarily water, lots and lots of water, and generally taking proper care of yourself, working with your doctor, following your doctors recommendations, for resting and recovering from whatever the virus might be.
WATER! — DRINK IT!
So many people go around dehydrated! There is no substitute for water, one of the most essential nutrients we all need to stay alive. Our immune systems depend upon good hydration, just like every other system in our bodies needs good hydration. In terms of a person’s mental health and well-being, there’s no question that being dehydrated will only make things worse, and you’ve absolutely got to drink your water every single day to be healthy as a whole person.
You should be drinking ample water every day and avoiding caffeine. Citric acid also is drying to that mucosal lining. Regarding how much water to drink, unless your doctor says otherwise, you should be drinking a minimum of about 70 or more ounces per day of clean, unflavored water.
Another major help for counteracting dryness in your throat is to use a good natural lubricant. The herb called slippery elm is a real miracle of nature and will provide a great deal of soothing lubricating relief to the throat.
Some excellent information is here, pertaining to slippery elm and how it is made available for helping with dry throat. This should go a long way toward providing you with a good healthy resolution. All the best to you!
https://singingandyou.com/dry-throat-remedy/
Next question is about something that almost all of us can relate to — swollen vocal cords — big occupational hazard!
More Singing Tips
or a Real Voice Lesson?
Thanks for this great question!
Yes, I have indeed coached numerous singers and speakers, who are suffering from swollen vocal folds. It’s extremely common and in fact this happens to literally everyone. So do not feel alone!
Crucial singing tips here: When vocal fatigue sets in, the vocal folds do not “approximate,” meaning they do not touch, do not vibrate consistently, in response to normal air pressure—the breath, as it comes from the lungs. And I do agree with you in that it’s not easy to put this into writing—at least not for me.
In my teaching of singers and professional speakers, I have found that the best way to approach this tough problem is first to prevail upon the vocalist about how crucial it is, at this point, that the voice be rested. Unless the vocalist has already been on vocal rest for at least a week or more, with no improvement, and assuming the vocal rest was not interrupted, yet the problem of swollen folds persists, the next thing, I believe, is to work on discovering the cause.
Some questions should be asked, e.g., how long has this been a problem for the vocalist? Another question is whether the vocalist can identify anything that seems to trigger the problem or cause it to worsen. Has this vocalist ever had surgery on the vocal anatomy, and if so what procedures were done. Has this vocalist been examined by an ENT specialist doctor? Does this vocalist drink much alcohol or smoke cigarettes (or smoke anything)? Any allergies? How much water is this vocalist drinking per day and how much sleep is he/she typically getting?
These questions and their answers go to the practice of basic vocal health. Commonly swollen vocal folds will be the result of over-use or mis-use of the voice, including not caring for the voice adequately, i.e., getting enough sleep and remaining well-hydrated.
Therefore, the first thing to do is make sure good vocal health is being practiced as a way of life, for any vocalist suffering from this troubling issue. Clearly, this singer does not special care!
There are specific exercises (vocalises) to be given, first approached very gently and gradually. I need to watch the singer, how he/she engages the whole body, and then determine how the singer’s body alignment is operating. More often than not, it will help enormously to focus on lengthening the spine. This relieves much extraneous muscular tension, which can easily contribute to (if not be the sole cause of) the problem of chronically swollen vocal folds.
Freedom from pressure on the throat, though optimal body alignment, specific (gentle) vocalises, including humming, and being committed to a lifestyle that supports good vocal health (drinking lots of water and getting plenty of sleep) are the fundamental approaches to helping with the problem of chronically swollen vocal folds.
The great German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, in his teaching, would emphasize how the voice really loves sleep and how profoundly healing sleep is, to the voice. Your vocal folds are small and they are delicate and fragile. They can easily be damaged—and will be—by regularly mis-using/abusing the voice, or over-using the voice. One example would be insisting upon singing in a range that is far too high for that particular singer’s voice and/or singing in a range that is far too low, for that singers voice. When a singer will not accept the normal limits of his/her vocal range and makes unreasonable demands upon the voice, singing too long in a range that is too high or too low for that person’s particular voice, the vocal folds will swell (to put it mildly). This is merely one way that the voice can be mis-used and/or over-used, which is likely to result in swollen vocal folds.
By the way, here is the German baritone Fischer-Dieskau singing a German song by Franz Schubert, called “Die Forelle.” (Translation: The Trout.) Listen to how the accompaniment sounds like a bubbling river current, like water-play. It’s a really fun song—beautiful and playful! Schubert composed over 600 such songs (Lieder), plus nine symphonies, and a wealth of chamber music, in his very short life of just 31 year — an astonishing huge output of music! The piano accompaniments of Schubert’s songs are sheer genius, in that you can hear the poetry coming to life. The vocal part and the piano part interplay together, just like the poetry and the music interplay together, to create some of the greatest, most enjoyable music!
All the best!
Gretchen Greenfield
Related posts:
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure here.
DISCLAIMER: THIS ARTICLE DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE.
This website does not provide medical advice. The purpose of this blog is to share my expert opinions. This website is not an attempt to practice medicine or to provide medical advice. Nothing read or seen on this website should be used to make any diagnosis or to replace or overrule the judgment of a qualified health care provider. The information contained on this website, including but not limited to text, graphics, images, and other material, is for informational purposes only. Users should not rely upon this website for medical treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or qualified health care provider, with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it, because of anything you have read or seen on this website.
Leave a Reply