Re: Could someone please find my voice???

[Ilana Rosansky <rabstud...>]

>I too have not fully recovered from the vocal strain which stole my voice
>at HN.  Maybe it's time to write a new song...I think I will call it "I
>left my voice in Oconomowoc"...  Actually I think I started to get it back
>once I got a little bit of sleep, and I tried to sing softly during staff
>orientation, but now that I have to songlead for something like 500-600
>people in a crowded dining hall with terrible acoustics, plus going to
>the campsite to sing by the campfire, I have gotten very hoarse.  My
>talking voice is raspy and my singing voice works when I sing low, but my
>high range just squeaks.  I am scared of this whole vocal nodule thing and
>I have never seen an ENT.  I don't think I will be going to one anytime
>soon, at least not until I finish camp which won't be until August.  In
>the meantime, I'm stuck in a bind, because I came here to do a job and if
>I stop using my voice, I'm not doing what I was hired to do.  Any tips?
>(I know the best advice is to drink lots of water and try to speak and
>sing as little as possible and get enough sleep...is there any other
>advice that would be feasible in this camp setting?)  It's so hard to keep
>from singing :(
>
>Love (in a squeaky voice),
>Angela

Oh....! Does this bring back memories!!!  Many years ago (when I was young
:-) ) I was working at a camp in New Hampshire as director of music and I
lost a good bit of my voice already during the week-long staff orientation.
There is not substitute for resting your voice, drinking water and USING a
MICROPHONE!!  Insist on it!  Or you won't have a voice left for the rest of
the summer. At campfires try to round up kids to help lead and if possible
use a portable mic with speaker/amp to butress your own voice. RESIST the
urge to shout above the noise level. Get someone to help manage the noise
first.  Finally, in the event that you have any allergies that are
irritating your respiratory system, do what many cantors swear by: take the
liquid herbal combination: echinacea & golden seal. But you'll still have
to avoid straining your voice... <smile>

And good luck!!
Ilana Rosansky, NYC