[HANASHIR:1596] Re: Vocal testing

[Janet . PAPE <Janet.PAPE...>]

A few years ago, I started getting hoarse after singing not an inordinate
amount (not the greatest English, either!) , and after awhile, I was getting
hoarse sooner and sooner, despite trying to thoroughly warm up beforehand,
etc.  I also went to an ORL, who did the same invasive, painful (almost
traumatic) tests.  It is wonderful to see your vocal chords on the computer,
though, I must say!  I had two small nodules. What this means is that there
are tiny white bumps on the chords which inhibit the chords from closing
tightly.  What happens then is that the singer tries to force the chords to
close, and they get a kind of callous.  Mucous coats the chords to protect
them from further damage.  Singers then struggle to clear their throats,
making the chords clash together.  I went for "vocal re-education", as it is
called here.  It didn't do any good.  I also, in desperation and to get
through concert commitments, took steroids and lots of Advil.  This helped
immediately, but is not a long-term solution.

I was sure my problem was connected to a hormone imbalance, as I'd just had
a baby and was nursing.  (My other two theories were that it had to do with
singing a piece which had a lot of "voix briseé" (raspy timbre) in it and/or
that I was too fatigued and singing on a tired voice.

I went to a gynocologist who gave me the weakest possible Pills.  It has
worked!  It's been three years since my vocal problems.  It has also helped
tremendously to switch from teaching music to being an editor -- much less
taxing on my speaking voice.  You are definitely right about placing your
speaking voice.

I really recommend taking a break - a month - from singing.  It rejuvenates
the voice.  I know of several singers who do this every year.

Janet Pape  

> ----------
> From:         Elizabeth Zoller[SMTP:LizzieZ (at) IDT(dot)NET]
> Reply To:     hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
> Sent:         Tuesday, October 27, 1998 5:16 PM
> To:   hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
> Subject:      [HANASHIR:1595] Re: Vocal testing
> 
> Karen,
> I had the same problem about 11 years ago.  Went through the exact same
> tests (even had the same problem with gagging -- you're not alone!), and
> had the same ultimate response:  I wasn't speaking properly.  Yep, I was
> talking in the basement of my range, too.  I thought the whole problem
> began when I got a strep that didn't seem to go away.  I wasn't even able
> to produce a clear singing tone -- which, at the time, was a HUGE problem,
> because I was musical directing a show for which I had written the songs,
> and thus was the only one who knew the melodies!
> 
> It got to the point where the ENT I had seen (who fortunately specialized
> in singers and, get this, traders! -- who else abuses their voice as much
> as we do?) made me take complete vocal rest before continuing treatment.
> That meant a week with a pen and paper -- NO talking!  (Be prepared for
> this possible step.)  Of course, there were the occasional people who
> thought I was deaf (like the one who made some comment to my mom about me,
> and my mom tactfully let the woman know that I could, in fact, hear
> perfectly!), but I also was able to answer repeat questions by flipping
> back a few pages!  But I digress...
> 
> The BEST thing I ever did was go to a voice therapist at Northwestern
> University who gave me loads of exercises that literally taught me to
> speak
> differently.  I still have a relatively alto speaking voice, but it is in
> a
> much different place in my throat.  Yes, I highly recommend this.  It
> really saved my voice, and I have had no such problems like this since.
> Please let us know what you decide to do, and if you've heard any other
> comments from others who have done this.
> 
> Good luck!!
> Liz
> 
> >Ever since Hava Nashira, after which I got hoarse for over a month, I
> have had
> >a hard time singing for a long time without getting a little hoarse.  I
> >FINALLY dragged myself to the doctor, actually, the Vanderbilt Voice
> Clinic.
> >Have any of you actually gone through that amazingly...intrusive...test?
> They
> >actually stick a metal tube down your throat while you sing "eeee" in
> >different notes, while smiling, and while they hold onto your tongue with
> a
> >gauze bandage, and all this while you are wide awake.  They tried to
> spray my
> >throat numb so I would stop gagging since I was the one person in ten who
> >really has difficulty with this test, but all that happened was that I
> >couldn't swallow and gagged more and more... the voice person continued
> >torturing me until FINALLY after about an hour and a half of trying, she
> got a
> >doctor to do it, and then it WORKED.  They were terribly certain that
> there
> >would be some problem, but lo and behold, my vocal chords turned up clean
> as a
> >whistle, and I was given a PHOTO of the lovely...view!
> >
> >Phew!  Then I got the same advice all of you on the list had given me:
> drink
> >lots of water, don't use menthol stuff, and also, that my asthma inhalers
> can
> >cause hoarseness.  Hmmmmph!  I wonder if any of you have had similar
> >experiences, or if you have gone ahead with the next step, recommended by
> this
> >clinic (which has  helped countless country music stars with their
> voices, by
> >the way...the walls are plastered with signed photos and gold records):
> >learning how to sing AND TALK properly!  I evidently speak with much too
> low a
> >voice (for a woman).
>