As you might have read in my last blog post, I was diagnosed with having vocal nodules at the wise age of ten. This pretty quickly changed how I viewed and experienced singing.
If you don't know what nodes are, I'm no expert, but pretty much little calluses form on your vocal cords, making it so they don't close completely which is what you need in efficient singing. They come from vocal stress which can happen a number of ways.
How I got nodes.
I was "pushing my belt range" you could say, another non-technical term was "singing from my throat." In singing, you want breath support, and though belting is something that is accessible in all of us, it's quite easy to do wrong if you don't have the right guidance. I was encouraged to keep singing by a very well meaning music teacher in elementary school, who unfortunately had no clue she was pushing me in a deeper hole that I would later have to get out of.
To address this, first I had to make the very adult decision of figuring out if I cared enough about this thing to repair the damage I had done. So I started studying with a wonderful vocal pathologist/voice teacher who put me on the right track.
With her, I learned a lot of tools about how to care for my voice. In terms of singing, SOVTs (exercises done with a partially closed mouth, like lip trills and vvvvv's) sirens, stretching, proper hydration, sirens, the whole shebang. These skills have taken me far in my life and I have never dealt with vocal nodules since, and I feel very blessed. But the very first thing she addressed with me was my speaking voice.
Your speaking voice is (often) the biggest stressor.
When I work with folks who complain of vocal fatigue, one of the first things I look at is their speaking voice. In my years of vocal therapy, the very first ting my teacher had me address was the pitch and support of my speaking voice.
I mean obviously, it makes sense. It's all the same thing. Your vocal cords are being used for speaking and singing so clearly they're linked. But it felt like a whole overhaul of how I was in relationship to my voice.
One of the first things I listen for in students is excessive vocal fry. That gravely, valley girl type of descent in pitch and support at the ends of phrases. Vocal fry is not inherently bad, but when you speak in that way, it's quite fatiguing for the voice. I approach speaking with the same support that I would give singing (you often hear classical teachers speak in this very sing-song, higher pitched voice to more easily access singing there).
Lifestyle
Hydration and sleep are so important to prioritize.
Obviously, smoking and drinking are not ideal. I believe there are awesome creative benefits to cannabis and I'm an unconventional teacher in that sense, (maybe another blog topic) but at the end of the day, smoking of any kind puts stress on your voice.
Also, vocal rest. Having a job that demands you speak all the time requires that you speak with good support. Thinking of bringing the speech a bit more 'towards your cheeks' is a helpful tip to shift the resonance and make it easier to be heard. Some of us have a more naturally dark sound (placed further back in the mouth) and it's harder to resonate and be heard, so often we end up pushing and putting stress on the vocal cords. This was me at ten.
For two years I taught back to back to back lessons 5 hours a day for 3 days a week, and quickly whipped myself back into good speaking technique.
Hums
This is a small but helpful tip, finding a higher pitched hum and sliding down on it can relieve vocal fatigue. I would do those on my jam packed teaching days, and still do them throughout the day just to relax things.
In summary, voice lessons are not just about leanring to sing, but they're about learning how to be in a more conscious relationship with your voice and body. To sing well, you have to treat your body like an instrument because it literally is your instrument.
Hope you have enjoyed my reflections on this topic.
-Liv
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