A Voice Apart

Some singers who come to me for non-surgical voice repair are not necessarily the professional singers. Which means, that a lot of them have a daytime job or even their own businesses.  Some of the professions require speaking on the phone all day, running meetings, doing presentations, and what not.  After an 8-hour workday, the part-time singers would rush to their band rehearsal or even to an outright performance.  Perhaps being vocally very talented but not, per se, knowing about the proper application of their voice, they put the enormous pressure on their vocal anatomy. So let’s examine that: They use their speaking voice excessively during the working day and then even more intensely during the night through the late hours.  While they’re speaking at work, they primarily are doing it from the sitting position with a slouched back, thus drowning their voice onto the bottom of their throats and below.  They establish the low voice speaking habit....

What do we mean by the above? Let us explain: The voice repair process, by itself, is very complex. And if not approached holistically, it most likely will not produce any meaningful results with respect of the voice-issue(s).  The fact is that if the vocal problem had been induced only by lack of the proper voice/vocal technique, then the treatment and restoration of the voice will be (pretty much) straight forward.  If the voice issues had also been caused by emotional distress and/or by  neurological disorder(s), then the treatment (at first) will be more on the holistic/physiological and emotional side; and only then it will be focused on the actual voice restoration. Some of our clients (especially at the beginning of their Journey) require a lot of emotional support. Without which, sometimes, a voice treatment, as well as “installation” of the proper voice/vocal “mechanism", is virtually impossible.  Quite a large percentage of those people e...

Would you consider yourself someone who uses their voice a great deal? Are you a professional singer, a professional voice artist or someone that uses their voice at work more than usual? If yes, then you know that your voice is a very important tool/resource that needs to be protected; and if used incorrectly or abused, your voice can be susceptible to all kinds of traumas. Some symptoms of certain vocal problems, disorders or traumas can include a hoarse voice , excessive throat clearing, thick buildup of mucus in the throat, coughing, trouble in swallowing, trouble breathing, etc. All these symptoms will definitely affect your voice. It may very well even effect the quality of your life!  Some other voice/vocal abnormalities may include changes in pitch and also the volume of your voice. It may also cause vocal fatigue, breaks (or cracks) in your voice while speaking or singing… And nevertheless, you also may experience difficulty being heard in noisy environments when you...

Do you experience any voice problems speaking or singing the word of The Lord? In a previous blog (titled “Calling All Pastors, Priests, Ministers, Bishops, Worship Leaders, Gospel Singers, Etc”), we have touched the topic of voice issues of those who religiously (no pun intended) worship God and Jesus, using their speaking and singing voices and, unfortunately, sometimes using their voices not always adequately and often excessively. But what about the church choirs and other religious (or non-religious) choirs for that matter? People who are singing in those choirs are usually very devoted to their causes, and thus performing their scores very diligently and with everything (so to speak) they’ve got…to the max! They are usually very animated, very energetic, and nevertheless, also using their voices to the max as well. The choir director/master always encourages the choir members to sing passionately and loudly, but not always paying attention to the technical as...

I have to say that, in the past, the above sentences were not even up for discussion. Everybody (or almost everybody) were more then willing to “spread their wings, in a manner of speaking; and thus, unleash their voices and their spirits. Of course, to unleash the voice/spirit is easier said then done… It is especially difficult if the person already has some kind of a voice disorder or even just voice/vocal issues. Obviously, some cases are more difficult then others (with or without voice problems ), but some are nearly impossible to deal with; and it’s not the voice issues I am talking about. I am talking about people who are nearly IMPOSSIBLE TO DEAL WITH!! How so, you may ask..? The fact is, that especially lately, a lot of people (being stranded financially and thus, emotionally) had lost their trust in anything and everything. They, in a manner of speaking, became Soul-dead! How sad is that? Given the political situation in the U.S. and in Europe , people now...

Lately, more and more phone calls and e-mails from various church leaders are pouring our way. Interestingly enough that those requests are primarily coming from the US. The US people seem to be very devoted to their church, religion and faith, which is definitely very commendable! Not only they are worshiping God and Jesus, but they are also very respectful and faithful to their leaders. We often get phone calls from somebody who inquires about voice repair on behalf of their Priest, Minister or Bishop, which is also very commendable, as those devoted people are really trying to help their peers. The bottom line, though, is such that the above aforementioned church leaders are constantly endangering their voices (speaking and singing).  They preach a lot and preach very loudly. A lot of them are using their singing voices and, unfortunately, using them totally incorrectly! So there comes a time that both of their speaking and singing voices end up being quite co...

Lately, I guess due to the recession, and the market of the employers (and certainly not employees), I often attend to people who are very unhappy professionally and otherwise; and desperately looking for desirable employment, but failing (over and over) numerous of interviews. There are several reasons why that president takes place. For example, my very recent client was a man in his early 60’s who, about a couple of months ago, lost a very good engineering position.  When I spoke to that person over the phone, being a voice specialist, I right a way, made a mental note that his voice sounds very low positioned, quite raspy with quite heavy European accent and with a very faint pronunciation. I did invite him for a consultation and we have begun (firstly) talking about the application of his voice, which, in my opinion, could be very distractive during his future interview with a future employer.  His voice was very dry and needed moisture and lub...

Getting all these inquiries, it never ceases to amaze me that (especially) singers rely on ENT specialists to treat and cure their singing voices...! The majority of the ENT’s (or speech therapists for that matter) never sung a note in their lives. And if so, how in the world are they going to restore your singing voice and teach you a proper vocal technique - so that you would comply with the standards of singing (let alone, professional singing) and never would ruin your voice ever again? The majority of people are thinking, when something happens to their voice and they cannot speak or sing the way they used to, that the answer to that will lie at the ENT doctor’s office. Granted they could get some diagnosis (unfortunately, not always accurate) and the ENT specialists may give a suggestion for the invasive surgical intervention. There will be no other treatment, let along cure, provided. And that I can tell you, with absolute certainty. If it was otherwise, I, most likely, w...