A Voice Apart

  REALIZE ·          REVIEW ·          RELIEF ·          RE-BUILD More and more people seem to be suffering from one or another cause of vocal damage. There are different symptoms and, of course, different causes. So the very first stage for the person with some kind of voice issue is to "Realize" that it is actually present. Something definitely changed in their voice quality, speaking and/or singing.  In the majority of cases the voice became raspy and hoarse, flat and dull. However, some people are totally in denial of it. Nevertheless, they feel a change in their voice quality anddelivery , but they would not admit it even to themselves. Then comes the time when the sufferers start self-analysis and begin to "Review" and analyze when and how the voice started subsiding and disappearing on them.  Next stage, they are looking for the "Relief" of their voice condition, as sometimes they have pain and discomfort in their throat, pain in

When I work with people (Seniors) over 65 years old on their voice problems , I very often have to literally revive them back to life before starting to work on their voice. When these people finally ended up under my care, they, most of the time, looked, felt and acted quite vulnerable, so to speak. Prior to getting under my care, they had a lot of health issues, not to mention, dealing with other aspects of life like; Their relationships, finances, marriages, children and etc. Besides the above described, some of those (now Golden Aged) people, had undergone various surgeries, including vocal operations. However, instead of expecting to get better, they, instead, acquired some usual, and not to mention, strange side effects...  Several years ago I attended to one of my clients who told me that due to her very disturbed upper and lower respiratory organs, she began to lose her voice. She also said that the tone of her voice now is much deeper than it used to be. Nevertheless, to

Lately, I have a lot of inquiries from seniors asking about singing lessons and how to improve their speech . Some of them were motivated because they have been experiencing some voice problems speaking.   The others, by trying to learn how to sing properly, have been trying to realize their younger years' dream.  A couple of years ago, I had a 72 years old student – a very successful business man, who’s dream has always been to become a singer and actor. However, living in poverty and watching his parents suffer with low paid jobs, he gave himself a promise that he will become very well off in the business world. And so he did. But the desire of his heart and soul did not get realised until he met me in his early 70s, and after participating in several of my Vocal Interactive Workshops, following by the private singing lessons with me, he landed a role of Santa Clause in one of the community theatres. Way to go Man, I exclaimed!     Now, at present, I am working w

A lot of people, especially with speaking voice problems , who are coming to me for my services, are absolutely sure that the only problem they have is their voice problem. Little do they know! Evidently, they don’t perceive that the voice is the essential part of their anatomy and it is interconnected to their whole emotional, physical and mental being. Sometimes, the problem with the speaking voice could be an indication of something else happening in the physical body and their voice problem actually has been emotionally induced. Let’s take, for example, spasmodic dysphonia . This particular voice disorder has very little to do with the nasty symptoms like uncontrollable spasms of the voice and loss of control of the vocal box, as the problem, in this instance, is not in the voice. The problem has neurological nature which was most likely induced by highly emotional stress and then it manifested in the

I believe, due to the recession, I get more and more phone calls and e-mails with the request to tell them all about the “magic pill” or send them the “magic pill” to fix their very serious voice disorder!  Such nonsense started several years back when the recession really hit North America. Before that people were much more sensible and had an understanding that if they had any kind of voice/vocal problem , they would have to come in person, wherever they resided, and fix to the best of their and my ability their voice.  Then came the next phase – Skype! They figured that now it’s all good; they don’t have to go anywhere, they don’t have to pay as much, let alone their travel, and they can fix their voice right from their couch and in front of their little screen with a questionable sound quality.  Go figure!  And lastly, let’s examine what’s going on now and in the present: They don’t want to come in person, they don’t even want to do Skyp