A Voice Apart

What do we mean by that? We mean… NO singing and NO skating… per say. “It’s quality of skating, not quantity of jumps” - states Canadian figure skating champion, Patric Chan. “Skating can be rewarded” -   said the figure skating commentator, Rod Black, after the U.S. well-known skater, James Brown’s ice performance. James Brown himself said: “ Of course, I can land ripples and quads, but not in the expense of the artistry!” Given all that, in this case, the skaters themselves are revolting against “ice acrobatics” and overall “ice circus”, so to speak.  They actually have been missing the artistry of their craft, as well as poise and grace, which had always made figure skating field a very special place where they had an opportunity to show off their very special skills (and not just very dangerous and vigorous jumps which, in turn, could, at any time, become very detrimental to their body’s anatomy and physiology). I just watched a pre-holiday movie where the

An intense round of alternative speech therapy can be a better solution for restoration speaking or singing voice skills (lost in an accident or stroke) and, no doubt, it will supersede any other traditional methods.  Specialists have found that post-accident/stroke survivors who have difficulty in speaking or even understanding speech, showed some good improvements in language and communication skills after a reasonably short term of intense alternative speech therapy.  Speech impairment occurs in more than a third of people after various accidents or strokes. Sometimes, however quite seldom, and due to unknown circumstances and occurrences, speech may return all of a sudden (to some degree) on its own even without any treatments. This occurrence happens generally after a minor accident or minor stroke. If the survivor’s speech returns, it often happens within a few days, although, it's good to keep in mind that this kind of president still happens quite rarely. Anyon

Spasmodic Dysphonia is a voice disorder often caused by some neurological conditions, which could greatly affect your speech. This disorder is not immune to any age and can affect anyone and, unfortunately, can surface with anyone at any given time. With this voice-related problem, movement of the vocal cords is forced and strained resulting in a jerky, hoarse, tight or groaning voice. If you are affected by Spasmodic Dysphonia Disorder, the muscles inside your vocal box (mainly the larynx and vocal cords) may receive some abnormal nerve signals that most of the time cause the vocal folds to spasm uncontrollably.  Symptoms of Spasmodic Dysphonia At first, the symptoms may be mild and they may occur only occasionally. But with time, they may worsen and the spasms become more frequent. The main symptom of spasmodic dysphonia is a forced movement of the muscles inside the vocal box. This usually causes a very strained voice. The words you speak may be dragged out or broken while

This time, my reader,  I’m not writing about singing, speech or even voice repair (those services which I advocate for almost 4 decades). This time, I’m going to express my opinion about what’s happening in the arts world – will it be music, ballet, figure skating or what have you. This past Saturday, on October the 28th, My husband and I paid a “gazillion” amount of money to attend a Canada All-Star Ballet Gala which was held in one of Toronto’s most prestigious venues for the arts which is now called the Sony Centre (formally known as O’Keefe Center). I, however, am a big fan of both - ballet and figure skating. In fact, in figure skating (which also entails a lot of ballet elements), I myself have spent over a decade skating; first for the professional career and then just recreationally. My very serious education in music, and also my dedication to music, took over my (also very serious) hobbies such as ballet and figure skating. Evidently, a lot changed ever