Kate's Voice

April 16 is World Voice Day. World Voice Day is a day to celebrate your remarkable voice.    It was started in 2002 by otolaryngologists and other voice professionals who wanted to focus awareness on the use, care,  and problems associated with the human voice.  There are concerts,  voice clinics and festivals in various cities and educational institutions this week in celebration of  World Voice Day.   I will be highlighting those events this week on my Twitter stream  (@k8peters).  Meanwhile, here is a list of 10 things you can do to take care of your voice.  This list was created by the American Academy of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery.

I love this list because I love my voice…and YOURS, and I like this affectionate approach to the subject!  So hear you go:  10 simple but important tips to show your voice a little L-O-V-E,  Love:

Embrace hydration. Moisture is good for the voice, and drinking plenty of water throughout the day is the best way to stay hydrated.
Kiss but don’t yell. Yelling or screaming is always bad for the voice, as it puts a lot of stress on the delicate lining of your vocal cords.
Hug a microphone when speaking in public. When you are called upon for public speaking, particularly in a large room or outdoors, use a microphone. The amplification allows you to speak at conversational pitch, yet reach the entire audience. (For a fun take by Adam Lawrence on how to use a microphone, take a look here.)
Warm up your voice by saying a few sweet nothings. Warming up the voice is not just for singers; it helps the speaking voice too. Doing simple things like lip or, tongue trills, or gliding up and down your range on different vowels, will help warm up your voice.
Always clear the air, but don’t clear your throat. Clearing your throat is like slapping or slamming the vocal cords together. Instead of clearing your throat, take a small sip of water or swallow to quench the urge.
Go ahead and look hot, but never smoke. Likely the single worst thing you can do for your voice is to smoke. It causes permanent damage to the vocal cord tissues and is the number 1 risk factor for cancer of the larynx (voice box).
Know what you’re feeling. When you are in a place with loud background noise, you don’t realize how loudly you may be talking. Pay attention to how your throat feels in these situations, because it will often feel raw or irritated before you notice the vocal strain you are causing.
Think good breath support, not just heavy breathing. Breath flow is the power source for voice. Don’t let your breath support run down before refilling your lungs and refueling your voice.
Be a good listener. If you hear your voice becoming hoarse when you are sick, be sure to rest it as much as possible. Pushing the voice when you have laryngitis can lead to more serious vocal problems. (Check out my post called “Who Let the Frogs Out” for some quick remedies for voice malfunctions.)
Check it out. If your voice is persistently hoarse or not working well, be sure to seek evaluation by an otolaryngologist – head and neck surgeon (ear, nose, and throat physician).

For more information on vocal health, there are lots of tips and techniques on this blog.  You may also wish to visit www.entnet.org for indepth info from the health practitioners who care for the voices of professional voice users.  Post a comment to let me know how you think we can best celebrate World Voice Day, and, above all,  keep talking to each other!!!

Update:  To Celebrate World Voice Day, why not  lend your voice to a cause?  Find one for National Volunteer Week, which is the week of April 18th.  Here’s a link to VolunteerMatch to give you some ideas.

In summer, many people find time to work harder toward a goal while their schedule is more relaxed.  Others may decide to skip the vacation and do something closer to home that they’ve been wanting to do for a long time…like studying singing.  But how do you make sure you are not wasting your time with a teacher?  After all, anyone can hang up a shingle and say they are a voice teacher;  there is no FDA or AMA for regulating those who teach singing.

When someone has trouble singing the way they want to, a voice teacher tries to identify the problem and  help the singer sing again…or better…or finally!  It is curious, however, that there seem to be almost as many ways to describe and fix problems as there are singing teachers.  Certainly there seem to be many techniques out there and trying to identify whether or not a particular teacher can help you can be as difficult as herding cats!  Yet every singing teacher seems to think they have the answer and, like merchants in a bazaar, they hawk their wares with authority and charismatic charm.  Often, we singing teachers cling to the belief of the one true way, which is ours, of course, and stake claim to singing methods and teaching ideas that cannot really be claimed at all.

Any teacher, whether they teach singing or biology, is a product of their teachers and their personal experiences.  Therefore, though they may teach a particular approach, their way will actually be unique.  I worked with Seth Riggs for many years and before that I worked with one of his proteges…and several people who had no connection to him at all.  I certainly believe in what he taught me as it really made a difference in my voice, but it is not the only thing I learned about singing that worked for me!  SpeechLevel Singing is not a software that any “certified professional” can plug in and therefore teach just like Seth.  However, it is good for those teachers who are certified as they have to thoroughly understand the technique before being certified, and it may be good for you IF you find a teacher who is also someone you feel you can trust with your voice.

So, how do you find a singing teacher that will really help you? Here are some simple steps to follow that will make the search a little easier:

1.  Get references.  You can do this several ways.  Call a local college or university and find out if any of their voice teachers give private lessons, or have students who do.  Or go to a musical theater production or a nightclub or coffee shop and listen to singers with the idea of identifying one you’d like to emulate.  Then go backstage and talk to them about their singing teacher.  Or go to recitals or concerts at universities and colleges and listen for singers who have a lot of range, nice tone, good diction and good stage presence.  Find out with whom they study and get the contact information you need to reach that singing teacher.  Eventually your sleuth work will lead to a list of singing teachers with whom you may want to study.

2. Take some lessons and record them. Call the singing teachers on your list and schedule some lessons.  It’s a good idea to take lessons from three or four singing teachers before landing on the one for you.  Commit to their instruction, at least for a time to see what results or better understanding you get, if any.

3.  Ask questions. Ask how long the singing teacher has taught voice.  What is important to them in developing singers’ voices?  What are their students doing with their voices?  Where do they sing?  What makes a good singing voice good?  What do they expect of their voice students?

4.  Consider how well you get along with each singing teacher.  Ask yourself if you can learn from them.  There are many approaches and many personalities. You must find a teacher that suits your personality and your style of learning and one who gets good results.

5.  Listen to your recordings. Try everything the teacher asks you to do even if it seems strange, and ask questions if you don’t understand or wonder why you are making those strange sounds!  And by the way, you WILL make strange sounds!  Work with each recording for a week at home.

6.  Select your teacher after comparing each one and your experience with them and their instructions.  Then, commit to their instruction wholeheartedly and practice, practice, practice!!

7. Be patient. It may take time to find the right person, but they will be working with the only voice you have– make sure you make an informed decision.