Maintaining your voice...

[ZamMaiden]

Well, I've been down with a very, very bad cough and flu every now and then (I don't get sick all the time and so far this year has been a hell of me getting sick.. Darnz). And whenever I started to sing, my voice changes. I might be wrong in saying this so correct me because the voice changes because of the running nose, instead of the cough.

I was thinking whether there are any precautions to take in order to prevent more occurences being sick. And also, are there any way/s to maintain our pitching of voice?

 

[btherl]

For maintaining pitching, I am using 2 main methods

- Regular practice with scales and arpeggios (especially check the highest and lowest note for correct pitch)
- Keep the notes clear in my mind, so I can fix pitch when my voice slips.

As for not getting sick.. if you knew how to do that, you'd be very rich As soon as I feel any pain inside my mouth or ears, I immediately use listerine and eat strepsils until I'm back to normal. This seems quite effective in minimizing the impact of mouth, throat and ear infections.

As long as your air passage isn't infected, you should be able to sing fairly normally. The biggest problem I've had is with phlegm sitting around my vocal chords. You can expel phlegm by leaning down and kicking air out with your diaphragm (same action as you use to support your breath for singing).

The other way to remove phlegm is to sing up and down my range.. there's usually a particular area in my range where I am catching the phlegm and pushing it up. I find it's on my mid-low notes.

 

[androidkoyuen]

well, if you are down with flu often, you can take a flu vaccine, which lasts for a year. An alternative is to exercise often and build up your immune system.

one way I use is to remember the positions of the vibrations when I sing a song.

sometimes it can really help when u are playing live and monitoring is very bad.

 

[man4422]

For how to prevent less being sick...I also dont know la...if I know then I become the heavenly king already.... :lol:

For how to maintain pitching...try to sing with your throat relax and sing out notes slowly, progressively...

 

[sage]

somehow man's advice seems to be the most practical... sing progressively, slow, and relaxed.. ie don't push it.. you're supposed to be sick babe..

my advice is kind of a no-brainer.. I'd just suggest resting lots when you're sick and rest your throat.. pitching should be the last of your worries until you get better.. sometimes when you're sick and you sing, the stress you put on your throat may end up hurting it when it isn't infected in the first place..

As to preventing bad coughs... try stay away from smoke, drop your vocal chatabilities a notch, and drink lots of water... it's a painfully simple remedy but it's pretty much generally everything you need to keep your health and voice in tiptop condition..
If you've got an inflammed throat, I'd suggest adding some honey to the water as well, helps soothe it out.

Flu.. er.. the flu vaccine tip sounds good Sometimes it's an epidemic ah so we can't quite avoid it .. It can get pretty damn frustrating when you fall sick esp weeks before a gig or something... but don't push yourself.. focus on getting better first..

.. if you wanna avoid getting sick altogether.. then start a healthy lifestyle Fruits veges exercise all that crap..

 

[Gr3yF0x]

have a shit load of vitamin c. they keep your system strong.

 

[xiaoCarol]

*raise hand*

for me, i notice that everytime i have a sore throat (those that cause u to temp lose ur voice).. i couldn't reach the highest note i could always reach in the past.



how how how????




8O

 

[fgl]

smoke em if U got em and sound liike Bryan Adams

 

[panz3rr]

one good example is our very own shyam raj. fella can hit high notes but smokes and drink like one mother_______. haha.

 

[xiaoCarol]

lol.. ic.. smoke

 

[fgl]

drink mo beer!

 

[MusicGer]

I think Rest is still the most important to maintain your vocal leh... sometimes you don't rest enough, no matter how much water you drink, it still sound weird.

 

[Promisesnlies]

Drinkin lots of water will definitely help 2 maintain your voice. Also, don't over-sing when rehearsing @ jam sessions. I've found that drinkin warm honey water helps 2 lubricate the throat. The important thing here 2 note is not 2 overstrain thy voice.