FOUR STEPS TO CARE FOR YOUR VOICE

I've attended worship seminars for years. I think Sheri Gould's been at half of those. But I never went to her seminars. Why?

She teaches voice.

I lead worship with a guitar and just happen to sing as a part of that. I get by alright, thankyouverymuch.

But the real truth is I didn't really want to know what I didn't know.

This year's trip to Christian Musician's Summit in NY changed that. I decided ignorance was no longer a valid MO for this worship leader. I attended three of her seminars at CMS. In the first one, I was as far back as possible. By the third, I was in the front row.

I contacted Sheri following CMS and asked her if I could republish some of her articles on WorshipTeamCoach for you to read. She graciously sent me a two part series on vocal health

In the first part today, Sheri talks about preventative care. Tomorrow, she'll be talking about remedial care. Here's Sheri...

BASIC HEALTH CARE FOR YOUR VOICE: PREVENTATIVE

 Taking care to NOT injure your voice is the first and best thing you can do for your vocal longevity and effectiveness. There are many things that you do during the day that you may not even be aware of that can cause vocal strain or fatigue. Let’s look at some of them.

Overuse and Abuse
There are many ways that we abuse or overuse our voice. Simply talking for long periods of time can do this. Especially if you are speaking at an elevated level like when you’re at a wedding reception and the band is playing loudly. Most weddings occur on Saturday and if you talk your way into the night at the reception, you may well find your vocal cords swollen and tender in the morning. Not the best thing for your Sunday morning service!

Yelling at the kids (or spouse-yikes!) can be damaging as well. Any strain on the cords will eventually cause you problems.

If you find yourself constantly dealing with throat issues, you may well need an overhaul on the lifestyle. Perhaps the way you speak is causing strain, or the way you sing.

Allergies are also really hard on the vocal folds. Post nasal drip is very irritating to the cords.

Coughing/Clearing Your Throat
Both coughing and clearing your throat are very abrasive. I frequently give the illustration that clearing your throat is akin to scratching the vocal folds with sandpaper.

My ear, nose and throat doctor has told me that you can cause your cords/folds to BLEED simply from clearing your throat too rigorously. So what is a body to do when there is that annoying phlegm riding on the cords/folds?

First of all understanding WHY the phlegm is there in the first place may make a difference in how you choose to manage your phlegm in the future (pleasant subject huh?).

Phlegm is nature’s way of providing protection for your vocal cords/folds. If your cords have experienced any type of trauma, your body is designed to provide a bandage (protection) to prevent further damage. So first of all note that IF you have phlegm, THERE IS A REASON.

Solve the root of the problem FIRST to avoid further phlegm. Simply clearing your throat may seem like the most expeditious thing to do, but ultimately it will only exacerbate the problem. When you ‘clear’ your throat, you scratch your cords and ‘voila!’ your body sends more phlegm! So avoid this at all costs. Ask yourself first, “Why did I get the phlegm in the first place?” Then try to solve THAT problem (we’ll discuss some of the possible reasons later).

Ridding yourself of the phlegm can safely (albeit not as quickly) be done in a number of ways. What you want is to GENTLY vibrate the cords so that the phlegm “falls” off and is not SCRAPED off. This can be done by swallowing, talking or humming.

The fastest way may be humming in the lowest part of your range, therefore providing the largest vibrations. You can also talk through your phlegm. But I personally find this difficult to listen to! The sound of phlegm rattling while someone talking causes ME to want to clear my throat! So be careful when you choose THIS option, (I’d rather listen to fingernails on a chalkboard).

Humming is a great choice provided you can do this inconspicuously. Continuing to swallow repeatedly will also eventually work. You may have to be patient but it will be worth the effort because when it’s gone, is GONE. If it DOES come back it will be slower to recur and will not likely be as much.
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So take your time in dealing with this “blessing” that God has given us to protect our cords.

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