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There is Great Power in Singing
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Hello to Everyone! Thank you for receiving this newsletter.
It's that time of year again, when many people have sore throats and colds...
Right now, I'm sitting at a table at sunrise looking out at the ocean in Mexico. My husband and I came here for a holiday. The day before we were going to leave to go back to Montreal, I got a nasty sore throat. And I did not dare get on a plane in that condition. So I stayed here to recuperate.
At this point in my life, I can usually tell what kind of a cold, or as they call it here in Mexico - "un resfriado" - I am going to have.
For me, the worst ones begin with pain right in the vocal cords. This happened to me a couple of years ago. I was out of commission as a singer for a month, mostly because I did not seek medical help fast enough. It was a bacterial infection, not viral. So likely, I should have been on antibiotics from the beginning.
But it's often hard to know what to do when you are sick. You don't really feel like making a trip to see a doctor. And in a foreign country, it's even more perplexing.
Still, I went to get help early this time. It was viral. She gave me probiotics, not antibiotics and suggested I rest, take Vitamin C, and drink lots of water. The usual...
So today, I'm at the point where I need to get back to singing. But I know that it needs to be done with care. Some years ago, when I was in this same fragile condition, I created this audio clip to show you what I was doing to gradually come back to singing. NOTE! In this clip, I am exercising my
"head voice" with a lowered larynx. (In another clip, I will work on the level larynx chest voice area.) I have also written this guide about the process. All in all, I test the waters gradually.
You don't want to wait too long before singing. Muscles can lose tone. But also, you must not do it too soon. Or you can get laryngitis. So the return to singing should be slow and smart. And it's personal, too. You come to know your own voice after a few years of singing.
One of my friends, who is an actress, tells me that she always makes a drink with hot water, fresh ginger, fresh lemon and good tasting honey. She sips that throughout her colds. She claims it does a lot of good.
The one thing that seems to help me more than anything else is immediate rest. At the first sign of a sore throat, if I can, I take a few days off. Sleep a lot, talk little. That's what I have been doing now in this paradise. I'm lucky to have been here. Back home in Montreal, its -20!
If you have a favourite way to beat a cold, please send me a few words. I'm all ears for ways to get better faster! I'll post some of your ideas in my next newsletter. And if you are not feeling well right now, I wish you a safe, quick recovery. And I send you healing thoughts through time
and space.
If you wish to receive my free Letter To Friends that talks about many aspects of a singer's life (including health issues
and more) please click this link. My Letter to Friends is also a monthly newsletter.
I wish you great singing!
My best to you,
Barbara
P.S. Be in touch with me through this newsletter if you have questions or special requests about singing and/or your voice.
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