Note that on this page I will try to answer your questions on singing problems, in doing so you must understand that I am assuming that you already have a good understanding of correct breathing for singing, if not then check out my exploring breathing section. If you would like me to answer your questions on singing then please Contact me and I will do my best to answer all your questions.
Oh and remember if it hurts then stop! You are doing something wrong! and if the pain is still there then go and see you Doctor.
I think that my voice is too breathy, is there anything I can do to sort it out?
Yes,
first lets try to get you feeling the difference between good vocal fold effort (a focused sound) and an unfocused sound
(a breathy tone).Do a nice relaxed yawn, do it until it feels really easy and totally relaxed, you should notice how easy
it feels and how open your throat feels, if not keep doing it until you feel it.
Now try aa aa aa! (as in cat) as if you where telling someone off, do this a little louder than your speaking voice, do it until you feel a pinching or closing feeling in your throat, now do the yawn then switch over quickly to aa aa aa! Notice the difference? Now hold that aa and change it to AY, you should notice that its louder than how you normally sing, this is because it's more focused a sound, you must keep the same feeling that you had on aa aa aa! or you will not notice a difference.
Another way is to say mmmmmeeeee really slowly and stop before you get to ee so that your lips are closed and you are humming with your lips vibrating (this will tickle!!) then slowly change this to an EEE (as in me) focusing (aiming the sound in exactly the same place as the vibration) when you do this correctly you will feel that the sound is louder again, also you will not run out of breath so quickly!!!
Take care and let me know how you get on.
Dylan
I have strained my voice from singing to loudly, when will I know when it's safe to sing again?
Firstly have a singing teacher check out your technique, as you are doing something wrong! Then rest totally for a day (24 hours), and by that I mean no talking at all, no grunting and certainly no whispering (as this will do more damage than talking!). Then start talking again, if it still hurts, go and see your Doctor. Once you have been checked out, and as long as everything is fine, do the following.
You need to get in touch with your singing instrument; you will know when you are ready as it will feel fine, a little dull throbbing no probs, any sharp feeling then back off! (You will know what I mean if you feel it!) just take it easy, try vocalizing on NG as in sung, this is a nasal constant, try sliding it gently down your range to start with then up and down, gently going a little higher every time, until you reach the end of your range.
Another good one is to sing in falsetto to start with as this is great for healing the vocal folds as it encourages them to work on the thin edges, again slide it up and down your range in the vowel OO as in you, make sure it's not to breathy. When you do this correctly for a couple of minute your throat should feel great and when you speak it should sound nice and clear without any croakiness. You could add this into your warm up and warm down exercises, if you liked.
