Vocal Chords Question...

[beatleshead]

I sing for me band. I've been recently following it weird to swallow. not pain but just weird. my throat is always closed up and stiff, and ive been producing a lot of mucus in the morning, in the day, at night...more than normal.

I sing at a pretty trebly top end scale. I'm also ashamed to say that i dont use my head voice when i should be. In other words i know i put WAY to much strain on my voice. Im also hitting cracks where i didnt before.

I know very little of polops (i know i spelt it wrong lol). Could this discomfort be from pollops developing? or do you think its just more puburity running its course?

 

[vocallychaotic]

There's a chance that your voice could just be tired if you've been using it pretty heavily lately. This is especially true if you've been doing a lot of belting/screaming, as doing those things does put lots of strain on the vocal cords.

I don't know if the problem is necessarily polyps or nodes; I would say just take care of your voice, keep hydrated, and try not to use the voice as unhealthily, and if the problem goes away, it's just strain. If the problem persists, then you should go see an ENT/otolaryngologist to have your cords checked out. If there is a problem, it's better to catch it earlier than later.

Then maybe the next thing is to look into taking some voice lessons just to learn how to control the use of the voice. This is especially true if you're going through puberty. The voice goes through some fairly dramatic changes at this stage, and trying to sing the same way as you sang before puberty may not be so healthy.

Best of luck!

 

[budgieboy]

Go and get scoped - that will tell you once and for all if you have done damage. If your voice is cracking a lot and if certain parts of your speaking voice are very husky or missing, it could be nodules.

If you do have a problem, you will need to rehabilitate your voice (voice therapy), and then learn how to use your voice properly. Classical training can benefit everyone - rock / pop uses the same voice techniques, just different colours to the sound.

 

[beatleshead]

hey i just came back to this thread, thanks.

Umm...i guess i should also say that i catch strept throat very often...about twice to three times a year...the last affliction being about a month ago. Do you think its that, am i still recovering from that.

most of last week and this weekend ive been resting it but its getting worse...it feels very thin and now if i talk to much theres this stinging on the bottom of the left side of my tounge where the tendon things are.

 

[Blakiepoo]

I wonder if the strep throat frequency is a result of the unhealthy singing habits.

Welllll, the rule tends to be: if it hurts, you're doing it wrong so stop. Even if you haven't gotten to the point where it's hurting, you can still feel the next day that your voice is in recovery. You're still young and without training, so you probably don't have great technique or support your self properly so I recommend:

Start taking voice lessons. They always start out with the basics, which actually do make a difference you'll notice once you master them. Singing properly will also make it hurt less, as the diaphram will be doing much of the word, and your vocal cords & throat won't need to strain.

Once you have those down, then you should be working on increasing your range. It's really not worth what you're doing right now because you'll end up having to stop singing and doing exercises (BIG PILE OF NO-FUN!).

tip: if you've got a sound card in your computer, there will be a control panel with it and you can change the pitch of your songs. Lower them a few semitones and you can enjoy the same song, reaching all the notes more comfortably.

As for making them feel better now, go for warm and liquid. Hot soup, herbal TEA will help. I used to sing AND do 8 hours of phone customer service a day and my voice was always run ragged. I'd lose it all the time, and when I did, I would need to drink so much tea to have a chance at recovering. I also find a gentle throat massage can help.


I'd love to have a doctor take a look at my folds. I wonder if it's painful...

So what songs are you singing that are making you reach for such high notes?

 

[beatleshead]

I wonder if the strep throat frequency is a result of the unhealthy singing habits.

Welllll, the rule tends to be: if it hurts, you're doing it wrong so stop. Even if you haven't gotten to the point where it's hurting, you can still feel the next day that your voice is in recovery. You're still young and without training, so you probably don't have great technique or support your self properly so I recommend:

Start taking voice lessons. They always start out with the basics, which actually do make a difference you'll notice once you master them. Singing properly will also make it hurt less, as the diaphram will be doing much of the word, and your vocal cords & throat won't need to strain.

Once you have those down, then you should be working on increasing your range. It's really not worth what you're doing right now because you'll end up having to stop singing and doing exercises (BIG PILE OF NO-FUN!).

tip: if you've got a sound card in your computer, there will be a control panel with it and you can change the pitch of your songs. Lower them a few semitones and you can enjoy the same song, reaching all the notes more comfortably.

As for making them feel better now, go for warm and liquid. Hot soup, herbal TEA will help. I used to sing AND do 8 hours of phone customer service a day and my voice was always run ragged. I'd lose it all the time, and when I did, I would need to drink so much tea to have a chance at recovering. I also find a gentle throat massage can help.


I'd love to have a doctor take a look at my folds. I wonder if it's painful...

So what songs are you singing that are making you reach for such high notes?

Im pretty convinced i need a lesson i think im gonna do it during summer school because a community college out here offers it. I sing some Rod stewart songs, stones, beatles, janis and then our own. But the problem is not the songs...i think its that i either actually do have more control or i feel comfortable using my higher range...so i end up moving a song maybe three or four semitones than what the original key is.

CURSE THAT GUITAR CAPO!!!! lol

 

[Blakiepoo]

I dunno, being comfortable and in control isn't really conducive to pain and voice problems.

There is so so much to singing, so many little things that you never notice until someone tells you, or maybe you'll hear it in a new singer. There's so many things to keep track of, and make habit, and at 18 you won't have a lot of them. I urge you to take it much easier and hold off until you've spoken with a voice coach about doing what you're doing properly.