You go to the doctor because you have a blister on your arm. "How do I get this to go away?" you ask as you rub furiously on the blister. He says "Why don't you stop rubbing it?" You say: "Duh. Why didn't I think of that?"
You go to the doctor because you have a blister on your arm. "How do I get this to go away?" you ask as you rub furiously on the blister. He says "Why don't you stop rubbing it?" You say: "Duh. Why didn't I think of that?"
If you experience hoarseness for a period of two weeks or more get your vocal cords checked by a specialist. Prolonged hoarseness is a sign of nodules growing on your cords. The problem could be something else, but either way you need a checkup.
Vocal nodules are little blisters which grow on the vocal cords when you rub them too much. So how do you rub the vocal cords? (You can't get your hand in there) Every time you strain to hit high notes, or force too much volume, or growl excessively, or sing too far down in your throat (the Yogi Bear or Rocky Balboa sound)...or otherwise abuse your voice by incorrect singing, you are forming, rubbing and irritating the blisters.
Many doctors are all too anxious to remove your little blisters (nodules) by surgery, when that usually doesn't have to be done at all. (Get a second opinion) So what do you do when your doctor tells you you have nodules? Stop rubbing them and they will go away. It takes a whole lot of wrong singing to "rub" your nodule so much that it requires surgery. A blister has to calcify before it requires surgery to remove it. Calcification takes time, and a whole lot of "rubbing".
So what do you do? First, stop singing for a while to let the swelling go down. This doesn't take long. When your hoarseness goes away your nodule is probably going down. Then find a good singing teacher. Often doctors will recommend your seeing a speech therapist, but a qualified singing teacher can usually achieve the same results at much less cost.
The thing is, you have been "rubbing" a blister or two on your vocal cords, and you must stop doing that by building new habits. Correct breathing techniques, practice in thinning the sound as you move higher, learning to support the sound with other muscles, getting your sound out of the throat and into the mouth and head; these are all things which can be learned from a good singing teacher.
Free Singing Tips, Singing Instruction: Learn The Simple Secrets of Singing Higher and Higher
As a singing teacher, I receive many questions concerning how to increase the high range. This seems to be on every singer's mind, and for good reason; a great number of songs are written to carry the listener through lower sections (usually the verses) into the climatic choruses, which usually contain one or two notes which tax many singers and cause them to sound strained and uncomfortable. This obviously takes a lot away from the overall power of the performance. What to do about this?
Singing Tips and Techniques - Star Quality: What is It? How Do I Achieve It?
"Star Quality" is illusive but necessary for success as a singer. All the great performers have "IT", and you should have it also. So how do you acquire or develop or discover your "IT"?
Do Not Try Too Hard to Sound Like Other Singers . You Could Damage Your Voice
So, why can't you cover (sing the songs made famous by) any singer you like? You can, if you don't force your voice to sound exactly like them. Most top singers do cover songs. But they do them their way. We already have one Elton, or Jerry Cantrell, or Maria Cary. We don't need another. We need a YOU! With that fact in mind, let's explore why you can damage your physical voice by trying to exactly cover other singers.
