How to deal with vocal issues WHEN they strike!
So you have a cold, a scratchy throat or some other of the myriad vocal issues one can have? These usually occur in their droves the SECOND you decide to use your voice professionally. Before your foray into vocal athelticism, you could probably talk for hours on end, entertaining your friends or random people on the street with your sheer ability. Well those days are gone now my friend!! At least they are for me.
My Experience
I have been an audiobook narrator for 10 years and in that decade I have had pretty much every vocal issues one can have. I have also tried lots of techniques to rid myself of these issues and yet still they occur. Why? I don’t know but I think a big step in overcoming these issues is to be at peace with the fact that they will come, they may rob you of a week or five of recording and that has to be ok. Stressing about it will only exacer…exaserba…make them worse!
A Personal Anecdote
The reason I am even writing this is because I was awoken at 4am by some of the worst reflux I have ever had. I may have overindulged in the Shepherds Pie yesterday. I love Worchestershire Sauce(Pron: Wuster..its Wuster, ok. JUST SAY WUSTER) but it loves me not!! Right now my throat feels scratchy, and my voice feels like it is an octave lower(this is always a bad sign for me, it usually preceeds me getting sick). I am tired because I fell asleep before putting on my CPAP mask so my sleep quality was pretty trash. All of these signs point to me having a pretty subpar day of recording. Or do they?
Dealing with Vocal Issues
So, with all of that in mind what am I going to do and what can you do when the vocal issues monster strikes? Well, the first thing I should mention is that I am not a doctor and am in no way qualified to give you advice (so follow it at your own risk) on how to look after your voice. But Nic Redman is so go to her, she is a genius!!
With my medical disclaimer out of the way let us begin.
Changing Our Perspective
The first thing we must do is change how we think of our voice and the language we use regarding it. First of all, there is no such thing as “your voice”. You will often hear us actor folk complaining thusly:
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- “Oh, my voice is crapping out on me”
- “Daggum it, I am losing my voice!”
- “My stupid voice won’t cooperate!”
We talk about our voice as if it is a seperate entity from us. As if it has a will of it’s own and it is betraying us. That is just not the case. Our voice is a bunch of muscles pushing air over a few flaps, vibrating said flaps and shaping that vibration with your face hole. Sorry for the scientific jargon. The point is that your voice is way more than the sound coming our of your face. And if your voice is out of sorts it probalby means that YOU are out of sorts. And the road to fixing it is more than a few lip thrills and a cup of honey and lemon tea.
Self-Assessment
So, the first step we must take is to take a second to check in with yourself. From top to toe, how do you feel? Do you feel pain, tension, anything out of the ordinary anywhere in your body? If you do feel anything, think about how you might address it. Are your hips tight? Do you have lower back pain? Are you clenching your jaw without realizing it?
Understanding Pain vs. Soreness
Are you sore or is it pain? What is the difference? If I lift heavy weights in the gym after not doing it for a long time, I will be sore the next day. If I warm up and prepare properly, that soreness will probalby go away. If, however, I lift weights and tweak my shoulder to the point that it is difficult to move and I get sharp pain when using it, that is pain. Soreness can be managed but pain just needs rest and recovery. Also just listen to your body. If you are sore, you warm up and are still sore and it is difficult and unpleasant to narrate…then don’t.
Helpful Techniques
Once you have checked in with yourself and determined the problem you can then determine the solution. Here are some things that I do that have helped:
1. Declutter the mind
2. Full Body stretch (at least 10 minutes)
3. Full vocal warmup (again at least 10 minutes)
4. Second body scan (How does everything feel now)
If you are still feeling scratchy, you are still feel pain or a worse than usual soreness you may need to just rest up for the day. SOVT exercises may also help but keep it light. Also, TELL YOUR CLIENT. It is better to tell a client you will be late due to illness than to keep them guessing.
That all looks pretty basic, right? But are you actually doing it? I understand that we are all looking for the panacea, that one magic thing that will instantly fix our vocal issues. To my knowledge that just doesn’t exist. Rest, time, and relaxation (mental and physical) really are the best medicine.
So, I am off to stretch, assess and get on with the day. Best of luck to ye!!
