Hoarse Throat | Singing Mastermind

My Singing Through Life Book

I'm excited to let you all know that I have written a book about singing through life that has been published! Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter, Michael Silversher, calls it the "Kahil Gibran Prophet for singers." Filled with 100 whimsical sayings about how your inner world of singing directly impacts your outer world of singing through life. A singing mindset lesson approach that no singer, voice teacher, choir director, cantor or performing artist should be without. It is … [Read more...]

Voice Problems and Surgery

By Joy Leave a Comment

Over the weekend, NPR did a show about voice problems and the challenges that singers face. Since I work with people who use their voices a lot, professional singers and non-professional alike, I know how difficult it can be to keep things in perspective. Listen to NPR's show: The Surgery That Saves Silenced Voices** ** ©2011 NPR When we love to sing and when our living or our sense of pleasure or well-being depends on singing, it can feel like death to develop swollen vocal … [Read more...]

It’s Time to Free Your Voice!

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- Fearless Voice Power - Most people tell me privately that they would love to be able to sing without fear, on pitch, without a hoarse throat or a nasal sound. But often they don't believe they can actually fulfill that private desire and therefore they don't want to even try or are too afraid to even try. But they keep privately wishing it were true. Somewhere in their early years, the message they got from parents, teachers, siblings or friends, convinced them that they were tone … [Read more...]

Your Singing Voice Curve

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What in the world is a singing voice curve and why is it important to you? In order to answer those two questions, I have to tell you a true story about the painting you see to your right and a recent voice lesson I gave over Skype. You may or may not know that I am an abstract painter, writer, performer and composer, as well as a voice teacher, so from time to time, I will sit down and look at a photo (or landscape or some other tangible object) and allow the shapes and colors in it to … [Read more...]

Unstoppable Singing Voice

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My computer crashing and having to have its hard drive and logic board replaced a few days ago might have thrown me off kilter and pushed me all out of shape because of the delay it has caused in launching my affordable singing lessons, but I decided not to let it. Then I got to thinking about how a computer crash relates to learning how to sing and to making sure you can feel ease in singing. It is always all about choices, attitude and what your singing mindset is. You see, we have to … [Read more...]

Affordable Singing Lessons Testimony

By Joy 2 Comments

I love working with students from various places on the planet and love what Sami Comeau from Canada had to say about working with me via Skype lessons. Sami recently graduated from high school but before she did, she and I had the opportunity to work on some important singing techniques, such as breathing with the muscles below her belly button! I especially love what she says about singing lessons being life lessons. Another student of mine told me yesterday that what I am doing is … [Read more...]

Hoarse Voice From Singing

By Joy 12 Comments

Do you get a hoarse voice from singing? I gave a Skype singing lesson tonight and my student and I were doing a serious session about the singing tongue. We did a few tongue exercises and then we reviewed a little bit from my first singing tongue lesson post, mostly using the photo below the crazy "I Can Has Cheeseburger" type cat at the top of the post. We talked about the importance of the tongue and how it can muffle the sound of the voice if it is pulled back in the throat, forcing … [Read more...]

Voice Problem – Hoarse Throat

By Joy 3 Comments

"Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out - Vaclav Havel, Czech playwright One of the most common disorders that people write to me about is hoarseness or a raspiness in the throat. Here are my thoughts on that subject. Have you ever felt like you were losing your voice? I sure have! In fact I've lost it several times and it's a nasty experience, … [Read more...]

Hoarse Throat, Permanent Damage?

By Joy 4 Comments

Did I Do Permanent Damage To My Voice? Another question has come in from one of my YouTube followers. This one has to do with a hoarse throat and wondering about permanent damage. Here is what he writes (I've corrected a few typos and spelling errors so you can read it more easily): "I was training for about a year and recently tried a few high notes and may have strained something...I waited a month and still feel a bit hoarse and like my voice is thick....no clarity..really upset..should … [Read more...]

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