How to Prevent and Recover from Voice Injuries

Would anybody suggest that an athlete who became injured in the course of playing their sport "had" to be lacking in talent because they became injured? Of course not! Unfortunately, that happens many times with singers because of a misunderstanding about what causes voice injuries.

Injuries to vocal cords include, pre-nodules(soft early stage nodules), vocal nodules, hemorrhage and polyps. Any one of the following factors can cause  a singer to become injured, but when an injury occurs, the cause is usually a combination of factors.
These factors include:

1. Poor Technique
2. Stressful or unsuitable repertoire
3. Illness
4. Overuse
5. Environmental conditions

A singing technique that puts the least stress on the voice facilitates endurance and goes a long way toward preventing injury. That being said, some styles of singing are more high-energy and make more demands on the voice than others. We certainly see more injuries in rock and opera singers than in those who sing gentle folk music and light jazz. Modern Broadway belters put more stress on their voices than those who sing in a  more traditional or "legit" musical theatre style. Some voices and singers are more robust than others and more suitable to exploring a more extreme pitch and dynamic range. Singing music that is suited for a particular voice in range and character is very important to sustainable singing in the short and long term. Experienced voice teachers and coaches can assist performers in understanding what repertoire is optimal for them.

Even a singer with a great technique who is singing the music most suited to their voice can become injured if they rehearse or perform while having an illness that is effecting their vocal cords. A singer should learn how to identify the warning signs of swollen, inflamed or infected vocal cords from their voice teacher, and if  the singer and his or her teacher is in any doubt at all,  a consult with a specialist voice doctor is in order. Recent research indicates that in the case of  development of vocal nodules, there is usually the finding of  presence of acid reflux as an irritant to the vocal cords. According to an article in Laryngoscope Magazine "Pharyngeal acid reflux events in patients with vocal cord nodules" "Pharyngeal acid reflux events occurred in seven of 11 patients with vocal cord nodules" and concluded "Prevalence of pharyngeal acid reflux events is significantly higher in patients with vocal cord nodules".

Many experts have said that the epidemic of voice injuries seen in recent days amongst recording artists has more to do with the fact that an ailing "star" can't have an understudy replace them in concerts if they get sick, than any flaws in technique they might have.

A singer performing the most suitable repertoire, with an excellent technique and in perfect health can still become injured if they overuse their singing voice or even their speaking voice. Experts agree that the best schedule for singing practice is a few, perhaps three, sessions of about twenty minutes per day instead of long practice sessions that will cause fatigue. Also, days of partial or complete voice rest whenever fatigue or strain occurs. Unfortunately, this is far from what is expected or required from most performing singers in real-life situations. Choir rehearsals are often two or three hours and directors often hold a full rehearsal of an amateur choir right before an extended performance. Musicals rehearse intensely, often with no "dark days" before most opening nights. Only in the opera world is it customary to have quiet days before opening and few consecutive days of performance.

Environmental conditions that are hazards to vocal health include stress occurring to the voice from having to speak over noise in load conditions or sing without proper monitors, chemical irritants,  smoke, allergens or reactions to medication. Often more stress occurs to a voice at a noisy party after a performance than during the show itself. A strategic singer learn to protect him or herself from such situations.

 Injuries can also occur directly to the vocal cords during medical procedures or to the nerves that feed the larynx. Endocrine conditions can also complicate professional voice use.

To sum up, it is clear to see that professional or serious hobby singers need to employ a range of strategies to protect their voices, along with having a singing technique that facilitates optimal function. If having your voice in top shape is important to you, seek guidance from a qualified voice teacher who can advise you based on their expertise and experience. A singing teacher or speech pathologist can also teach you identify and reverse any signs of less than optimal singing before an injury occurs!

Most importantly don't forget that  a laryngologist, or specialist voice doctor is also an important member of any singer's team and the person to seek out when a singer has any serious concerns. A laryngologist can actually look at the vocal cords and see what is going on so you can get  the facts about your voice's condition rather than educated guesses. It is advisable to establish a relationship with such a doctor when you are well so that they can get a baseline of what your cords look like and how they vibrate before you run into any trouble! 

If you have any questions about healthy singing for a long and successful singing career, don't hesitate to reach out to me by email at lori@bergenbelcanto.com

How long does it take?

How long does it take?

I am often asked by a singer undertaking lessons, “How long does it take to learn to sing?”

My answer? “An instant and a lifetime.”

Some aspects of singing can be addressed right there in the first session when techniques yield instant results, if the body is ready to do it. In most cases, the understanding comes first and the ability to do a technique and then do it consistently comes little by little.

How long does it take for a singer to sound  and look polished and poised to an average audience’s  eye and ear? If the teacher is good, it usually takes about three years, therefore a voice major in their junior year, or the equivalent should be able to start to perform professionally at such things as weddings, religious services and local events. Some of the bigger and more exciting voices take longer to sound polished, and for some fast learners it can take only a year or two.

All singers must be students of singing, though, as long as they are still performing. The magnificent human instrument we call the voice is ever-changing as is the body that contains it. There is always new music to learn and old music to perfect and relearn if we are presenting it.  A singer may one day not be regularly studying with a teacher, but they must always be learning and adjusting.

How long does it take?

An instant and forever.

Are you ready for the journey?

2017 Music In The Mansion Promo

At 5 p.m. on December 17th, 2017, 120 Noyes Drive, Park Ridge, NJ, The Dean Mansion at The Atrium will host a FREE Holiday Caroling Concert, featuring the Pro Arte Chorale.

What is the Difference Between a Singing Teacher and a Vocal Coach?

Microphone Techniques for Singers

Most contemporary music performance situations involve the use of microphones and often even very skilled singers do not pay enough attention to using them to their advantage.  This article will include some very generalized and basic information that should be of use, please keep in mind that every voice, microphone, sound system and performing space is different so adjustments must be made.

The microphone should be thought of as a musical instrument, not just as a delivery system for your voice. You sing into a microphone, which colors the sound of your voice and sends a signal through a mixing board, which further alters the sound of your voice and sends it through a speaker that changes it even more before the sound is delivered to the listener. What the audience ends up hearing is not actually your voice but an altered reproduction of your voice. What comes out of the speaker is no more your voice than a picture of you is you.  This is why care must be taken in the selection and use of the microphone, the manipulation of the signal at the mixing board and the selection and placement of the speakers. Most of the advice given is meant for use of a  standard microphone with a cardioid pick-up pattern in a live environment.

1) Each microphone has a color of it’s own that changes the sound of your voice. Before purchasing a microphone read reviews of the instrument to best understand how it will impact your voice. This goes for both live and recording mics.  Trying the mic out to see how it sounds with your particular voice, if you can do it, is extremely helpful. Recommendations on the performance of the microphone from fellow singers or sound engineers are also an important guide. There are many good microphones in every price range.


How you use the microphone not only changes the dynamics (volume) of what the audience perceives of your voice it also changes the color/ timbre.

Here are some things to keep in mind;

1. Sing into to the mic not across the top of the mic. If you don’t sing into the mic those sound waves you are producing with your vocal cords, which you call your voice, will not be amplified properly. 

2. There is a contemporary fad these days made popular by rappers and some hard rockers where the mic is held by the head . Don’t do that.  Your hand will be in the way muffling your voice, you will be blocking the view of your face, you are also more likely to cause feedback.  Hold the mic by the shaft and point it up towards your mouth at an angle that permits you to sing into it and does not block your face This is what professionals with good microphone technique do.  Why emulate the mistakes of others?

3. Be aware of where the speakers and monitors are located and don’t point the mic directly at them, you will cause feedback. Microphone feedback is a squeaking, howling sound caused by loop of sound from the mic going through the amplifier, coming out the speaker and then re-enters the microphone creating it’s own frequency.  It is unpleasant and indicates that a performer does not know how to use their equipment in a performance or a rehearsal situation.

4. As a singing teacher, I know that posture and body alignment are critical for good singing. I always check how my singers use a microphone because more times than not, it throws them off.  When holding a microphone, always bring the mic to you, do not bring your head to the microphone. Try this exercise: hold the mic in your hand at your side and sing a phrase as you would normally sing it, then lift the microphone up to your mouth without changing your posture and  then sing the same thing.  Do not lift your chin, do not tuck your chin , do not bend your neck and remember to keep your shoulders relaxed.  If you are singing into a mic with a stand., make friends with that stand. It is your performance equipment. Adjust it to the right height for you, make sure you don’t have to crouch down or reach up.  Same thing with the angle of the mic, position it so you will be able to sing into it not across the top of it. If you are called up on stage to sing, take the time to adjust the stand for yourself, or take the mic off and hold it.  The audience can wait a few seconds for this and will get a better performance for having done so.  You are also allowed to grab the entire stand and angle it as exciting rock singers often do if it helps you do all the physical things you  might need to do such as bend your knees to anchor your high notes etc. Using a mic stand this way helps make for an exciting performance. In general, interaction with objects (the set, the piano, a scarf, your microphone and people (other performers, the audience) in the physical world tend to make performances ,whether they are musical or theatrical, look more  real and more confident. 

5.  Remember what I said about singing directly into the mic? Well that does not count in recording or even live situations when you have a big plosive “P” or “B” sound. Those should be sung a bit to the right or left to minimize the booming or popping sound they create.

6. In general be consistent and don’t drift off mic. That means don’t forget what you are doing and stop singing into the microphone. Many people do this! If you are playing guitar and sing with a boom mic stand work during practice to ensure that you don’t have to move off mic to look at your hand when you need to be singing into the mic. If you are unable to do this, you really should consider a headset mic .  If you are a classical singer in concert where standing or choir /suspended mics are used, make sure you are standing and remain standing in the spot you were in during your sound check during your performance. You really can’t vary too much. Theater singers, if there are suspended mics not body or headsets you really do have to observe your blocking so you will be heard properly. Lastly for quieter types of music such as vocal jazz with an acoustic trio or small ensemble in a small room you might want to have the mic level adjusted to work with a mic held just above the waist for a natural and gentle amplification. I have seen several legendary singers work this way.

7. Ok, here is where the real deal skill of microphone use comes in, the adjustments in distance from the mic  that you need to make according to the volume and pitch of your voice. In general, when you sing a climactic high note you should back off of the mic a few inches.  That is because loud high notes suddenly send more signal into a microphone that can overwhelm the system and cause distortion. If you “eat” the microphone while singing loud and high nobody will be able to hear and appreciate the beauty of your high notes.  How much of an adjustment you need to make depends on your mic, the levels the sound person has set, and how big your voice is. Experience should put you in at least the right ballpark with this. Conversely soft low notes will get lost if you don’t bring the mic as close as possible to your mouth. This, also especially with cardioid mics, tends to warm up/ or fatten up the sound as you get closer. Not only is this important sound-wise but it is also important as a stagecraft device.  Audiences had subconsciously absorbed the mannerisms of great singers and become aware that a big vocal moment is coming up when they see that microphone distance increase. Without this convention, a performance can seem to fall flat from a theatrical perspective.

 In addition to backing off when you are loud and high and coming closer when you are low and soft is the you can use the microphone to create or enhance crescendos and decrescendos on sustained notes in the middle of your range. You can do this by pulling the microphone off to one side and away for decrescendos and starting from that position and pulling in for crescendos.

It is vital for singers of all genres to become comfortable with the use of microphones and informed about not only not letting their use interfere, but to use a them as musical instruments to enhance your performance.

Adult Beginners Part Deux

Previously I wrote some FAQ questions concerning adult beginners. Today's blog is to provide points to clarify some things that adults beginner singers (of classical music particularly)may not understand and hopefully this information will prevent unnecessary pain and frustration.

1) In classical music there is an objective standard when it comes to those with expert ears such as teachers, coaches, directors, conductors critics and discerning audiences. You can not chalk up criticism to a matter of taste. There are absolutes when it comes to singing in tune, correct diction, and musical accuracy.  There is somewhat less than absolute agreement in matters of style and technique, but all in all there is agreement in what falls way outside. Matters of personal taste are more the purview of the audience. If experts are telling you you have more to learn and your friends, family, general audience members are telling you that you are the greatest singer in the world, believe the experts. They are not against you,  they don't dislike you, they are not snobs, they are not trying to profit off you by selling you unneeded lessons they  know what they are doing and they are there to help. But keep performing for who love you and encourage your singing you will enjoy it and gain from it and so will they.

2) There is age discrimination but there are some major career opportunities for late starters, if you are of a voice type that is rare or extremely rare. It is a business, and supply and demand comes into play. If you are a voice type that is plentiful, you will probably have to make your own opportunities in this competitive field, and you have to actually be good at what you do.The existence of age discrimination does not eliminate the need for the requisite skills for performing music at a high standard.

3) The music biz does not work like other businesses at all. It takes much more than it gives back, expect that. There will be much more investment in time, money, resources, and energy than the rewards you will see, It will be rewarding and worth it, if you love doing it. Instruction in singing technique, repertoire coaching, acting, languages, stage movement and basic musical skills is expensive. In order to become proficient you will have to spend thousands of dollars a year. To become excellent you will have to spend thousands of dollars over many years. On average it takes more than ten years of serious training and thousands of hours of practice to sing opera at a professional level. Think your investment has been big so far? Find out what is costs to go to a top conservatory. Most singers studying with a good teacher will sound wonderful to most people's ears in about three years of training. You can be a good semi-pro, singing in churches and choirs at that point, but not a pro opera singer.

4) It is not about your voice, it is about your artistry.  World class voices are actually quite common and inconsequential. If you have one and you don't know how to sing or have no musical training it is of no consequence. It is exactly like having a Steinway or a Martin guitar and not knowing how to play.

The points I make above may seem discouraging but there is good news. Adult beginners have less wear and tear on their voices than those who have already been singing in the profession for years so you have more years ahead of good singing than you think. Certain aspects of voice training go faster for adults than kids because a mature voice is in many ways an easier and less vulnerable instrument. So you can sing and sing well and get a lot of joy from doing so.

As a professional voice teacher, I have seen that the biggest barrier to adults learning how to sing well is the need to hold on to the belief that they ALREADY sing well.  If you put your ego aside and are willing to make changes, you can become skilled no matter what your age as long as you are healthy. Singing also has many health benefits, it increases aerobic conditioning, improves sleep apnea and relieves tension. Unfortunately, many times I see older beginners hang onto their flaws with dear life because, if the new ways of singing are better it means to them, that they were not very good before. Don't throw away your potential to protect your view of their past. If you come to voice training for the joy of it and with the humility that one should approach a great art, you can do amazing things! It is up to you, see you in the studio!

The Artist's Place in Politics

 A few nights ago, at The Golden Globe awards, Meryl Streep became the latest in the long history of artists speaking out courageously against oppressive power. Her actions come in the recent context of a singer resigning from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and dancers from The Radio City Rocketts fighting for the right to not perform at the inauguration of a president who’s character flaws trouble them. It comes in the context of a performer addressing the Vice President elect after the conclusion of a Broadway performance of "Hamilton" to let him know that they were alarmed and concerned about whether the new administration would protect their rights, along with hopes that what they had presented in the show would have a positive effect by inspiring some good in Mr. Pence.
 Each time an artist speaks to power these days, we hear a chorus of supporters of the establishment saying that the time and the place was not appropriate, or that an artist using their position to speak out for what they believe in, is, in itself not appropriate. There is immense pressure to silence the artists. Why?
 Artists are communicators. The most artistically successful individuals didn’t come to the arts because they like to put on costumes or because they like the sound of their own voice, they come into the arts because they have something to say and their desired method of communication is through something beautiful that transmits their ideas, not just to the mind, but to the heart. Wouldn’t it be natural for professional communicators to speak out?
 Make no mistake, ideas communicated through the arts and by artists are very powerful. Why else would those who oppose these ideas become so terribly concerned and rush to silence people?
 Are the arts a mirror or do artists have the power to nudge society in one direction or another?  Is there such a thing as non-political art or is all artistic expression inherently political? What is the artist’s responsibility when the social environment takes a dark turn?  These questions have been on the minds of  many artists these days in America who clearly see what is going on.
 Let’s take a little walk back in history. From the inception of art in western society it has been used to promote a social agenda, namely that of the church and of the monarchy/aristocracy. Leaders recognized the power of artistic expression to reach both the mind and the heart to inspire awe and to aggrandize. In this context it is clear to see that that arts have been used to glorify the establishment, but what is the artist’s place when he or she feels that they want to facilitate social change or to stand against what they consider to be a negative or dangerous force in society? Artists have always used their power to subvert and deliver messages in a manner sometimes so pleasing and so disarming that a recipient who otherwise might not be accessible remains open to these ideas.
Clearly these are two sides of one coin. Art is, and always has been political.
 I believe that artists have a responsibility to lead. We are the thinkers. We are the creators. The public has a trust in us and we must not betray them. We must not use our power to glorify something harmful. We must not normalize the abnormal and we must recognize that our mere presence has to power to do so. We should not use our skills to create beauty to anesthetize the population of a culture that should be awake and standing up for itself.
 We must always think about our legacy not just short-term goals. We should take inspiration from the legendary actress Marlene Dietrich,who was a favorite of both Hitler and many of those who were powerful in the Third Reich.  According to the Holocaust Research Project “While in England in 1937 filming ‘Knight Without Armour,’ she was approached by the German Ambassador to Great Britain, Joachim von Ribbentrop, with a personal and generous offer from Hitler to return to Nazi Germany. She refused this offer, and subsequently as a result of this her films were banned in Germany” She could have taken the easy path and become part of her country’s propaganda machine. If she had done so her career would  now be a little ugly footnote in history. She would have been an actress who gave comfort to those acting with the force of evil. Instead, according the the NY times,  “In the late 1930s, Dietrich created a fund with Billy Wilder and several other Germans to help Jews and dissidents escape from Germany. In 1937, her entire salary for Knight Without Armor (450,000) was put into escrow to help the refugees.” She indeed became a shining beacon of courage and  decency and thoughtfulness.
 As artists we have to make wise, moral and socially informed choices. Making decisions that seem to be in our own short-term self interest but not in the spirit of the good of humanity is not in the spirit of art.
 A few years ago I was invited by a suburban woman’s art group to participate in an art show that was sponsored by Bayer Corporation.  The women were to submit their work to be displayed at the corporate headquarters with the stipulation that none of it be political art. I instantly objected, given the history of the company which can be traced directly back to Nazi Germany, as well as on the grounds of the awful things they continued to do in the present day.  My objections were greeted mostly with annoyance by the other artists, some of them also Jewish, who were eager to adorn the walls of the corporation that used Jewish slave labor and created Zyklon B gas used to murder people in gas chambers and was presently producing Imidacloprid which is threatening life on the planet by killing off the world’s bee population.  It was very disappointing, but somewhat typical of people engaged in art in a less than mindful way.
 Now why would a huge international corporation be concerned about an artist presenting a political idea on its walls? What would have happened if all the artists decided to all just create paintings of bees for that exhibition? Would that have caused the employees of Bayer walking past in the their corporate headquarters to start to THINK? Bayer feared political statements through art because they felt that people, impervious to the copious raw data on their wrong doing could be stimulated and moved by artistic expression in a way that was dangerous to them.
 When Meryl Streep gave her speech the other night at The Golden Globes when she accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Award, the great actress, when addressing her colleagues went straight to the heart of the nature of the art of acting and an artist’s place in politics.  She said “we have to remind each other of the privilege and the responsibility of the act of empathy".
 The training that our great American actors receive in order to portray the rich characters we see on stage and screen, by its very nature turns them into empathetic human beings. One of the most influential American method acting teachers, Sandford  Meisner defined acting as behaving truthfully under imaginary circumstances. So an actor lives “There but for the grace of god go I” every time they bring a character to life.   Streep said “An actor’s only job is to enter the lives of people who are different from us, and let you feel what that feels like.” right before she detailed the atrocious act of mocking and bullying a disabled reporter  done by a rich and powerful man seeking a powerful office. This act  done by a man devoid of empathy affected Streep in a very deep way because she truly understands what empathy is and how it can be developed and how the opposite can also be learned. “ And this instinct to humiliate, when it’s modeled by someone in the public platform, by someone powerful, it filters down into everybody’s life, because it kinda gives permission for other people to do the same thing. Disrespect invites disrespect, violence incites violence. And when the powerful use their position to bully others we all lose.”
 We might not have careers is notable as Marlene Dietrich or Meryl Streep, but we must nevertheless highly value what we what we do and be who we are. Make no mistake. we are living either through a turning point in American history or a brief dark period which will be examined carefully in the future. When the next generation and the following ones look back upon us, we want to be on the right side of history. For me that did not include adorning the walls of Bayer corporation and it did not include accepting an invitation to perform for Barbara Bush, as mild as she seems now in the current context, when I had the opportunity to do so. In the 1940s my mother toured the country with the Rodgers and Hammerstein Company's production of Annie Get your Gun" When the tour went through Alabama some locals spotted my mother and her friend chatting with African American cast members at the stage door and word got out to the local community that this was an integrated show. Rodgers and Hammerstein were told that they could not proceed with an integrated cast. They decided to leave town and the citizens of Alabama learned that others would not abide their racist ways.

 Your decisions are your own and they reflect upon who you are as a person and as an artist and what you feel you were put on this earth to accomplish.  No matter what anybody says to you, you have the right as a citizen to speak out about what you feel is right and you don’t give that up when you become a performer.  Furthermore, if you consider yourself to be an artist not just an entertainer or a trained circus animal, you have the right to express your ideas or even perhaps the responsibility to do so.