voice changing help!

[altie90]

Hi peeps. I stopped smoking a week ago and my voice seems to slowly fade away. I lost all control over it and i sound like a cat on a hot tin roof. Any idea why i suddenly sound so bad and dont have contol? And is there anything i can do to improve this other than to start smoking again. This is a big issue for me as i quit smoking so i can try my luck at a singing career... Any help or advice would be appreciated alot! Tnx guys

[ido1957]

Just give it time. You may need to completely retrain your vocal cords.

[davie]

Constant smoking likely caused some irritation on your vocal cords and possibly some swelling. You may have been too use to singing under those conditions and once you got cleared up you had difficulty adjusting. Its might be true, you need to do some retraining and get use to your vocal cords again.

[highmtn]

You aren't used to breathing air without a lot of pollutants in it. Practice doing lots of scales so you can log some time getting used to singing on air without having a cigarette in between songs or at break time. Get used to breathing again like you used to before you started smoking. You probably want to feel that thick inhale that comes with smoking. Now all you have is thin air. It may leave you itching for some stimulation inside your lungs.

 

You'll get over this if you just tough it out. Quitting smoking is hard, and when we sing, we like to rely on things being "just right". You've probably gotten used to "just right" including a lot of smoking. It's directly related to your breathing which is directly related to your singing. Hang in there. It takes a while longer to get over the cravings and crazy urges and imbalances.

 

You're almost there!

 

Bob

[1001gear]

The added stress might be causing the frogs. Chew gum for a while.

[altie90]

Thx so much for all the feedback guys, your amazing and right. It does feel "thin'' and i need to put alot of pressure to get the notes that i had previously (and i gather thats not good) and ill mostlikely have to get use to the new "sound'' i make. It does feel like ive been cheated coz i thought i'd get instant ''improvement'', guess i just wasnt expecting this. Hope ill be able to enjoy it again like i use to, currently i dont enjoy singing as much with alot of frustration... Just another Q while im at it... Is it possible that i will always sound this terrible or is improvement going to happen? I hate this not feeling that ''fullness/sureness"(cant think of a better word) that i use to feel when singing. Again thx a mill guys

[highmtn]

@1001gear is right. I think I chewed cases and cases of gum when I quit smoking. It gives you another less harmful habit to substitute until you get over the nicotine addiction, and once your jaw starts aching from chewing too much gum for too long, you'll be able to give up the gum, too!

 

You will get improvement, but it's not instantaneous. Over the long haul, you'll get a lot of benefits from quitting smoking. I think you're just off-balance with your game face, as far as not feeling the fullness and sureness of your voice these days. You'll get back in the saddle soon.

 

Bob