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Strained vocal chords - gig tonight - any tips on getting through it?


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I have a gig tonight. Unfortunately last night i strained my vocal chords at practice. My own fault, i couldn't hear myself right and didn't bother to fix it.

 

Anyway by the time i went to bed, my voice was real raspy and i'd lost about the top four steps of my voice.

 

Right now if i sing softly i would say i gained back a step, so I am still three steps from my usual range. And my voice is still very hoarse/raspy, and feels weak, like if i use my current high notes very much it feels like i'll lose them quick.

 

Does anybody have any tips for getting a little range/tone back and getting through a 45 minute set?

 

I bought Singer's saving grace, and Throat Coat. I don't know if they will work but I read about them so I'm trying them.

 

Thanks everybody.

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1) Drop the difficult songs from the set list.

2) When my throat is irritated I can still hum. I find humming to be a way to gently exercise my throat into a more workable state.

 

I wonder if putting a cold pack on the throat would reduce inflammation. Don't try this before the show because I don't know what might happen, but after the show you might give a cold treatment a try, notice if there is any benefit.

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Leaving in a half hour! so any ideas, i'll still take em!

 

I've been drinking and gargling that throat coat tea all day, probably six teabags so far. i figure gargling might get it on the chords, I don't know. Also i've been squirting that singers saving grace about every half hour too, trying to inhale it as it sprays.

 

one funny thing, the bottle says "don't do more than 20 applications a day". I wish it said why... i'd like to know just what i'm dealing with. :)

 

Also i read on a website "voicelessons.com", the guy's faqs dealt with people trying to sing with strained voices, and he said it is actually helpful to warm up a strained voice, using proper warm up technique, vs just resting it. so i've been warming up a little and i think it's actually helping.

 

I'm hoping all this stuff combined with 4 more hours until show time will conspire to do the trick. i've had rough days back in the past when the voice opened up again the next evening, so i'm hoping that will happen again.

 

and like i said, if anybody can help, i'll still be here a while. thanks!

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Everything paid off, nailed all parts except a couple at the very top of my normal range. And i just skipped those lines, they were harmonies. WHEWWWW

 

it's hard to say what worked and what didn't, but i do think there was a benefit from doing a long, quiet, deliberate warm up. i'm glad i read that, otherwise i would have just stayed quiet thinking less work on the chords would be better.

 

next time we practice i'm going to make sure i can hear myself alright!

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