Subject: [Harp-L] Voice problem

[EGS1217@xxxxxxx]

Steve


While I'm sure one can strain the vocal chords in several different ways,  
please don't discount GERD (Acid Reflux) as a contributory factor. It can quite  
literally burn your esophagus.. and if it comes up far enough: your vocal  
chords.
 
Besides medication ...treating it conservatively: sitting/standing upright  
for a good half and hour to an hour after eating/drinking is a good preventive  
measure...as well as sleeping with the head of your bed elevated (or on a  
sloping wedge), or even try sleeping sitting up for a time to see if it makes a  
difference  
 
Most likely you've a combination of both..if the vocal chords are  
irritated/burned due to gastric reflux, you're probably straining them  further by 
trying to sing loudly; and probably blowing more forcefully into the  harp due to 
the feeling of not getting enough air. Resting your vocal chords  completely 
(not even whispering) is the only real way to help, AFAIK.
 
You can live with the slight huskiness to your voice GERD can cause,  but not 
the long-term effects which can be dire. I'd check back  with your md..not 
sure if only a month on the meds is sufficient to heal  this.
 
Elizabeth
 
"Message: 1
Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:16:52 -0700
From: Steve Shriver  <steveshriver@xxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] Voice problem
To:  "\"harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx\"" <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Message-ID:  <C4AE1524.12AD%steveshriver@xxxxxxx>
Content-Type: text/plain;   charset="ISO-8859-1"

Has anyone ever experienced (or heard of)  vocal problems due to harp
playing? I have been playing harp for a long time  (I¹m 50), but over the
last couple years I stepped it up considerably,  singing and playing with a
band on a regular basis, and taking lessons from  Carlos del Junco. Since
about last December, I have had increasing difficulty  with my speaking
voice, which feels not so much hoarse as strained, like I  need to use a lot
of muscle power to get the sound out. My (so called)  friends tell me I sound
kind of like a Muppet, though to me I sound more like  Patrick the Starfish
from Sponge Bob Squarepants. I make light of it, but  it¹s actually pretty
uncomfortable. 
I spoke to a vocal coach, who said I  should see an ear, nose, throat doctor
to rule out nodes, etc. which I did.  He stuck the tube down my throat and
looked at my cords, said they looked  inflamed but otherwise healthy, and
prescribed an anti-acid reflux med, which  I took for a month. Didn¹t seem to
have any effect other than setting me back  a few hundred dollars. I haven¹t
totally ruled out the acid reflux thing, but  I¹m not sure what else to do
about it at this point.
I try to practice  good vocal technique- breathing, singing from the
diaphragm, etc, though I do  sing loud and our material includes a lot of
pretty raspy blues rock  stuff.  I had a period of about two months where the
band wasn¹t  playing, and I wasn¹t singing much then, and that didn¹t seem to
improve the  condition.
So I¹m wondering if there¹s a possibility that my harp playing,  specifically
choking and throat vibrato, might be affecting my vocal cords in  a negative
way. Has anyone ever heard of this??

--  Steve




------------------------------




**************Get fantasy football with free live scoring. Sign up for 
FanHouse Fantasy Football today.      
(http://www.fanhouse.com/fantasyaffair?ncid=aolspr00050000000020)