Well, the topic explains it all, I am trying to learn some of the songs from wicked, and I have been singing alot. I have never had formal training, so I don't know if I know proper technique.

I have probably strained my vocal cords, seeing as how those songs were made to be sung in soprano, and I happen to be an alto-mezzosoprano-2nd sopranno singer.


How do I make my voice box stop hurting?

Serious answers please, don't leave some asinine comment saying, "stop singing, DUH!" That's not an option for me at this point.

Im no doctor but i would imagine one of two things... Either plenty of cool drinks to sooth it or plenty of warm, but not hot drinks and not too much talking but if you keep silent i imagine it could get worse, just dont over do it!

Try warm orange or lemon squash, it really helps take away the pain of a cold related sore throat so it might help. As for longer term try some painkillers and a thick drink to provide a coating, maybe some sorer throat sweets with a liquid centre as they seem to help a lot and in general plenty of fluids to help it heal.

As im said im no doctor but think what your body would naturally want. EG soothing drinks, water and rest rather than chemicals unless it hurts a lot.

singers ought to avoid cold drinks and sweets (especially chocolate). they simply irritate the vocal chords more. rest is the key. try to make it a habit to impose yourself a complete silence (no talking, no singing) for periods in between your practice, moreso when you are beginning to feel that you're in the verge of straining your vocal chords. the most dedicated singers attest to a complete silence (no talking, no singing) a day before a concert performance or presentation.

for an old-wives' tale solution (which our singers in our country usually practice) is to boil strips of ginger, then drink the concoction after it cools down. we call it "salabat" and it is supposed to help relax your vocal chords. try it, it's simply like tea. there's also a chinese medicine which singers swear by, and which they ingest as a solution to bring back lost voice after strenuous practice... i just don't remember the name now. i'll try to remember it, but maybe our chinese trappers can help here.

As a bit of a singer, I can say that as Serverph said, avoiding stimulants will really aid your vocal chords. Also, I assume that what you are singing, from Wicked, is in your normal range or near it. If it is out of your range you may have to work up to it, but that can take a very long period of time and I assume you know your limits, are serious about this, and have had enough prior music practice to be decent enough to pull it off.

Anyhow, the only new advice I can really give is to pace yourself; if your throat hurts drink water and that will help you. Please don't strain yourself or that could result in permanent vocal damage.

Good Luck, Caius

I have heard more than one person tell me that if your throat hurts you are straining something that shoudn't be strained. I know that most people sing this way including myself. The ginger water seems nice. I might just try that.

Gargling warm salt water will help sooth your throat. Also try chewable vitamin C. You probably already know to stay away from fizzy drinks and dairy products on a practice or performance day; even having cereal with milk for breakfast can make your phlegm too thick, where you'll constantly be needing to clear your throat.

I don't think you should be too concerned about your throat. One of the techniques to improve range involves (after a good warmup, of course) working up to the highest keys on the piano, trying to match it, even if you have to squeak like a mouse to get it out. After all, if you never stretch, you'll never get more flexible. If you are uncomfortable with your current range, my advice would be trying to sing the stuff at home an octave higher than it is supposed to be. When doing this, do not worry about the quality of the sound, just as long as you are hitting the right notes. When people are training their voices, the goal is not to sing like a diva, or how you would do karaoke, but as if they are in a background chorus, where their voice is soft and the power comes from the chest area or diaphragm. If you can become comfortable singing really high notes, then the regular high notes will come naturally.

A good place for practicing high notes is when you take a shower. I think the steam from the shower makes the note transitions easier. Plus, if people hear singing from the shower, they don't think too much into it.

Well, other than the suggestions about tea etc... I would suggest learning proper technique as soon as you can. If you sing improperly a lot it's possible that you could permanently do some damage to yourself. I'm not saying that you will, or that you aren't using proper technique now, but it would be worth it probably to make sure. You could probably contact a voice coach and ask them to explain it to you, but if money is an issue than looking around on the internet or just talking to people who have had formal training would probably be very beneficial for you.

Well, what everybody else say is all I can recommend, so, basically, don't sing too much at one interval, take rests bewteen them.

gargling with mild warm water will surely help in your case. it will help to tune your voice too...

good luck!

This post has been edited by techclave: Mar 9 2008, 03:46 PM