THE "MINI EPIDEMIC" - BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR VOICE

Just like any other part of your body, you can damage your voice. Lately, we have been hearing all the stories of how our celebrity singers are having vocal problems. I have heard it called a "mini epidemic". Adele, Keith Urban and John Mayer all come to mind recently. Our vocal chords are not made out of steel or indestructible plastic and cannot be replaced. I have been paying attention to the contestants on American Idol and The Voice lately. I am thinking of one female contestant on The Voice this past week. When I heard her growl, scream her perfect pitches and just abuse her voice as she was singing, I couldn't help but think that her career will be cut short if she keeps singing like that. It is like overdoing anything with your body. You can only exercise and work out and run so much before your body starts breaking down. Everything needs do be done in moderation. And when one does not sing properly (such as singing and straining with your throat instead of using your whole whole body), the throat problems will just come faster. That is why, when starting out, a singer needs to be taught to sing properly by opening up the throat to use the core of the body to sing instead of singing just with the throat. That is where your voice teachers and coaches can help. Just like any bad habit, this bad habit of singing needs to be re-learned and it won't happen overnight. It has to be practiced over and over. I have been singing for over 60 years without throat problems because I sing with an open throat. Just listen to some of my songs I sing on YouTube and you will hear my technique.  If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post below.