DON’T LET THE CORONAVIRUS STEAL YOUR VOICE

First of all, I hope this finds you well and safe taking good care of yourself as you isolate and spend time at home. Staying well is the number one priority. We are all experiencing something that we never have before, and we are all figuring out how to navigate this new temporary normal.

Changes have occurred so quickly and there was barely enough time to think about it. Suddenly singers had gigs cancelled, school shows cancelled, and even school cancelled. Life suddenly was turned upside down for all of us on so many levels. With life being so uncertain there seemed to be no reason to sing, think about singing, and no reason to work on singing skills.

Some of my students are taking a break for different reasons. Some reasons are financial and some emotional. I got a text from one student that read, “I feel it is best for me for now to stop taking voice lessons for awhile. I think it’s the right thing as some things feel hard for me right now and my heart just isn’t in it to sing.” Who can’t relate to this? I’ve even had moments that I felt this way. My engagements for April were cancelled as well as the spring recital for my students, so it all seems so pointless sometimes.

But another student felt differently. She said to me in our last online lesson, “I have all this pent -up emotion and energy. I need to sing and focus it and express my emotions.” I think we all fall somewhere between these two extremes. My feeling is if there were ever a time people need to sing is now! Singing boosts endorphins, (makes you feel good) boosts your immune system and is emotionally healing to you and those who listen to you sing.

Here are some tips to get you through this emergent time:

1.      STEP UP YOUR HEALTH HABITS.
Not just physical health. Nurture your emotional, mental and spiritual health as well. Of course, follow all the guidelines of sheltering in place, wash hands for 20 seconds, wear face coverings and keep your distance from others.

Step up your physical exercise. Walk daily if you can. The sun and fresh air will help boost your immune system and give you some vitamin D. Maybe try a new online exercise class.  Eat healthy foods. Cut down on sugar, drink more water and get plenty of sleep.  Staying physically in shape is as important to the singer as warm-ups and skill-building technique exercises. Staying active will also raise your mood. Not being able to go outside has caused me to sit so much more and I have to be mindful to make exercise a priority.

In case you are not aware, isolation is unhealthy. It actually suppresses the immune system and can affect your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual condition. We were designed for relationship. How amazing that we have technology to stay connected to our loved ones! You can check on them by text, phone, FaceTime, email etc… Be sure to take some extra self-care time for yourself. Do things that bring you joy. Read books for enjoyment, do something creative, plant flowers, pray, meditate or anything that brings you joy and peace. 

2.      TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE EXTRA TIME TO BUILD AND IMPROVE YOUR VOICE.

I know if you are a gigging singer, you have had everything cancelled. Your shows, gigs, and events. Everything came to a stop. Also, high school singers are very disappointed that their spring musicals have been postponed or cancelled. My students are very sad right now. Some had their very first lead role and the shows were coming up. This has been very emotionally trying.  My advice: Keep singing!  Your gigs will return, and you want to be ready! If you were regularly working as a singer, remember you are a vocal athlete and need to keep your voice strong. Sing most days of the week for at least an hour at full intensity as though you have an audience. (after warming up of course!) When the shows are back on the schedule, this will help you avoid losing your voice the first night out.

Now that you are not so busy, you can work on skills you didn’t have time for before. You can fine-tune weak areas that you didn’t have time to focus on before.  If you have been taking lessons, this is a great time to master those issues your teacher has been bringing to your attention. Maybe it’s pitch work, ear training, getting rid of that bugger of a break, or mastering a new genre. Be creative. Learn a new instrument or maybe write some songs.

Be sure to continue and perhaps improve your vocal rituals. Warm up every day whether you sing or not. Do some semi-occluded vocal tract exercises such as humming, lip trills, or straw work. I have always called these low impact vocal warm-ups.  I do these first thing in the morning and use them as a voice assessment to see what shape my voice is in for the day. Make appointments for yourself to practice at least 4 days out of the week. Put it on your calendar. Use that time to warm-up, vocalize to build up your voice, work on technique and go through songs. Don’t neglect beginning your routine with a little body alignment and breath work.

If you are taking voice lessons, and have the means to do so, please continue during this time. Teaching voice is likely the only source of income for your teacher and all the voice teachers have scrambled to get their lessons online so that you will not miss a beat. I am thankful that I have already been teaching online for a few years, so the transition isn’t so bad for my students who usually come in person. If it is not possible for you to continue lessons for financial or other reasons, keep up the routines your teacher has set up for you.

 You can also go online and find teaching videos but with a caution: Use your common sense. If it doesn’t feel good to you, then it probably isn’t good for you. In Estill Voice Training the cautions are if an exercise causes a tickle, cough or scratchiness, stop and re-group because something is wrong. The downside of watching and learning from videos is that the teacher cannot hear if you are doing the exercise correctly or not. Protect your precious voice!

3. DON’T LOSE YOUR JOY.

For me this is the most important thing to keep in mind. Remember, that this is a temporary situation. It will come to an end. We will all be together again singing, dancing, laughing, and enjoying life. Realize how resilient you are and look forward to the future.  It is my hope that we will all look back on this and realize that we are stronger for the experience. Your voice is a gift and gifts are meant to be given away. People need to hear you sing. I really believe that. It’s very healing, not only for the singer, but the listener.  We all have a choice when there is adversity. We can crumble under it and let it injure our lives, or we can use it as an opportunity to give ourselves an upgrade. This applies to any aspect of our lives. Don’t let the Coronavirus or anything steal your voice or steal your joy. They both belong to you.

If you are thinking about online lessons and would like to find out more about it, connect with me and we can do a free consultation to see If that’s something that would work for you.

LET ME KNOW HOW I CAN HELP YOU!

Stay brilliant and sing on!