Singing too loud

GuyChan

Hi guys, hope you feel good 😊 I need some help. I'm a rock guy, and I have tendency to give away sometimes and to shout when I sing. I try to help it, as it's an old habit. But I start to feel like my voice changes. Yesterday I took a break. I did a warm-up the day before to keep me in shape. But when I came back today, I felt like my vocals cords started to become leathery. It requires more strength to get to some high notes and it strains and hurts in the throat. Also when I swallow now. I have less resonance in my lower register. My digastric muscle is kinda crispy. I'm gonna focus on extra hydrate my vocals folds to heal them. And I will keep doing the warm ups really lightly just to bring back elasticity, resiliency and moisture. But how soft shout I do them ? Should I belt to keep strength or do the exercises soft and not too high will suffice ? I really want to stay on the road. Any advices ?

Klaus_T

Ken says you should always only sing as loud as you can connect. the scales should be done pretty softly, especially in the earlier days / volumes. by developing support and resonance, it will seem that you scream really loudly, when you are actually rather quiet (Ken had a video about it a few weeks ago I think, maybe on one of the "What Makes This Singer Great" episodes, but in general, he says that all the time). Also, check "glottal compression", but don't practice it unless you built the foundation by going through the first two volumes properly. you are not going to benefit from it unless you are there without any shortcuts.

by following Ken's program, you don't have to actually worry about anything, apart from being consistent. also copy him on the videos of your current volume.

another advice, some people say they quit singing songs for the first few months on the course, so as to "forget" bad habits they might have tied to the execution of a certain song from their "pre-KTVA" days. you could try that, although it isn't really fun (i didn't do it, to be fair i didn't hear about it until later into the course, but i don't think i would have done it anyway...i was preparing for a concert of my band so it would have not worked at the time). i imagine also 1-2 weeks would be a good idea if you can't do the full amount of time. which i thinks was about 3 months but i don't remember exactly...

Wigs

I would monitor how you feel during your exercises. Its more important to keep your voice healthy rather than trying to hang onto any gains you have made with your chest voice just for the sake of it if you aren't ready. Working back up to it is much better than potentially setting your self back further. Concentrate on your cord closure, and use that as your gauge, if you start to lose it then back off the sound. You should upload some scales in the student area so we can hear what you are doing if you are still having issues.