Recovering from long singing hiatus...

ronhughes

Hi,  I just joined KTVA after trying to recover my voice after about a 3-5 year period of little to no singing.  I've been doing lip rolls and tongue trill exercises and my chords seem fine, but when I go to open any Ah or A sound, my throat muscles tighten up and gag me.  It's better when I massage my neck and warm up for a long time, but I'm getting a little discouraged by the lack of progress over the past year.  I've been scoped by an ENT and there are zero issues internally.  I may be trying to push too hard too soon and getting frustrated by not being able to do what I used to do for 20 years.  I also get hoarse after about 5 minutes of open throat singing.  Do you have any advice or exercise recommendations maybe?
Thanks,
Ron

highmtn

Hi, @ronhughes.

Open Throat singing should help your voice, not cause problems.  You may be oversinging.

You should submit a video demo of you doing some basic LAH scales.  We can take a listen and take a look and see what's up with your voice or your technique. 

If you do these exercises and techniques correctly, your voice will open up very well.

You may be introducing tensions that have nothing to do with good singing technique.

Nice to meet you.  Looking forward to getting your voice to where you want it to be.  Do remember to leave past practices at the door, and pay strict attention to Ken's instructions.

 

: ^ )

Bob

highmtn

Exactly.

jre

@ronhughes‌ I would like to add that I think each and every one us here has met with frustration along the way. There's lots of things that can cause horseness and vocal stops and most are moving targets that can be managed. These techniques when used properly will get you through. I also think its worth checking out Ken's video on health and wellness(allergies) just for overall health tips. At least for me I had frustrating loss of head voice last month and Ken's tips have helped me very much as I have regained my full range. Good singing to you.

highmtn

Yes.  To post a demo, you just record your demo and then past a link to it in a message, explaining what you are asking about in your demo.

We'll check it out and get back to you with feedback.

 

 

Bob

ronhughes

Thanks Bob.
How do I post a video?  Post it to YouTube and put the link in my forum message?
~Ron

ronhughes

Thanks @PhilMoufarrege. I really appreciate all the tips. Most of the exercises in Volume 1 I have been doing for the past year, but I've had to close down the Ahh sound to more of a Ehh to keep my neck muscles from twerking. I think I've been blowing it by trying to belt out like I used to and not being patient. I've given up several times and chalking it up to "turning 50." But I'm only a few weeks younger than Ken, and have you heard HIM? I'm gonna work consistently for the next month and see how my progress goes. Again, thanks for the input. I wish I'd had this program 30 years ago!

ronhughes

So, I've been faithfully doing the V.1 exercises daily, but got derailed this last week by a chest cold.  I'll ease back in after the airways clear. 
I did a remix of a song I recorede once-upon-a-time that shows what my voice was like up until about 3 years ago, when I just sort of stopped singing.  I've listened to my singing and have been trying to identify what I'm doing mechanically.  It sounds to me like I've developed my chest voice pretty high up the register, then I mix chest and head (a lot), and use supported head voice on the high stuff.  I'd really like to know what you think if you have time to listen.  Thanks, Ron.

highmtn

Ron,

You certainly had a good range.  I heard D5's and an E5 in there. 

After you get well, let's see what you sound like on some basic exercises and see how you're doing now.

All the Best!

Bob

ronhughes

Hi Bob,
I've been consistently doing V1 exercises 5 days a week for the past 8 months, and I'm finally able to move past lip brrs and tongue exercises to do the open LAH parts, but it's pretty awful. I don't know if I want to post a video of where I'm at, but even with finally seeing progress, I still can't actually sing a song that goes above my "break."
I'm becoming more convinced that there's a mechanical problem, but my ENT says there are no nodes. If there is a mechanical problem, I'm ready to hang it up, but I've been singing all my life and can't imagine quitting.
If you read my previous posts, you can see that this is a recurring theme.
I'm way past discouraged, and open to suggestions.
~Ron

highmtn

Hi, Ron.

I'm sorry you're still having problems. I don't think we've seen or heard a demo of you doing the LAH vowel. That's the gold standard and tells us what you're doing. A video would be best.

We haven't had a chance to help you yet, because you haven't submitted a LAH scale to get started. I'm not sure why you would be having trouble with anything beyond a lip trill and tongue exercise. That just doesn't add up right. Your voice sounded so good in your old demo.

Give us a chance to try to see what's happening. The Lah scales will let us hear how you are using your voice. We can go from there.

It's not time to hang it up yet. It's time to rebuild your voice.

Let's do it.

Good Singing to You!

Bob

ronhughes

5 years later...
(okay to continue with discussion string?)

Elara

@ronhughes Welcome back. Yes, you can continue this discussion!

Wigs

Welcome back mate! I suggest starting a new discussion in the student area if you are posting a scale. Since this is in the introduction section it would save us having to move things around to keep the forum tidy.