help, having some vocal fold issues.

getdaz

hi all just joined the forum from nz  ,i'm a drummer turned lead vocalist,singing is exiting and fun,i'm really enjoying it. apart from kens dvd's have had no formal training.here 's the problems after doing the warm  ups I can go hoares

highmtn

If you are going hoarse, then you are oversinging.

Don't force yourself to go higher than you are able.  You want to gently stretch the chest voice, but never strain.

Don't use a lot of air.  Listen to the sound Ken makes when he demonstrates "It's the LAH!!! AH!!!"  That is the bright, pingy tone you should be using.  There should not be a lot of air in that sound, as his vocal cords are closed, and this eliminates extra breath from the tone.

Don't sing overly loud.

Be careful when you sing and play drums at the same time.  I'm a drummer.  I took lessons in my younger days. My drum teacher kind of "grunted" under his breath (along to the drum phrases we were playing) while he demonstrated how to play difficult passages.  I picked that habit up from him.  I later found that I was getting hoarse a lot when I played (even before I began singing).  I realized that I was sort of clearing my throat (or "silently" grunting along to the phrases and accents) as I played songs.  That's a really BAD habit, as clearing your throat is very abrasive to your cords.

I had to break that habit, and it has really helped me to avoid hoarseness.  I sometimes have to remind myself to refrain from doing that, or I'll have issues with it again.  And now that I sing all the time, it's even more important to avoid that habit, and to avoid OVER-closing the cords.  In other words you want to close your cords, but not clench them.  If you clench your cords, then it's much the same as when you are clearing your voice. 

You want good cord closure: not too much, but certainly enough to get a better tone and less airy.

All the Best.

Bob