Smoking cigarettes
Hey guys. Im new to ken's course. Im definetly experienced enough to sing throught the chest and head. Never lose my voice unless trying to use compression. Which im assuming i do incorrectly and im still taking volume one very slowly since all this vowel modification is new to me.
I really want better control of connecting my chest and head voice but im worried smoking cigarettes for 11 years has really ruined in the middle for me. I can do a nice maroon 5 head voice. And a pretty solid pearl jam chest voice. Connecting the two just isnt happening and im worried its due to smoking and all the build up of garbage in my throat and lungs.
Would smoking an e cig help? Or am i gonna have to kill my addiction to fix this?
I really want better control of connecting my chest and head voice but im worried smoking cigarettes for 11 years has really ruined in the middle for me. I can do a nice maroon 5 head voice. And a pretty solid pearl jam chest voice. Connecting the two just isnt happening and im worried its due to smoking and all the build up of garbage in my throat and lungs.
Would smoking an e cig help? Or am i gonna have to kill my addiction to fix this?
Comments
You'll really need to just follow the instructions and work to get your voice to sound as near as possible to a tone that matches in both chest and head, and to also take the volume and air flow way down, so that you can feel and work the mechanisms that release between chest and head voices, and allow you to blend from one to the other.
I hope you can get your passaggio smoothed out. It often just takes a lot of trial and error until you kind of find the "key" to the passageway, through manipulation of the pressure changes. That's easiest at very low velocities.
All the Best!
Bob
So you're worried you have gunk getting in the way and stopping you getting a good flow of air right?
Well, as Bob said there is quitting, and if you have that as a real personal goal and the will to then you'll do it.
However, there are numerous other things which should be considered for getting the best out of your voice if you fall into one the following three smoking categories...
1. You are intending to quit but you still smoke because you're cutting back first as opposed to going cold turkey.
2. You have tried to give up before or even did for a while but it didn't last for whatever personal reason.
3. You're 'a natural Lemmy' and you're willing to take the risk and break the rules for pleasures sake anyway.
If you are one of the above, you should probably try these.
Firstly, don't smoke millions before a gig or performance if you're nervous, all you'll do is dry out your voice. If you find you subconsiously mad that mistake anyway, get a load of water down you. Before and all through your practice/karaoke/set/etc...
If you feel you are smoking too much simply cut back. Count how many in a day and then set a limit that you don't go past.
Excersise is always helpful for cleaning the lungs and opening thier capacity, even if you're only dancing to some songs when you're at a club or at home, taking a brisk walk in the countryside, it all helps.
Warming and spicy foods do loosen gunge also so a diet with a reasonable amount of that is also good as long as you don't eat so much as to cause reflux. Everybody's tolerance of spice is different.
Check if mullein leaf is available in your country (check the legalities in your area because it does have a mild sedative effect, though generally it is classified as medicinal or for non tobacco smoking mixes and herbal cigarettes) Mullein leaf when smoked (through the 'old man' pipes is best, acts as a form of expectorant. Tea can also be made from the leaves with a similar quality. Yes, you will cough, but if there is excess mucus or irrritants troubling you be they smoking related or not, they do come up and out. Large bags of mullein herb should be available on Amazon. It has no known side effects as long as you NEVER let anything or anyone eat the plant itself, as although it residue is safe as a tea, the hard plant parts should not be swallowed.
(incase you have pets or kids around)
Steaming is an excellent means of removing all the stuff you don't want, whether or not you use menthol crystals or just plain steam is up to you, altough I find menthol more powerful it can sting the eyes a bit.
Also, there are steaming machines. They look like little bottles with a mask part you breathe through. The moisture will not only help you expell any excess mucus but will coat the lungs and larynx lightly with water vapour, which will hydrate the vocal chords and help cleanse the lung interiors. Also, if you see a glass base steaming machine pick that instead of the plastic one if you want pure steam with no plastic particles, which may happen especially as time passes. If you have a plastic base one, I would replace them after so many uses because of this.
There are also, I believe, herbal-naturopathic drops and such which act as a cleansing expectorant to the lungs although I am unaware of the details, you may wish to check those up on the pc.
Also, do not smoke in the same room that you sleep in. Other than the obvious fire hazard, smoking in your bedroom will mean that for those 8 smokeless hours a night are not really smokeless at all, allow your respiratory system to fully rest. By avoiding too much incense or dust build up in your bedroom and airing it out at least a handful of times a week, it should keep the air you sleep in fresh.
If you want to clean the air in your smoking areas of your home, air filters, ionisers and salt lamps are all good stuff, and remember with a lot of these things, you get what you pay for, so invest in the better ones. And again, let the other rooms recieve a fresh circulation of air from the windows/patio doors and so on when you can.
Other considerations are using organic tobacco. Due to the lack of moisturisers, man made fertilisers and all the extra chemical add on's for flavour, texture, fast burning and so on there are less irritants in your cigarette. I will not state that they are healthier but in a singers case fewer irritants is still fewer irritants no matter how you you look at it. You are the consumer and you have a right to choose. Drinkers can choose a non alcoholic lager up to a 90% pocheen, they can choose, sparkling or not, sweet or dry, Coors or Coors Lite and on it goes forever... You have rights even with your vices!, use them, after all it just might help you a little. And if you want to go ultra fresh well, tobacco can be grown in approximately the same condtions as needed for a good tomato plant. You'll know what you did with it, cause you did it yourself.
Practise, practise, practise! Singing itself is good for the lungs, it's basically a workout for the whole respiratory system and all the muscles around it that expand it's abilities. So, the more you sing, the happier your system will be and your body will repay you kindly for it.
Kind regards, Jenny.