01 Introduction

In this lesson, we’ll talk about:

Why we need to start thinking about our voice as an instrument
What vocal injuries are and what causes them
The importance of taking care of the ONE voice that we have been given by God!

I’ve created a 48-page companion workbook filled with notes, diagrams, vocal health recipes, application questions, and space for you to jot your own takeaways as you work through all the video lessons… Print it off or save it to your device or computer so you can get the most out of this new resource!

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Responses

RHenken83 March 22, 2021

Last year we got two cats and I am allergic. So, I take Allegra 24 hour every day. I have noticed a slightly negative change in my voice over the last year. Could it be affecting my voice? Can I counter-act it? I am committed to working through all your courses to get the best tips and tricks to sing better, but curious if this is something environmental that I need to address.

Charmaine Brown March 23, 2021

Hi Rebekah! Allergy medicine is really rough on the voice. It dries up the healthy mucus that our body creates, causing the vocal cords to be dry and become inflamed—and it’s not good to sing on inflamed vocal cords. I know it’s not what you want to hear, but you will need to get rid of the cats if you are allergic, or you can also look for a naturopath who specializes in natural ways to treat allergies that are much (MUCH!) healthier for the voice than Allegra and other allergy medications.

Reply
1. RHenken83 March 24, 2021
  
  Well, giving up the cats is not an option for our family, but I will look into the suggestion you made. I will also pray for a miracle.
  
  Reply
  1. Charmaine Brown March 25, 2021
    
    Absolutely—and yes, Jesus heals allergies!! I can agree with you for that!
    
    Reply

Gina314 December 19, 2019

I lost my voice beginning of November when I was to perform…and I tried hard to sing and just decided to belt it out and see if I could do it…and of course, I couldn’t it was horrible. My voice is still not the same. I can sing now and do an OK job, but I’m not “normal”…also it’s still cold and flu season and it seems like the colds going around are very persistent in family and friends. I’m hoping I did not permanently damage my voice.

Charmaine Brown December 19, 2019

Hi Gina! Sorry that you’ve been experiencing this in your voice—I declare full healing over you in Jesus name! The best (and only!) thing I recommend is vocal rest, for minimum 2-3 weeks. No singing AT ALL… and little to no speaking. I know it can seem drastic, but it is what the voice needs when it has undergone some “trauma” (singing, especially belting, when the voice is hurting/inflamed). Don’t worry about permanent damage—it is almost definitely NOT permanently damaged, but it can lead to permanent damage if you do not give it adequate rest. Think about it like a sprained ankle or broken bone… we cannot keep using it if we want it to heal! So, 2-3 weeks of no singing, then try singing and see how it feels, and if it needs more time, give it another 2 weeks. Keep me updated!

Reply

vccc_jsmith May 21, 2019

Hi Charmine – I began using Singing Success almost 15 years ago. As a worship pastor, I loved it, and love even more how you take the same things but make it for the worship singer. In my twenty years of singing, I’ve never had laryngitis… until March of this year. I still sang the first week I had it (not smart) and then could not sing for eight weeks. I’ve been able to lead/sing the last two weeks again, but my low head voice and mix are pretty weak, where I’ve been super strong usually. Chest and high head are still pretty strong, though I have some range loss on the high end (which I expect after not singing for so long).ENT said I have muscle tension dysphonia. He believes I am making progress in correcting it, but truthfully, I feel stagnant in recovery. Do you know of some good exercises to help “untrain” my muscles from wrapping around the chords (usually low chest)? It’d be nice to get back to where singing feels like…well, like it’s supposed to – almost effortless. Thanks!

Charmaine May 22, 2019

Hey! Sorry to hear of your struggle, that’s no fun. I don’t have a lot of experience with this — I would highly recommend that you see a speech therapist for some specific exercises you can do. I would be very careful about singing until the issue is fully corrected, so that you don’t do any damage or stop the recovery process — sing ONLY in keys that feel extremely comfortable for you right now! Try some of the exercises from my “Getting Rid of Tension” lesson in the “Master Your Voice” course, but even in those, be very careful, and only do them lightly and in a comfortable range. Beyond that, the more you can do to get your body in great health — eat healthy, get lots of sleep, hydrate, reduce stress, etc… those things have a MASSIVE impact on our voice!

I declare full recovery and health over your voice in Jesus name!

Reply

Joy December 13, 2018

Hello Charmaine! Thank you for poviding this course! I find that my voice is really tired after I sing a lot. I lead worship on a weekly basis. Any suggestions?

Joy December 13, 2018

I should also add that I’m twelve

Reply
1. Charmaine December 15, 2018
  
  Hi Joy! Wow, that’s amazing that you lead worship on such a regular basis! Love it!! Have you been through the “Discover Your Voice” course yet? If not, go through that course, and then the “Master Your Voice” course, and don’t rush through the lessons. Spend at least a week on each lesson, going through the accompanying vocal workouts and allowing your voice time to build and strengthen. When the voice consistently gets tired like you’re describing, it’s a sign that something is not quite right… usually it happens when there’s too much tension in the voice and/or when you’re using too much chest voice, and haven’t developed a healthy, balanced mix voice tone. The exercises in the courses are designed to strengthen and help build those things in the voice, so that it doesn’t get overtired when you sing!
  
  And always, always make sure to warm up the voice before you sing! So important!
  
  Reply
  1. Joy December 16, 2018
    
    Thanks! I have gone through “Discover Your Voice” course but I admit that I was a little lazy with it, so I am trying to be better at that. I have not gone through the “Master Your Voice” course yet though. I am also planning to go through
    “Harmony Essentials For Worship” some time soon. Do you suggest going through that one or “Master Your Voice” first? What warm up should I use before singing later in the day?
    
    Reply
    1. Charmaine December 16, 2018
      
      Yes, definitely go through “Discover Your Voice” again, this time over 6 weeks, one lesson per week, and do the vocal workouts 3-5 times per week. It’s up to you whether you go through the harmony course or “Master Your Voice”, depends on what your primary goal is — to learn harmony, or to strengthen and build your voice as a whole, and learn how to sing stylistically.
      
      Use the vocal warmups from Lesson 2 in this course! That will get your voice primed and ready for the day! 🙂

Julie November 17, 2018

Hi Charmaine. Here’s my dilemma. My allergies/sinus act up real bad and about a month ago I got real sick with an infection. Unfortunately, when I get sick like that it takes a harsh toll on my throat. I lost my voice for a couple of days, slowly started getting better but now I can’t get my singing voice back. I had made it all the way up to lesson 16 of Master Your Voice and now it’s so difficult for me to tap into the mixed voice, my voice feels weak and breathy and when I try to do the pharyngeal workouts my voice is left feeling hoarse. It’s so frustrating because I worked so hard so strengthen my voice, (I used to have a breathy tone) and now I feel like I’m back at square one. Do you have any suggestions, tips for me please?

Julie November 17, 2018

I should also add, in case it helps any, that at the moment I’m the worship leader and only lead singer at my church so I’m leadin worship twice a week.

Reply
1. Charmaine November 21, 2018
  
  Hey Julie! So sorry to hear about the sickness! 🙁 To be honest… the only tip/suggestion I have for you is a generally unpopular one… but your voice needs rest. Think of it like a sprained ankle. If your ankle is injured and you keep running hard on it, it cannot heal properly. With the voice, not in every case, but in many cases… it’s similar. It simply needs time and patience to let the healing process work… otherwise the vocal cords keep “scraping” together and causing inflammation all over again. Is there any way that someone else can lead for at least one week? Even a week of dedicated rest could do absolute wonders for your voice to recover!
  
  Other than that, definitely the tips I share in these videos… herbal teas, honey, and cutting out sugar/dairy/gluten often helps speed the recovery process for many people.
  
  Reply
  1. Julie November 29, 2018
    
    Hi Charmaine,
    So, I was able to get a good 5 days of vocal rest and feel like it really helped. It was definitely what my vocal cords needed. However now I still find it a tad difficult to access the pharyngeal voice. Would you suggest I pick up from where I left off on Master Your Voice?
    
    Reply
    1. Charmaine December 8, 2018
      
      Hey Julie! Glad your voice is feeling better! If the pharyngeal is still difficult to access, that does mean MORE rest is needed… I would suggest doing some more simple workouts for a little while (perhaps 2-3 more weeks) — Resonance, Breathing, Getting Rid of Tension — those workouts would all be good to work with, but take it easy on the voice in the pharyngeal exercises and don’t push too hard! Stay away from the texture exercises in “Master Your Voice” in particular, until your voice is feeling in great shape again!

01 Introduction

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