Do you want to know why you experience a hoarse voice after singing?
In this video, I am sharing 2 major causes of hoarseness during or after singing as well
as some solutions.
You will also learn how to prevent hoarseness when singing.
Hi and welcome to this video.
If we haven’t met before, I am Katarina from How 2 Improve Singing and here on this
channel, I share tips on how to use your voice in a healthy and efficient way.
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In my previous videos, I talked about causes of hoarseness in general but in this video,
I want to talk more about hoarseness during or after singing in more detail.
Many singers believe that a hoarse singing voice is a part of being a singer.
But they could not be more wrong!
Whether you experience hoarseness occasionally after a vigorous vocal practice or your voice
is hoarse every time you sing, you should know that it does not have to be that way.
In fact, it should not be that way.
You should never feel pain and you should never end up with hoarseness after singing.
So, why is it happening to you?
First, let’s talk about what it means to have a hoarse voice when singing.
The strained, raspy, husky, rough or breathy quality of voice simply indicates structural
changes on the vocal folds or larynx.
If your vocal folds are thick or swollen, they cannot function properly and your voice
will sound hoarse, rough and deep.
Many singers believe that singing with swollen vocal folds is ok.
Singing with a hoarse voice is possible but you need to use extra force to produce a normal
sound.
However, this type of phonation encourages constriction and strain at the level of larynx,
involving muscles inside and around the larynx.
The problem is that the vocal fold swelling only gets worse with more strain and tension.
And at a certain point, when the swelling is so big that the vocal folds can no longer
vibrate, you may lose your voice completely.
If this abusive behaviour continues for a prolonged period of time or occurs on a regular
basis, the thickening of the vocal folds becomes permanent and voila, more serious vocal problems
occur.
So why is your voice hoarse after singing?
There are two main groups of possible causes: Cause #1: Too Long
If you use your voice for long periods of time, longer than what your voice is conditioned
to, you can experience hoarseness of voice.
Just imagine, every time you produce a sound, the vocal folds touch each other hundreds
and thousands of times.
With every contact, cells from the most superficial layer of the vocal folds are damaged and lost.
Additionally, a liquid build-up under this superficial layer creates a protective cushion
to prevent further and more serious injury.
Vocal folds are a wonderful human organ able to self-repair very fast.
It takes only one to two days for the swelling to go down and five days to renew the superficial
layer of the vocal folds completely if you give your voice a chance to heal.
However, if you continue using your voice for a very long time, the vocal folds simply
don’t have the power to restore and repair.
What is the solution?
Gradually prepare your vocal instrument for higher demands ahead of time.
Always warm up your voice.
Make sure that you schedule voice breaks and vocal rests into your day to give your voice
a chance to repair.
For example, if you know that you have 3 performances and 2 rehearsals in a weekend, make sure that
you schedule silent or quiet periods during that weekend too.
Cause #2: Too Much Constriction This is probably the most common cause of
hoarseness when singing.
Using incorrect vocal technique can lead to unwanted constriction, tension and strain
at the level of the larynx.
A singer’s goal is to learn how to sing in the most efficient way, which means least
effort but maximum efficiency.
The technique can lack in one or several areas of singing skills, such as proper breathing
technique, optimal alignment, full and balanced resonance, controlled vocal fold closure,
appropriate diction and other skills.
For example, belting without proper support, singing high notes with incorrect muscle coordination,
pushing your voice to sound louder, misaligned head and neck position, closing the vocal
folds too abruptly, grunting without proper technique.
These are just a few examples that can lead to hoarseness.
Sometimes, too much constriction in the vocal tract can be created when you try a new exercise
without really understanding how to do it.
Or imitating singing models who strain can lead to hoarseness too.
And sometimes it’s just not knowing at all how to control the vocal instrument or having
wrong ideas about how to sing.
Unfortunately, there are no quick fix vocal exercises for hoarseness.
The solution is a process that involves education, exploration and finding the best ways to produce
sounds without tension and it may include breathing, phonation, resonance, relaxation,
alignment or other exercises.
But don’t get me wrong, this sounds like a life-long process.
Singing is a life-long process but eliminating tension and hoarseness does not take that
long.
You just need to know what to do and how to do it.
To help you develop good breathing technique, you can try these free breathing exercises
to start your journey to a healthy voice.
Click here to get these exercises.
If your hoarseness lasts for more than 2 weeks without the presence of an acute infection,
go and get yourself checked to prevent a serious vocal problem.
So, stop asking Why is my voice hoarse after singing? and start learning how to produce
sounds without strain.
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Speaking about new videos: in the next one, I am talking about hoarseness treatment approaches
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