TEACHING SINGING FOR MUSIC THEATRE

Sneeze’n’sniff, cough’n’croak – the joys of Winter voice

By Pat. H. Wilson

Since this is the Winter issue of our magazine, it seems sensible to have a chat about colder weather and how vocalists cope with it. We who live in what I like to call The Middle Kingdom have a comparatively dry winter season. Australia is the driest inhabited content on earth, and our state is the driest state in Australia. Thus, we South Australians avoid the sub-tropical humidity of Sydney, the frankly British dankness of Tasmanian winter, and the cyclones-and-sunshine of Australia’s tropical north. All this is very relevant to singers – voices hate dry atmospheres. So our state is a challenging region for any vocalist, even before the cold and ’flu season starts.

I know this state very well, having spent my early childhood and teenage years in that Temple of Culture, Port Pirie. My dear old basso profundo dad was a mainstay of the Port Pirie Music Club. Now and again, we performed deeply affecting dad’n’daughter duets. I can only hope that the midnorth region remains in recovery. Dad, born from stout Germanic stock, set much store by onion gruel* whenever he felt a cold coming on. He cooked it; he ate it. Mother and I generally avoided the area.

So many voice users (singers, actors, auctioneers, priests etc.) have pet remedies to help them either prevent upper respiratory tract infections or ease the symptoms. Some remedies are quite sensible, while others are downright weird. I have heard performers singing the praises of manuka honey, cayenne pepper, apple cider vinegar, Pae Pa Koa, port, and even garlic suppositories as either preventatives or cures for colds and ‘flu. I remember a famous elderly actor sitting in the cast dressing room, proclaiming to us all the benefit of drinking port before a performance. “Coats me vocal cords, y’know!”, he boomed. I didn’t bother to correct him… but singers and actors don’t want anything “coating” their vocal cords, thank you. Why? Simple anatomy. The vocal folds sit in the larynx, just above the windpipe. That larynx is equipped with an epiglottis, which makes sure that nothing goes “down the wrong way” and chokes us. Not even manuka honey or port. No food or drink down the air tube, thank you.

Here’s some quick Winter-time survival tips for South Australian singers. (They just might be useful for woodwind, brass and reed instrumentalists too – just like singers, their art relies on respiratory efficiency.)

Firstly, a few preventative measures to help canny singers dodge winter bugs:

1. Hit the pills: one high-quality multi-vitamin tablet a day, plus extra Vitamin C and echinacea.

2. Avoid air conditioning as much as you can. It dries out the moisture in your mucous membranes. These membranes line your whole respiratory system and need moisture to function. We already live in a dry climate.

3. Hydrate! Drink water. Lots and lots of little sips. Guess why? See above.

4. Eat less red meat

5. Eat more raw fruit and vegetables

6. Less alcohol; it’s a desiccant (a dry-you-out medicine).

7. Extra rest

And now, a few things to help cold and ‘flu sufferers to cope with symptoms:

1. Check your meds. Many medications have a dry-you-out side effect. Not just the obvious allergy medications (antihistamines), which are designed to dry up drippy noses. Antidepressants, diuretics, muscle relaxants and antihypertensives can all have a dryingout effect. You cannot sing on a dried-out set of vocal folds. And never use anaesthetic cough lozenges. Not only will your sore throat disappear – so will any control you may once have had over your voice.

2. Hit the steam. Inhaling steam will re-hydrate those dried-out tissues lining your respiratory system. Pour boiling water into a basin on a table. Put a towel over your head. Hold your head over the basin and breathe in the steam for roughly half an hour. It’s Old-school; a cheap and highly effective vocal health remedy.

3. Don’t yell. Avoid sporting fixtures where you will scream for your team. Avoid singing along at a rock concert or bellowing the lyrics at a head-banger’s night out. You’ll lose fine motor control of your vocal folds.

4. Avoid coughing. Well, try to. Coughing is a reflex action, so it’s a bit tricky. But coughing is one of the most abrasive things you can do to your vocal folds. Use any strategy you can to avoid coughing. Easier said than done, I know, especially in the winter months. When you feel a cough about to occur (a) swallow hard, (b) take a sip of water & (c) relax your throat. It sometimes works. Give it a try.

So, no matter whether you and your students are working on Sarah Bareilles’ Winter song, Metallica’s Trapped under ice, the Smashing Pumpkins hit My love is winter, Dickon’s glorious solo Winter’s on the wing from Lucy Simon’s “The Secret Garden”, or Franz Schubert’s delicious Winterreise, awareness of vocal health (yours, as well as your students’) will help to keep you singing.

*Dad’s onion gruel recipe for the foolhardy: Soak 3 large onions in water. Then chop them up, together with an apple. Add chopped onion and apple to water and cook until it’s all a sludge. Wimps add honey.

References

Alves, M., Krüger, E., Pillay, B., Van Lierde, K., & Van der Linde, J. (2019). The effect of hydration on voice quality in adults: a systematic review. Journal of Voice, 33(1), 125-e13.

Sataloff, R. T. (1995). Medications and their effects on the voice. Journal of Singing-The Official Journal of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, 52(1), 47-52.

Wilson, P.H. (2001). The singing voice: An owner’s manual. Sydney, Lazy O’Rhinus Press.