From: Sleepy Rosie - PM
Date: 18 Nov 08 - 01:01 PM
"But I think from some of the helpful feedback I've gained from this thread in particular, to try to forcibly inhibit my vioce's natural tendancies, wouldn't gain me anything other than a sore throat or possibly worse."

I used to take singing lessons and during that time I had repeated bouts of tonsilitis, which was very debilitating. My teacher finally told me I should concentrate on playing the guitar, because my voice wasn't improving. My doctor prescribed speech therapy for me and the therapist, who was also a singing teacher, was willing to use singing exercises for the therapy, and I kept it up for a while paying for it myself, when the insurance no longer covered. Eventually, I stopped, and also stopped practicing singing.

Part of the problem was the kind of repertoire I wanted to sing, mostly German, American and British popular music of the 1920s through the 1940s. Sitting and playing the guitar is also not ideal for singing.

Some people can sing in strenuous ways and it doesn't seem to do them any harm. I can't. If I tried to sing like Jacques Brel, it would kill me.

The point of this, if it has a point, is that it's really a good idea to take care of one's voice, and if one abuses it, the consequences may be serious.