Rest and Reset
The perfect storm for a vocalist on a mission
Dear Revolutionaries … Happy Sunday, once again!
I do hope you’re getting some time & taking it slow on Sundays (or at least one day a week) to enjoy the changing seasons like we are here in San Miguel de Allende. I also hope you’ve got a bit of free time on your hands today to hang with me here & (hopefully) enjoy my latest ramblings on how things are going with the new album.
I had hoped to be able to send you the final part of the “Inside the songwriting process” piece this week, but alas … life has happened! Copyrights are still “in process” according to the Library of Congress (who knows how long that will take - UGH), & your Revolutionary Author & Artist has been waylaid by the aforementioned changing of the seasons. Yes. I am down for the count due to allergies & the ensuing post-nasal-drip, a flare up of my acid reflux likely due to stress (cuz making the album of a lifetime isn’t stressful at all), & general vocal overuse.
So this week, I’m letting you inside the world of a vocalist, on a different level. Because of this, I’m removing the paywall for this article, as it’s not something dealing directly with any “insider info” on the making of the album.
If ya want that stuff, you’ve got to sign up for a paid subscription & support the artist making the art that will soon be coming to your ears!
Or, you can make a one-time donation to the Album Fund with the button below, in the case you don’t want me in your inbox every Sunday, but do want to contribute to making ART.
I want you to consider, for a moment, that the voice is an instrument.
It is the same as a guitar, a cello, a trumpet … any kind of instrument you can conjure up in your mind. The voice has pieces & parts that must work in conjunction with one another, in order to create vibration, which is what is heard by the listener as sound … and in this case, SONG.
Now, without getting too deep into the technicalities of exactly how the voice functions, I will remind you that if we consider the voice as an instrument, we MUST realize that maintenance is required, just the same as any other instrument. Guitarists, bassists, cellists & more all have to change strings on their instruments periodically, in order to make sure they’re getting the right kind of vibrations from the strings against the wood of the instrument, which in turn creates the tonality & sound they have crafted for themselves, as musicians over how ever many years. Things like humidity, or lack there of, in an environment can affect the wood of an acoustic bass, guitar, cello, etc, thusly changing how the instrument plays & sounds. Temperature & altitude changes can affect many instruments as well & require the player to make adjustments to the way they play in different settings. I think I’ve made my point here & you see where I’m headed ….
If an instrument like a guitar or cello can be affected by its’ environment … imagine what happens to THE HUMAN VOICE in different environments! We’re talking about an instrument that literally IS THE HUMAN BODY!
Needless to say, THIS body & THIS voice have been suffering a bit lately & I could no longer ignore it. About 2 weeks ago I started noticing some hoarseness in my speaking voice that isn’t typically there. I would run through a few vocal warm up exercises at home & started realizing the bottom of my range (those super low notes I love to have access to, as they’re part of my style I’ve developed over the years) was sounding raspy & “thin”. Those low notes weren’t coming through clearly & with the kind of resonance I’m used to. Friends, this is my “RED ALERT” for vocal fatigue. Whenever I’ve been overusing my voice, am really tired (for any reason), or am having a health issue that affects the voice, not having access to those low notes tells me I’ve got to do something NOW, figure out what the problem is, & fix it. Losing access to the low register is the precursor to losing the voice entirely.
So … thankfully, here in Mexico healthcare in general, & getting an appointment with an ENT (Ear, Nose, & Throat Doctor) is not difficult. You call, or send a WhatsApp message, & typically are seen by the DR within a week or so. That was exactly the case here. I was given a recommendation to a good ENT here by my friend Rebe Huntman (who just launched a new book, “My Mother In Havana”, that is an incredible read!) & was in the office for an initial consult less than a week from reaching out. La Dra (how we refer to a female doctor in Mexico) was wonderful, recognized the hoarseness as a real issue when I told her that I’m a professional vocalist, & asked if I’d like to have a scope of my vocal chords, or if i’d just like her to prescribe medication, based on her initial observation. I requested a scope. It’s necessary to be able to see the vocal chords & determine if the reason for the hoarseness is serious or not. The endoscopy was scheduled & I had to come back … in only 2 days (Viva Mexico!).
Hoarseness is only the symptom, you see. The actual problem, & the reason we get hoarse or loose our voices is because the vocal chords are swollen. It’s the swelling that needed to be examined, & the only way to do that is by putting a device with a camera up the nose & down the throat to get a good look at the vocal chords. Yes, I’ve had this done numerous times, as have most other professional vocalists. NO. Its not pleasant. And NO, there is no anesthesia. You sit upright in a Doctor’s chair, fully conscious, there’s some numbing agent placed in the nostril, which drips down the back of the throat, & a minute later, they’re shoving something about the size of a fettuccini noodle up one of your nostrils, down the back of your throat, & telling you to stay calm & breathe normally. Not the worst discomfort I’ve ever experienced, but certainly also not the least.
The the images from the camera that’s now in your throat appears on a screen. I immediately wiped the involuntary tears from my eyes (sticking stuff up your nose will make the eyes water a bit, LOL), put my glasses back on & asked to be able to see the screen the Dra’s assistant was holding.
THERE THEY WERE. MY VOCAL CHORDS. Its actually pretty fascinating to be able to see them, knowing what they do & how they work.
And damn …. those chords were swollen. I was looking right at the cause of the hoarseness & those missing low notes.
Now … the good news is that it was general, all over swelling. The chords were smooth, no rough edges, and there were no bumps, lesions or callouses (what singers call “nodes” or nodules) on them. If we had seen anything like that, I’d probably not be writing this piece right now & would be in a state of major despair. Vocal nodules are not something singers often recover from. They typically require surgery, and once the surgery has been performed, the voice is rarely ever the same … and many singers stop performing & singing completely. So yay! We did not have nodes!!!
Bad news is that the swelling still causes the hoarseness & we don’t know exactly what has been causing the swelling, so …. we treat the body for a bunch of stuff simultaneously & know, that in time, the swelling will go down, I’ll have my clarity & range back …. AND THEN I CAN GET BACK IN THE STUDIO. Sheeeesh!
So … the treatment for the swelling … it’s basically a full time job & that’s where I’m at right now. Taking care of my instrument - because it’s not like I can just take my vocal chords to the shop & have a new set of strings put on! The Dra’s prescription is as follows:
No use of the voice for 2 weeks minimum. No talking, no singing, no nada. My husband has had to learn to carry his phone around like it’s an appendage, because I am texting him to communicate. Send him some love, y’all - he hates the phone anyways, so this is not easy!
Some heavy duty antacids every day, 3 times a day for 2 weeks.
LOTS of water & herbal, non-caffeinated teas (that’s easy I do this anyways)
An injection of prednisone (steroids) to stimulate the recovery process & bring the swelling down faster. Just today I’ve cleaned out the fridge, the entire kitchen, done food prep for the week, & am now writing this piece here …. y’all … I. AM. ZOOMING. PHEW!!!!!
A super bland diet - no garlic, onion, chocolate, citrus, spicy, acidic, etc. BLAH.
Steam inhalation for 10-15 minutes a day to help diminish swelling & clear nasal passages from allergy symptoms
A Neti-Pot style saline nasal rinse morning & night, also for allergies
Saline nebulizer treatments before bed (at minimum, usually one other time during the day for moisture & recovery)
My own add on here (not prescribed by La Dra, but suggested by my dear friend & Human Design Specialist/Coach, Nicky) heated castor oil compresses morning & night on the throat. 3 days in a row, then 2 days off, then 3 days on, etc.
THE WORST - I CANNOT HAVE ANY COFFEE!!!!!!
YOU GUYS …….. do you hear me????? This is brutal. I tried a cup of green tea the other morning, just so I wouldn’t get a headache … man … I’d rather have the caffeine withdrawal headache (and yes, I have that right now).
I’m 4 days in & kind of losing it (can ya tell?). So thanks, Revolutionaries, for letting me vent a bit here today.
It hasn’t been perfection (nothing ever is right?). We had a studio session yesterday for some guitar work that was being done remotely, in Florida, by my longtime guitarist & road-dog, Vincent Sims. He has a special style that we needed on a few tunes & via the internet & some cool software at Troubled Clef Studio, we were able to basically do a recording session kind of like a zoom call. Pretty amazing stuff!
I was going to let Myles & my husband handle the session, but 2 of the 3 three songs we were working on were songs I’d written! So …. I went to the studio, was a quiet as I could be … & then when I saw my buddy Vincent on the screen, I lost it & failed miserably at the “no talking” part of the assignment. But … it was only for a couple hours, & then I was back to silence once we got home. Musically, the results we got were excellent. Vincent is a phenomenal guitarist & gave us some really good stuff to work with. Plus, it’s awesome to be able to have him participate & be a part of this album.
Anyways …. I’m off to have a date with my saline nebulizer & eat some more bland-ass food.
In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a bit of something fun. A couple recent-ish examples of what I actually sound like when my vocal chords aren’t swollen!
Both videos are with my current USA touring band, most of whom have participated in recording the current album, including: Michael “The Professor” Hensley on Hammond B3 organ, Jack Joshua (my husband) on bass, Vincent Sims (on guitar) & Zar Davenport on drums (the only guy we couldn’t figure out how to get to particpate).
The music in these videos was recorded LIVE, by this band, at Baysound Studios in Sarasota, FL & mixed & mastered by Myles Wakeham at Troubled Clef Studio, San Miguel de Allende, MX. Both videos were recored at The Music Compound, in Sarasota FL, filmed & edited by Tom MacKnight.
Hope you enjoy!
Click the photos to bring up the video links!
As always (caffeine-withdrawal headache or not), I am …..
Gratefully Yous,
~ Lauren