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Liner Notes
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| Body
& Soul Vocal care with
Laryngologist MARTIN HOPP, MD
Monitors and Vocal Problems
MH: The second most important thing about travelling, the first one being
dryness, is your monitors. Lousy monitors are the number two cause of vocal problems on
the road. You spend too much time tuning them [and] doing voice checks before the show,
they’re not tuned well, and you don’t get enough feedback when you’re
singing--and you strain yourself inappropriately. Number one [cause of vocal problems on
the road] is dehydration, number two is monitors, number three is smoky clubs.
MBADC: Do you feel in-ear monitor
systems are helping?
MH: Yes. Besides [inadequate] care of your voice, the number two problem
is bad monitors. Over and over and over I see it. The singer’s straining because they
don’t know where their voice is.
It’s almost a joke, because I don’t even have to look at people’s problems
if I talk to them long enough. You find out what their monitor system is, and they go into
a groan about how many monitor problems they’ve had, and it’s almost a slam-dunk
in figuring out what their problem is. And it’s a slam-dunk in fixing it.
MBADC: We always hear rest, rest, rest and sleep, sleep, sleep. Does that
actually physically have any effect on the vocal cords other than the fact that your body
would be more rested?
MH: Well, you know, actually your body being more rested is a very
important point. You cannot isolate your vocal cords as one part of your body and have the
rest of your body be in bad shape…This may sound holistic, but your whole body has to
be in balance. If you are straining because you have a neckache or a backache, you’re
going to be straining on your vocal cords; that puts abnormal pressure on your vocal
cords--and not symmetrical. Non-symmetrical pressure on your vocal cords results in
straining. Straining results in hemorrhages, nodules, and vocal problems.
Effects of Acid Reflux on the Voice, and Eating on the Road
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