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Liner Notes
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| Body
& Soul Vocal care with
Laryngologist MARTIN HOPP, MD
SYMPTOMS OF THROAT PROBLEMS
MBADC: What are some symptoms that should send a singer to a doctor?
MH: Pain in your throat that doesn’t go away…
MBADC: After about how long?
MH: A week…Most people get a cold, a sore throat, a little
hoarseness, usual viral problems should resolve in a week to ten days. Anything that goes
on after two weeks needs to be evaluated. Any hoarseness that’s not associated with a
cold or other reasonable sources of hoarseness, that would be excessive vocal use--You
sang out of your range. You sang in a smoky club.
CARE OF THE VOICE WHILE TRAVELLING
MBADC: Other than overuse of the voice, how does travel affect the vocal
cords?
MH: There are a couple of really key factors: First is humidity and
moisture. Water is the lifeblood of the vocal cords. Dryness is the enemy. Dryness makes
your vocal cords tight, and makes you strain. And when you strain, you push your vocal
cord muscles abnormally, and you make them worse. So keeping them moist is the most
important thing, and the best way to keep them moist is with water: Drinking water
continuously, being hydrated, having a vaporizer at nighttime, having a vaporizer before
and after your performances…
An easy way for most singers to follow what they’re doing is to watch the color of
their urine. If the urine is yellow, then they’re dehydrated. And you take into
account a lot of people take vitamins, and that automatically turns the urine yellow. So,
other than the normal drug-induced color of the urine, you should look for clear urine. If
you’ve always got colored urine, you’re dehydrated. And this is particularly
effective for people on the road, because travelling makes you dehydrated. You’ve got
to drink water. The general advice when you travel is a glass of water an hour when
you’re on the airplane.
And when you get off the airplane, go right to the hotel and take a steam shower before
you perform. The best thing to do is not to perform the same day you land. But either way,
whenever you get off the plane, you go right to the hotel, steam shower 20 minutes, and do
mid-range scale in the shower to warm up. Mid-range. And then you’re ready to go.
Keeping the Vocal Cords
Hydrated
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