My Eight Weeks of Vocal Trouble: what did and didn't work

Halfway through March 2025 I was walloped by the flu and lost my voice. This was followed by bronchitis and six weeks of coughing, followed by several colds. The result: I was dealing with big vocal problems for over eight weeks. I had a couple of important shows coming up in May for which I’d begun to rehearse when the flu hit me.

I’m a long-time voice coach who has frequently dealt with problems like this with my students and with my own voice. But I hadn’t had vocal problems of this duration and intensity in many years, and I found that I was sometimes doing what I had told countless singers not to do. I thought it might be helpful for other singers if I documented my journey, and what did and didn’t help.

Week 1: the flu. I had no voice and was too sick to vocalize anyway. I slept or lay in a feverish haze. It was a major coup when I could keep my eyes open long enough to watch an episode of Severence.

Week 2: the flu turned into bronchitis with lots of coughing. I slept sitting up. My doctor told me to skips meds and wait it out. I was exhausted and my voice was just beginning to return, but it was still shot. I continued vocal rest, drank herbal tea with honey, and gargled with warm salt water. The latter two really do help, according to my physician brother.

Week 3: more bronchitis, but my energy was returning. My vocal cords felt like someone had been drag racing on them. So I followed my own advice, which is “If it hurts to sing, don’t”. Instead, I began rehearsing all the songs for my show on guitar while I silently mouthed all the words in front of the mirror. I needed the guitar practice, and I knew this would help me remember lyrics and work on my focus and performance without taxing my vocal cords.

Meanwhile, I was speaking as little as I possibly could. I emailed and texted friends and family and told them long chatty phone calls were off the table for the time being. I taught my dog to come when I whistled instead of calling his name. I canceled all lessons with singers. When I spoke I aimed for a high teenage pitch at a soft volume since that’s easier on the voice. But I kept forgetting and went back to my normal speaking range which was vocally tiring.

Weeks 4 & 5: more bronchitis plus occasional colds. My doctor thought it was time for antibiotics but I was wary of the side effects, and my physician brother said they might not help anyway. 

Normally I warm up daily but I knew this would fatigue my voice, so I skipped all warmups. Instead I sang loads of loose lip trills, and occasionally did the same over actual notes. That was the only sound that felt okay. 

Singers know about the value of placement, which is feeling resonance in the face when singing. Feeling the voice in your throat is fatiguing, and that’s all I felt post-flu. With lip trills I could get my placement right, and afterward I sometimes also felt good placement talking and singing. At this point on some days I could sing in a light head voice, so I rehearsed my set on mic, singing very lightly. Usually I sing in my chest voice but that wore me out, and even the light singing was taxing. I tried to get back to deep singer inhalations and good singing posture and support--those had all gone out the window with the flu and bronchitis. I also started swimming laps again to rebuild my lung capacity.

I sing in a choir, so I went to rehearsals and mouthed the words. My social life was tanking and I was well past the infectious stage, so I’d go to events with my husband and let him do all the talking (for once!). But I had to pipe up sometimes, and loud restaurants were treacherous. Several times I felt that I’d taken a vocal step backwards. Paul Simon has said that he avoids loud restaurants when he’s on tour--I should have listened to him.

Week 6: still coughing, still catching colds. At this point I was very anxious about my lack of voice. I could talk a bit but my singing voice remained weak, and my husband and friends heard way too much about my worries of whether I’d be able to sing at my upcoming shows. I’ve prided myself over the years on not being a self-obsessed diva, but I sure was acting like one. I mention this because singers are so identified with their voices, and it rocks your world when your voice disappears. I’ve read that Frank Sinatra used to plunge into depression whenever he had a cold. I felt like I had mild anxiety or a low-grade depression much of this time, and it eased up only on days when my voice was stronger. I was also a bit angry sometimes. Normally I love the challenge and focus of preparing for a show or album project, but my voice was too iffy to thoroughly enjoy the process.

Week 7: bronchitis gone, coughing easing up, still getting colds, vocal strength 35-55% depending on the day. On some days I could finally sing in my chest voice again. I ran my songs and sang out more, which is when a new level of vocal trouble happened. I’ve talked to students a lot about compensation, when muscles around the vocal cords take over if there’s a lack of breath support or vocal strength. This can affect tone, pitch, and endurance. Then it happened to me: I sang, compensation happened, and the throat tension caused me to sing flat. I could hear it, so I began to record myself to work on my pitch--but hearing myself sing flat just made me tense up more, so I’d get up to pitch but only in a very tight squeezed sound. This went on for over a week and it drove me nuts until I realized I was having the same problem I’ve worked on with many a stressed-out student. What helped was to ease the tension, particularly in the muscles on the sides of the throat. I did the “Stevie Wonder Maneuver” as I sang, which is slowly shaking your head No as you sing. What helped even more was massaging the sides of my neck, either manually or with a massager device. I’d do this before I sang and I’d also stop in the middle of practice for more massage as soon as I noticed tension creeping in. 

Week 8: no cough, vocal strength 45-60%. I continued to record myself for pitch while steering clear of compensation with awareness and massage. My tone was not how I like it but there was nothing I could do about it. I babied my voice and practiced as if my voice would eventually regain its strength. I worked on delivery, focus, and movement, and thought about what to say to the audience between songs. 

Week 9: vocal strength 65-75%. The first show was a week away and I figured this was as good as it would get. On good days I sang out, on iffy days I continued to baby my voice. Slowly but surely singing began to be fun again. I accepted that my voice wouldn’t be as strong as I’d like at the shows but I’d still be able to do a decent job. 

I often get strong stage nerves and I figured I’d be nervous at these shows. Years ago I tried beta-blockers which definitely eased the shakiness, but made me feel removed and distant when I was on stage. Also, beta-blockers interfere with adrenaline, and I wanted that adrenaline rush on-stage because it knocks out many symptoms of colds and allergies. Though I rarely drink alcohol, I experimented and decided that 3-5 small sips of mescal was what worked for me. That meant that when I had an early morning TV interview before leaving town I was sipping mescal at 6:30 AM! 

I flew to Nashville, rehearsed with my band there, then performed the next day. At the rehearsal my voice began to wimp out again. The day of the show I mostly rested my voice and I was fine at the show--not wailing Superwoman singing, but fine. Here’s a video of one of the songs from that show. Afterward my voice felt better then it had since before the flu. 

Then I flew home to Santa Fe and rehearsed with a different band here the day before the show. The same thing happened: big vocal fatigue at the rehearsal. Maybe it was pre-gig stress at both rehearsals. Once again I rested my voice the day of the show and was fine that evening. The adrenaline kicked in and I finally felt that I could trust my voice to do what I wanted. It seemed that my eight+ weeks of vocal troubles were finally over, and I could feel the joy of singing once again.

Here’s what I learned or had to relearn during this time:  

1. Don’t sing sick: if it hurts to sing, don’t.

2. If illness has caused your vocal problems trust that your voice will come back, even when it takes a long time. If you’re having vocal problems for weeks and don’t know the cause please see a vocal coach or a voice doctor.

3. If you have a gig coming up rehearse while mouthing your songs. Sometimes vocal rest is what’s in order.

4. Baby your voice as much as you can, including your speaking voice. Avoid long chats and loud restaurants.

5. Lip trills are your friend, do them a lot as your voice returns.

6. Watch for compensation as your vocal strength returns. Massage and slowly shaking your head ‘no’ as you sing can help prevent compensation.

Remember that you can still do a good performance even if your voice isn’t 100%.

Here’s a video I recorded several years ago that reviews lip trills and other post-cold sounds you can try.

Singing During the Pandemic

     Sorry for my delay posting this: here is information about singing and the Covid-19 virus from last spring. Unfortunately most of this info is still very relevant:
 
     I hope you are all safe and healthy during these scary times. I’m including a lot of advice here for how to keep singing safely as we make our way through the Covid-19 pandemic.

     The bad news for singers: we continue to learn more about the virus daily, but experts agree that the virus is spread via saliva droplets. Singing can project those droplets much farther than the recommended 6 feet of distance we’ve been told to keep:
 
     “Singers are at high risk for transmission for COVID-19... Because singers are vocal athletes and they engage in diaphragmatic breathing, they can actually generate much more aerosols which can spread further.”
Phillip C. Song, MD, Mass. Eye and Ear

     “And at this juncture, we don't want people doing voice lessons, even standing eight-and-a-half feet apart," William Schaffner, professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center

     But we need to keep singing! Read on for some ideas about how you can safely keep singing.

YOUR SINGING REGIMEN

     Now is a great time to consistently warm up, sing through your repertoire, learn new songs, write songs, build your accompaniment skills, work on related skills like sight-singing. Figure out your goals and how much time you can realistically devote to a singing practice. Set reasonable goals and don’t overdo it to prevent burnout: leave time for rest, these are stressful times.
    Many are sheltering with others and have to figure out how to practice without disturbing your family or housemates. Some of my students are singing in closets where the sound is muffled, or in rooms far from others. Or they just agree on a time where their families or housemates won't mind if they sing.
     Though standing when singing is preferable you can always go sit in a car to practice.

ONLINE SINGING LESSONS

     Skype [my favorite], Zoom, Google Chat, all these work for online singing lessons. All online platforms have a slight lag, which means teachers can’t accompany you. Your deejay skills will improve during this time because you will need to play your own tracks while singing for your teacher, whether those are karaoke tracks or tracks your teacher has recorded and sent to you. If possible play your tracks on a different device than what you use for Skyping. Have all of your tracks organized in a folder or iTunes playlist, one for your warmups and one for your song tracks.
     The pandemic has hurt our economy and many can’t afford singing lessons right now, but want to continue learning. Many teachers will meet with you for one lesson instead of many and work out a study plan--I’ve done this for several students this year. There are also many singing tutorials on Youtube you can work through. Just make sure to use common sense as you try different methods: remember that if it hurts to sing it’s not good for you.

SINGING WITH OTHERS

     Sadly, that lag on all of the online platforms makes practicing online with others in real time near impossible. Platforms like JamKazam are touted as not having a lag and are worth trying, but I’ve seen posts in musician forums that say the lag exists there as well. One of my students just got her MA in recording technology and she tells me that inventing an online platform with no lag is all anyone in her department talks about! For now your best bet might be recording your vocals and sharing with other singers, who then add their vocals. The Acappella app is free and easy to use for this, and there are others out there as well.

     Here’s an article that goes over more ways to sing with others.
 
      If you need help with harmonies or want to up your harmonizing skills while sheltering check out my Sing Harmonies app, or Harmony Singing by Ear [sigh: the cover reminds me of when we didn't need to socially distance].

GIGS

Lastly, if your area has reopened and live music is happening:
 
Audience members: stay out of the front row! Remember how far those droplets can project.
 
Performers: bring your own mic to your gig. Distance yourself from any other musicians on stage. Whenever possible do outdoor gigs instead.

What If You Don't Feel Like Singing?

   It has been a rough year for many singers during the pandemic. I hope you have stayed healthy and have found ways to keep singing. I’ve been very impressed by my students this year. Some have really used their extra stay-at-home time to double-down on practicing. Some have been working on sets of songs in preparation for when we’re all free to go to concerts again. Some have been live-streaming to stay in touch with their fans. And one go-getter student gigged steadily from the summer until now, all at outside/distanced shows.

    But some of us have been too challenged by 2020 to do much besides scrape by and watch too much TV. I have singer friends who haven’t sung in months. If this sounds like you don’t let your lack of singing or practicing get you down. It’s enough right now to just get through the pandemic, you don’t have to do more than that. Singing will still be there when you feel like singing again.

     If you don’t feel like singing but you really want to get or keep your voice going, try the baby steps approach: 

1. Once a day sing a song, any song, a cappella.
2. If songs feel too emotional set a timer for 5-10 minutes and sing some of your warmups. Just a small bit of singing can help you retain your vocal strength and technique, and since endorphins are released when we sing it might also brighten your mood.
3. Forget songs and warmups: just make some sounds. They might be out-of-tune, silly, sing-songy, or weird. Just let yourself vocalize in some way. Do it in the shower if you’re worried about others hearing you.
        I have done all of the above at various times this year!

        If you are like my singer friend who completely stopped singing last spring but are now ready to bring your voice back, go slowly as you let your vocal cords and singing habits reawaken. Sing small-range songs. Perhaps only do the earlier, easier parts of your warmup. You may need to pay more attention to breathing and facial resonance for awhile. If you can do lip trills (also called lip rolls or motorboating) and/or tongue rolls do a lot of them: loose ones, or over scales or songs. I show you these starting at 2:54 of my video “Singing When You’re Sick”.
    If you’re really feeling rusty or having difficulties bringing your voice back, my method The Vocal Recovery Warmup can help. It includes several warmups of varying levels of difficulty, plus lots of instruction. One of my students, who sings professionally, still uses the last set of exercises as his daily warmup. Make sure to read the pdf guidebook that comes with the download, the audio lessons can be used alone but using them in tandem with the book is much more effective.

    I hope we all get to sing with each other and for each other, IN PERSON, in 2021!

Advice for My Young Voice Student Who is Seeking a Music Career

A talented young singer who studies with me sent me some questions for a homework assignment. Here are my answers:

Question 1: What would advice would you give your younger self about pursuing music?

1] Practice, practice, and then practice some more.

2] Study music business as well as music.

3] Start a database of everyone you meet: fans, musicians, music business people, anyone remotely connected to you and your music. You will be amazed ten years later who ends up helping you. I got my first distribution deal because a friend from college chatted up a music distributor on a flight to Los Angeles.

4] It’s not all about you—be a fan of other musicians and help them out on their journey.  

Question 2: As a vocalist, I’ve always been confused and fascinated when singers such as Beyoncé, Katy Perry, Bob Dylan, etc. refer to “selling their souls”, to the music industry. Since you’ve been through the industry, what really does that mean? And as a vocalist, if I ever did get a record deal, is that something I’d have to face?

            I think it means that they gave up something very important to them in order to further their career. Sometimes they had to compromise their music and not do what they really wanted to do musically, sometimes they had to ignore their personal lives to tour and record and move ahead, and in the worst cases they actually had to offer sexual favors in order to get the deal—this happened to a friend of mine.

            Artists now are much more business-savvy and informed than they were when I was a young artist, so they have a decent idea of what’s in store when they pursue a music career. The Me Too movement has made it more difficult for music business people to sexually exploit artists. But artists need to stay aware and informed-- read everything you can about the music business as well as reading about the journeys of other artists and how they made strides and overcame obstacles early on.  Also, learning time management and stress management techniques is critical, so you don’t burn out or feel like you've lost your soul. 

Question 3: What is probably the best decade of music, (60’s, 70’s, 80’s, so on,), to refer to as an artist? Or to get inspiration from? 

            I like the 50s, 60s and 70s:  The 50s beatniks brought poetry to music in the 60s, and the hippie movement of the 60s brought an experimental atmosphere to music: tempo and key changes in songs were accepted, unusual chord progressions and melodies were welcomed. This combined with the great melodies from the Beatles and the Motown artists and writers and many others made for some wonderful music. In the late 60s and throughout the 70s the singer-songwriter movement brought deeper lyrics from artists like Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne.

My Visit to a Physical Therapist for Singers

    Chances are if you’ve gone to a vocal coach you’ve been told that you had tension in your throat that was affecting your voice. That’s what I was told at my first voice lesson, and that’s what I frequently tell singers when I first work with them. Throat tension is a common problem for singers that can affect tone, pitch, range, and endurance. There are many things you can do on your own or with a coach to ease the tension and free up your voice. But sometimes those methods aren’t enough.
    I worked with a singer who sounded great and got the lead in several musicals, but she developed intense pain on the right side of her neck when she sang for a long time. Another singer I worked with had so much tension in her throat and shoulders that she couldn’t sustain a note, no matter how big a breath she took. Another singer could not get his vocal strength back after an illness, despite time and traditional vocal therapy (which includes breathing and resonance work). I suspected that these singers needed to see someone who could work deeply in the muscles that were contributing to their problems. 
    Strong vocal technique, like good breath support and resonation, are vital to a singer. But sometimes technique isn’t enough. That’s when visit to a physical therapist who specializes in working with singers can be helpful. Think about it: singers are like athletes, using their bodies and vocal cords in complex and demanding ways. Athletes see physical therapists regularly, so why shouldn’t singers?
    Gena Thurston is a physical therapist who loves working with singers and performers. In her Chicago practice she has worked with numerous singers including cast members from Hamilton and Book of Mormon. She’s growing a new practice in her hometown of Nashville, so she invited me in for a complementary session so I could see what she does. While I’m not experiencing any vocal problems, I’m well aware of tension in my face, neck, and shoulders that I’m sure are not helping me sing. I’d heard of miraculous results from working with a PT for vocal issues, and I was curious what Gena would do.
    Here was the status of my voice and body pre-session: I’d been playing a lot of guitar recently, which puts unequal strain on the neck and shoulders. I slumped through most of my childhood and have spent my entire adult life trying to remember to sit or stand up straight. Like most people who have had their wisdom teeth pulled, I have TMJ and frequent jaw tension. The day of my session I’d slept poorly and was feeling a bit zombie-like. 
    Gena had me lay on my back and started working on my neck, explaining what she was doing as she went. She found tension in all my usual spots, plus a lot more tension on the left side of my neck, jaw, and face than on the right. That’s the kind of imbalance that can lead to irregular closure of the vocal folds, which can cause problems. It felt like Gena was giving me a very detailed neck and shoulder massage. The difference between what she did and a regular massage was the specificity: she found and worked on muscles I didn’t know I had in my neck, shoulders, and jaw. She worked near my glottis (where the vocal folds are housed) and just under my jaw near the hyoid bone, a prime spot for muscle tension in singers. Towards the end of the hour (which flew by and felt like fifteen minutes) she worked on my jaw joint from the inside of my mouth. The pain from that was very intense--if I’d known any state secrets I would have given them up easily. But afterward my jaw felt looser.
    With my permission Gena also used dry needles on my trapezius muscles. These are longer than acupuncture needles and only go in for a second or two, unlike acupuncture needles that are usually left in for 10-30 minutes. Gena said my trapezius muscles would be sore for the rest of the day and they were, but that the muscle release from dry needles can be long lasting. When the needle went into my right muscle there was a weird popping feeling that she said was a good thing, since it signals a deeper muscle release. The following day I noticed that that right shoulder did indeed feel more relaxed than my left shoulder.
    After my session my jaw muscles were as relaxed as they had been in years. I headed for Trader Joe’s to shop and found that I didn’t want to smile at anyone and lose the loose feeling in my jaw. It also felt easier to stand up straight. I felt very relaxed and a little spacey. As I drove home I sang and it felt easy--not much different than the day before, but there was a subtle difference.
    The next day some of my jaw tension was back, but overall my neck, jaw, and shoulders felt pretty good, better than before my session with Gena. I’ve had massages where it seemed that the beneficial results disappeared as I drove home. This deeper work appeared to have a more lasting effect. I sang that day and my voice still felt good. Again, there were no earth-shaking vocal results, but I felt a noticeable ease in singing.

    I didn’t have any dramatic results from my session with Gena, unlike a singer friend in Los Angeles who added several notes to his range after doing similar work with a physical therapist there. But I didn’t have any vocal problems when I saw her, so I couldn’t experience firsthand the healing properties of her work. Plus, I’m sure it takes more than a few sessions to really see benefits. Gena said she always gives her clients homework and exercises to speed the healing. She said clients who do their homework rarely need to see her more than once a week.
    The vocal-oriented physical therapy that Gena does could help many singers. Learning and maintaining proper technique is still essential, and singers in need of vocal therapy still need to go through that process to bring their voices back. But if muscle tension has contributed to or exacerbated any vocal problems, this kind of deep muscle work will accelerate improvement, and may very well be the missing link if a singer isn’t improving. Doctors at some vocal therapy clinics like The Vanderbilt Voice Clinic have realized this and now include deep muscle work as an option for patients.
    As Gena worked on me I thought of several singers I’d worked with who I suspected would benefit from seeing her. If you are experiencing long or short term vocal problems, or feel that your voice is stuck, this kind of work could be worth exploring. Make sure to see a licensed physical therapist, and make sure they’ve had special training for working with vocalists.

Singing and Emotions

    I made a new friend last year, and I gushed a little when I met her and learned that she was a singer I’d been listening to for years on my iTunes playlist. She plain and simple has a gorgeous voice. But when I met her she’d been having some vocal problems, and she learned at the Vanderbilt Voice Clinic that her chronic hoarseness was from muscular tension. Plus, she’d been compensating to get a vocal sound out for some time, exacerbating the problem. (Vocal compensating is when you tighten your throat and/or nearby muscles to produce a sound when your voice is weak, fatigued, stressed, or healing from a cold or allergies). The origin of her problem was not years and years of bad vocal technique, she was a good singer who knew how to take care of her voice. But she had recently spent a few years taking care of her terminally ill mother, and the stress of care-giving and then the grief after her mother passed took a toll on her voice.
    Another friend of mine is a very well-trained professional singer with a supple voice and a huge range: he can easily sing higher that I can. But after his best friend died suddenly he lost his voice. I tried everything I could think of to get sound out of him, but nothing worked. The trauma of his friend’s sudden death had sapped his vocal strength. It took a year for him to get his voice completely back.
    Many of us have experienced the feel-good surge of endorphins we get while singing. And many of us have experienced performance anxiety, when nerves seem to dismantle all of our singing technique. So we know how singing can improve our emotional state, and we know how our emotions can affect our singing. What I’m writing about is different: it’s how emotional trauma, whether short or long-term, can affect your voice. It’s an element that many singers don’t think about if they are experiencing vocal problems. We’re more likely to think “My support isn’t good lately, I just need to breathe deeper and stand up straight,” or “I’m getting hoarse easily these days, I need to warm up more and stop all dairy”. But sometimes going the voice technique route doesn’t help, and if so you might want to ask yourself if you’ve experienced an emotional trauma recently or in the past.
    I’ve sent students to mental health professionals when I suspected that grief, trauma, or plain old everyday stress was inhibiting their ability to sing freely. I’ve also sent them to vocal therapists and vocal massage therapists. There are many effective ways to address the effects of emotional stress on the singing voice.
    In many cases singing can help you heal emotionally if you’re in touch with your emotions. How many of us have sung our way out of a bad mood? I know I have. But singing can also help with stronger emotions like grief. A student of mine had only been studying with me for a few weeks when her husband of many years suddenly died. Though I thought she’d take some time off of her studies, she returned to lessons with me right after his memorial. She told me that lessons and subsequent home practice sessions were helping her cope and move through her grief. In her case singing was what she needed to process her emotions. Singing can be a powerful way to get in touch with emotions, and singing can help you release them. The deep breathing we do as singers can trigger the release of deep emotions. I always have a box of tissues nearby for students!
     Singing and our emotions are deeply entwined. If emotions arise as you sing let them come up and out. And if you you suspect that buried emotions are blocking your voice in some way please consult a professional.

Improving Your Pitch Accuracy/Singing in Tune

     It’s very easy to tense up the tongue, jaw, and/or throat when you’re fine-tuning your pitch accuracy: you may end up with better intonation but also a pinched tone, and possibly vocal fatigue. Here’s a method that can help: 



1] Work with Hearfones so you can hear yourself as well as the track or instrument to which you are tuning. A mic and headphones will work, too. More info on Hearfones is on their site, but they are usually cheaper at Amazon.


2] Massage the sides of your neck and perhaps your shoulders and jaw as you sing. DO NOT directly massage your larynx (behind your Adam’s Apple), that area is too delicate. It can be tricky to fit your fingers around the Hearfones but it can be done. You can also try swaying as you sing to stay relaxed.



3] Work with some kind of track or instrument when you’re doing this kind of work, not a cappella. It’s too easy to stray from the key when singing a cappella.

4] Record yourself periodically to fine-tune your vocal more.

     For most singers singing in tune is an ongoing project, not something you work on for awhile and then you are set for life.