| To: VOCALIST <vocalist> From: Peter Louis van Dijk Subject: Vocal Cord Paralysis/Ger=E4usch=FCbungen Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>
I have had to get my end -of-year recital out of the way, and can finally answer this thread.Hope it helps.
Many, many years ago my grandmother, Louise Essek Eggers, a singing teache= r in Z=FCrich, was presented with a "patient" who had completely lost his vo= ice through bad usage.He had gone to many doctors, who were unable to help him.He himself was a medical doctor and very suspicious of any kind of treatment at the best of times.He was not even able to whisper.When he spoke, only air came out. But Omi heard a slight "click" on the word "alles" when he said "Das n=FCtzt alles nichts". In otherwords, there was = a vocal cord function, however slight , even though it was not present in speech.She worked with him, teaching him Thausing's Ger=E4usch=FCbung= , and the voice came back.He felt the only miracle was that he, as a medical doctor, had been co-erced into doing these strange exercises.
A few years ago, a friend of mine's husband had exploratory surgery done because of Lymph Cancer. When he woke up after surgery, what had been a smooth, normal speaking voice, had become laboured and gruff. It is aparrantly quite common for the nerve to one of the vocal cords to be severed during this type of operation! So there he was, with one vocal cor= d paralyzed.
Remembering my gran's success story, I offered to work with him.At our first lesson, I asked if he could COUGH. He could. There was vocal cord closure, but not enough for speech.Painstakingly we worked with the therap= y exercises.Finally he was able to produce a normal speaking voice as long a= s he stayed within chest voice range. There was just not enough tension to cross the passaggio successfully. But he was happy to sound normal and people just did not recognize his voice over the telephone anymore.
I shall try to explain how to do these"Ger=E4usch=FCbungen". They actually= are not the same as what is known as "Vocal Fry" which seems to rely on ordinary phonation, just very, very low.
These therapy exercises are also known as "Laryngittal irritation" so that should already give a clue! One can find one's eyes watering quite strongl= y and the cords tickling most dreadfully when one starts these exercises. There are several positive results: a) The vocal cords are strengthened (voice becomes stronger) b) There is an increase in circulation to the cords and adjoining areas c)There is an increase in lubrication (can initially be a pain for singers= , but remember, these are therapy exercises)Also great for removing that blo= b of phlegm! d)The abdominal muscles are encouraged to work as they would in "real" singing, so correct support is encouraged e)The muscles supporting the larynx are strengthened and the back of the tongue is trained to stay down. f) Vocal cord spasm is released.
The sound produced is similar to the sound you hear when you clear your throat, but you don't start it in the same way. When you cough or clear your throat, the cords come together with quite a vicious bang. Watch this slowed down and you never cough again!
This exercise is started "out of nothing" as it were. If you slow down you= r first singing note, you also become aware of how a stream of air becomes sound when the vocal cords respond to catching the air from below. Similarly you think of: Air-Whisper-Vibration. Initially you will only be able to do little ones-think H=F6 while doing them. You'll sound like a monkey in heat. The aim is to be able to hold it for the full length of a breath, without tickle.The quality of the vibrations also become finer, as the vocal cord muscles improve their hold. It is not a vocal sound, but th= e cords must vibrate.
One ENT that heard me doing this exercise said it sounded like a vocal cor= d massage.I am hoping to have my cords photographed while doing this exercis= e and to have someone with the correct medical terminology explain exactly what is happening. I only know that these exercises helped me when my voca= l cords were not closing properly, helped me get rid of a little nodule(!) and have helped others who have had weak voices or some form of vocal disfunction.
A very similar type of exercise seems to be used by stutterers at the beginning of a phrase to encourage the vocal cords not to "lock". Could anyone give me a website where I could explore exercises in current use fo= r voice therapy? I am still hunting for a Thausing link, but must start moving in ernest now.
Many thanks Regards Susi Cape Town RSA
P.S.Who is adding my full Address?
"Success is fleeting - obscurity is forever!"
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