During this delicate time, I find that my major vocal issues have to do with swelling of the cords. My supposition is that it's due to water retention.
Don't eat any salt. Drink tons of water. You should actually be okay for the competition, since two days after Day 1, your body (or at least, mine) starts to flush out all that extra water. I find the first day the hardest, the second day still fairly fragile, and the third day very workable. I also last for eight days, so I've grown quite accustomed to singing under the influence. Slow, gentle warmups throughout the day help me, since it's easy to oversing before I'm warmed up and on-track/in-line enough to sing correctly.
I don't take Advil unless I'm really in pain, since I've heard (a rumor) that it somehow messes up the functioning of the cords. This may be hooey.
You may have to resort to honking those bottom notes out in chest -- unless you are very allergic to chest. If I were in your situation and were still feeling fragile, I would rather run the risk of being seen as a Butterfly with no taste (as some auditioners are hard on sopranos who put all their low notes into chest) than a Butterfly without the vocal goods. But I don't take chest higher than an e-natural, as a general rule.
Sitz baths (I'm not really sure how to do this ideally, but I just get into a hot, hot bathtub) may make you feel better. If you want to start flushing out the extra fluid by yourself, asparagus is a diuretic, or you can take something like Pamprin. I take lots of extra time warming up, and make sure I am singing on the clean, lean line of my voice -- no "fluff" or extra air, which can be easy to slip into because you're naturally more tired. I have to work to keep my concentration, and not get lazy.
Strangely enough, I've had my best vocal days (high E's flying out of nowhere, everything sailing and easy) the day *before* I start. Odd. Don't know why.
Good luck! If you're really feeling horrible, don't be afraid to cancel, although I suspect that most of these first-day vocal issues will be greatly resolved in two days. Let us know how it goes! We all love the wrapups.
Isabelle B.
===== Isabelle Bracamonte San Francisco, CA ibracamonte@y...
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