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Okay, I probably already mentioned this in a joking way before, but this has become an issue I am unsure of as of right now.  I have said our choir director loves crescendos, and, yes, when done well, they make a powerful statement.  But the last one left me without any of my upermost notes for almost two weeks.  I have been avoiding choir lately, and for good reason.  Last week they did another crescendo, and I didn't even attempt to join in.  It's only today I've even made an attempt at some of these songs, and it still hurts a little. I have always thought that hymns were the best when they were simple and not overly indulgent, that you really shouldn't have to tear your vocal chords to shreds week after week.  Well, they have just asked me to be a part of the Christmas celebration, but I have a fear that it will be at the expense of really ruining some very good singers. More than once I have lip synched *gasp* to avoid leaving me barely able to talk for the next few days.

love,

Sopranette

Hi "sopranette ",

I'm a singer/psalmist as well & I LOOOOVE your name!!!

Soooo I'll answer ya' from a "singers" perspective ... Amen? 

Honestly, one of the BEST kept secrets about choral singing is (as you've experienced) it will RUIN your voice!   IF ... you are not prepared to make some "quite" concessions... Amen?

When singing "chorally" (is that a word???), to preserve my voice, I too do the occasional lip-sync thing!  And don't feel the least bit guilty about it!!!

Here's why:

Choral directors NEED to be IN-ORDER!!! In other words, along with their "spiritual" & administrative obligations, "they" SHOULD understand & be sensitive to season changes, allergies, stress-levels and other issues that may adversely affect the vocal abilities of their choral members.  Too, your vocal chords ... unlike other muscles in your body ... the more you use them ... the more sensitive they become to the elements.  When these issues are not taken into consideration ... you get ... what you are experiencing!

What to do?   Well ...

I'm one who truly believes in "prayer"!  Ego's run rampid when it comes to leadership (both in the world & in the church),  and often times choral directors are not amiable to loving correction - no matter how or WHEN you "choose" to do it or no matter who it comes from... BUT ... I've experienced that when we "earnestly" pray there is a LIFE-LOVE-FORCE that is released in the universe ... on YOUR behalf, and the issues of your heart shall soon be perfected ...

Meaning, as you’d alluded earlier ... YOU are not the only one experiencing this!  Your Director will sense this & one of two things will happen.  GOD will move within the heart of your Director & he/she will fall in line with The Holy Spirit (which will ALWAYS be ... IN ORDER!) and your director will be less aggressive when it come to the "crescendo thing".  Or, he/she will continue to cause discord among your fellow choral members (very much OUT of order) & your choir will eventually dwindle in sound!  Which will FORCE your director BACK into the Will of The Father!  Either way, the GLORY shall be HIS ... Amen?

In short, your initial response is the "best" for now!  Continue to "lip-sync" coupled with "earnest" prayer while your Director is working their way BACK to HIS Will ... and try not to feel guilty about it ... "cause while your director is off in "his/her" own little world ... Your FIRST divine obligation is to your "own" health & well-being!

Hope this helps,


Gracious

Thank you so much for your wise advice, Gracious!  I thought I was just being selfish, not giving Him my all as He commanded.  But I also want to be able to sing for the rest of my life, and not sound strained or tinny, but sweet.  She expects us sopranos to sing at the very limit, full speed,  but I'm more of a mezzo soprano...somber and rich, not a soubrette, which is light and airy.  I've been icing down my throat for several day with freezer pops, and that helps keep the pain to a minimum, keeps me sounding effortless and rich.  I'm still afraid of the Christmas show.  The 4th of July was a killer....couldn't talk without sounding like Mr. Haney from Green Acres for days afterwards.  And I just love encouraging the congregation to sing along with me, when I sit in the pews, just to get them out of their comfort zone for a few minutes. I have noticed that, when the very few times she sings herself, her voice sounds overused, and she's not that old.  I would expect her from her own experience pushing your voice to the limit is not healthy.

love,

Sopranette

Honestly, I would speak with other members of the choir and ask them if they're experiencing similar problems. If so, your director needs to know that while crescendos can sound wonderful, they need to be used in moderation, just like everything else. You shouldn't be ruining your voice like that.

Either that, or you can just lip synch. :) I do that too sometimes.

She's only been choir director for less that ten years.  I've been a member for less than two.  Right now, she only has three or four soprano's, a full soprano, one or two soubrettes, and a mezzo- soprano (me).  The soprano is classically trained with a beautiful voice,  the soubrettes have pretty voices, too, but not much power.  I haven't been attending choir for a while now.  One time she caught me lip synching and shot me a dirty look, but didn't say anything, maybe because I had been singing along until the cresendo bit.  Maybe if we had a bass drum that could go "pump pump pump puuuuuump!"  That would take some of the strain off!   Most of our altos, quite a large group, are senior women.  We are expected to sing over them somehow. I don't know what she'll do when they will no longer be able to attend. We already lost one this year.

love,

Sopranette

How the heck do opera singers, and others who make a living from their voices, do it, then?

If you are tearing your throat up you are doing something incorrectly -- and even if you do everything 100 percent perfectly, you can still mess up your voice from simple overwork.

Does the choir director take y'all through a warm-up and a cool-down before and after a rehearsal?

Has she (have you) researched all the tricks of the trade recommended by folks who sing or speak constantly for a living?  You've been cooling your throat -- and that's good, if your problem is inflammation -- but what about other soothing things, warm tea with honey & lemon maybe?

Do not let this situation go un-addressed.  Do talk with your choirmates and your director about it.  You don't want to develop problems with your vocal chords.

We in my segment of the Restoration Movement don't have church choirs -- we, all of us, sing.  But there are church events with lots of singing, and there are special groups that meet and prepare to sing for special events like funerals and revivals and so on.  So, I can sympathize!

We're a capella, too, in my group --  does your choir do voice-only, or are y'all trying to be heard over an organ or a praise band?

I'm not sure how they do it.  I'll take some time over the next couple of day and look up "voice strain" and maybe that will give me a better idea of what's going on.  I feel a lot better today, and I was singing full range over the weekend.  I think a couple of things are going on here:  I'm trying to sing at the very top of my range at full forte, and the other vocal groups are too big (altos, tenors, bass)  leaving us out of balance. There's an organ AND a piano playing, too. We don't do warm ups unless she thinks we are still messing up in some parts of the song, and I have never seen her do a cool down, so I hurry home afterwards to find something cold to drink (not much of a hot tea drinker, just too warm here for that right now).  I'll try to work up the nerve, and pray for the right approach,  but she's a hard personality, and happens to be the pastor's wife to boot.  I just don't think it's my place to say, "enough already with the crescendos".  May if she asks me why I haven't been showing up lately, then I can tell her my concern.

love,

Sopranette

Yep, another one today.So I sang with the congregation instead, and I'm not in pain.

love,

Sopranette

Added:  Okay, so here's what I did.  I looked up my Church's website, and sent them an anonymous email, explaining my concerns, and my wanting to be in the Christmas show( I LOVE Christmas time!).....That's as brave as I get, honestly.  Hopefully she will consider it, we'll see.

It worked.  Thank you, Jesus!  Not only is she keeping the crescendo's to a mimimum, they are actually using power point for those of us in the congregation to read lyrics we may not know by heart, but want to sing, anyway!  Prayer and a little hint, sometimes, works!

love,

Sopranette

Voice training may help you to rely on your lungs more and your vocal chords less. When I was in my teens and twenties I used to copy Slim Whitman. Couldn't do it today if I tried [mostly, anyway]. Try moving away from soprano if its becoming more difficult.

Quote from: sopranette on Wed Aug 27, 2008 - 15:57:18
Okay, I probably already mentioned this in a joking way before, but this has become an issue I am unsure of as of right now.  I have said our choir director loves crescendos, and, yes, when done well, they make a powerful statement.  But the last one left me without any of my upermost notes for almost two weeks.  I have been avoiding choir lately, and for good reason.  Last week they did another crescendo, and I didn't even attempt to join in.  It's only today I've even made an attempt at some of these songs, and it still hurts a little. I have always thought that hymns were the best when they were simple and not overly indulgent, that you really shouldn't have to tear your vocal chords to shreds week after week.  Well, they have just asked me to be a part of the Christmas celebration, but I have a fear that it will be at the expense of really ruining some very good singers. More than once I have lip synched *gasp* to avoid leaving me barely able to talk for the next few days.

love,

Sopranette

Allot of this music is not anointed by the Holy Spirit, that may be why there is sort of a coldness to it.

Thank you, both.

love,

Sopranette

I too admit that many song's in choir and even praise team have me Milli Vanilling it.  I am a tenor but sometimes they try to get me higher.  (last time I try a G-N-R song for kerioke night...lol.)