Identifying the problem

The cause of vocal dysfunction isn’t always obvious to the singer or speaker. A frequent example is identifying why someone is having difficulty with high notes.

A young baritone complained that his high notes were strained and wanted to work to release his voice in the upper range. We began vocalizing low in the range to warm up the instrument and work on the fundamentals of his technique without stressing his voice. I noticed a weakness and a small break in the part of his vocal range I would associate with the pelvic region of the body.

As we worked to improve his posture, breathing and the way his vocal cords came together to vibrate, I noticed he was favoring one side of his body, putting more weight on one leg than the other. He said he had sciatica.

As that part of his voice came into balance he said his headache was gone. We went up to the high notes, which were now beautiful and free even though we hadn’t been working on that part of the range.

The headache had been the result of tension in the neck and shoulders that came from compensating for the sciatica. Once his holding against the pain was released, he was able to sing throughout the range. It would have been a mistake to focus on the upper part of the vocal range and could have simply increased the tension.

Similarly in repertoire, when high notes seem difficult, the issue is almost always the result of the way previous lower passages are being sung. Sometimes it’s just one note or syllable that throws everything else out of balance.

There are some highly honed skills that combine to direct vocal work:

• Knowledge of the entire instrument including posture, breathing, vocal cord function and resonance balance.
• Understanding of the different elements of vocal technique and how they work together in a liberated voice or compensate for one another when there is an imbalance.
• Awareness of the degree to which preferences for certain qualities of sound can hamper healthy, balanced vocal function.
• The ability to hear tiny shifts in vocal quality, even if it’s just on one note, that indicate whether or not a voice is functioning optimally.
• Ability to identify the precise technique that will work quickly and efficiently to restore balance.

Physical issues are not the only cause of problems in the singing or speaking voice. Vocal impediments are just as likely to result from emotional states and limiting beliefs. The more directed and informed our listening is, the more adept we become at hearing the nature of vocal quality and its likely cause. Once we can identify the cause, we can determine and implement a solution.