Question:
Hello. I am a 21 year old soprano. I find that because I have very bad allergies my throat gets congested while I am singing and I find a need to clear my throat in the middle of a song. Is there anyway to keep the passage clear while singing? Thanks!
Answer:
The vibrations from your voice should keep the passages clear while you are singing if you are able to get clear before you go on stage. You might try using a sinus cleanse (a simple saline solution) with a neti pot as well as kapalabhati breathing from the yoga traditions. If you do a google search you can get free instructions for both. These will clear the sinuses before you go on stage. Overtone chanting is also great for clearing the respiratory passages. You need to find what is causing the allergies and avoid these things as much as possible. Very often changing one’s diet can help: eliminating dairy, wheat or red meat are examples of things that have helped people. You might work with an allergist and a nutritionist. Some singers find antihistamines helpful while others find them drying. Many are able to get good results by taking them every other day. They do not take them on important singing days so that they are fairly clear but not dehydrated.
What is overtone chanting?
Each pitch you can sing actually has a number of frequencies — a fundamental pitch and a number of overtones above it. By shaping the resonators and articulators you can isolate different higher frequencies or overtones and create a melody with them. This is called overtone chanting. You can listen to Tibetan monks or David Sykes Harmonic Choir to hear some examples.