What to do when you're sick

Friday, January 6, 2023 by Alix Evans | vocal health

It's flu season, there's a new variant of COVID out there, and I have a nasty sinus infection that just doesn't want to leave!  So it seems like a good time to talk about what a singer can do when they get sick.

When you develop some kind of upper-respiratory ickiness, you have three jobs:

1. Keep it out of your throat
2. Keep it out of your chest
3. Get over it as quickly as possible

Keep it out of your throat
It surprises a lot of singers to learn that you can sing perfectly well with clogged sinuses!  The sinuses don't actually play much of a role in resonance, so while you'll sound different to yourself with all of that snot in your head, you'll still sound ok to people who live outside of your head.

Singing with a sore throat is a different matter!  Gunk and inflammation in the throat will cause you to sound different, and can also lead to slower recovery and even vocal injury.  So as soon as you realize you've got gunk in your face, here are some things to do to keep it out of your throat:

• Medicate.  A good decongestant will reduce the amount of gunk in your face, and make it much less likely to travel down into your throat.  I like Dayquil/Nyquil for this.
• Don't swallow your snot.  This is gross, but it needs to be said.  Horking your snot into your throat and swallowing it sends it directly to your throat, which is exactly what you don't want.  When you need to get the snot out of your air passages, it needs to exit in the other direction.  Blow your nose.  Lots.
• Warm steam.  The warmth and wetness of steam can help to loosen up some of the gunk in your face, making all that nose blowing a lot more productive!
• Neti pot.  I know, I know.  I'm not going to sit here and tell you "It's not as bad as you think!"  It is.  It's werid, and gross.  And it's the best thing for you when you have snot in your head.  I'm so so sorry.  I use my neti pot daily when I'm sick.  (When I'm on top of things, which I rarely am while sick, let's be real.)

Keep it out of your chest
Ok, so it's in your throat.  Sometimes, despite our best efforts, or all of a sudden overnight, the gunk gets into our throats.  But it's still not too late to avoid a hacking cough!  Here are some things to do to support your throat and keep the gunk out of your chest:

• Vocal rest.  Now is the time to take a break from singing, and even talking if you can, for all the reasons discussed above.
• Gargling salt water and baking soda.  Mix some salt and baking soda into a mug of water, microwave it until it's hot, but cool enough to drink, and gargle it (voicelessly).  This will help to dislodge any gunk that's hanging around in your throat.
• Tea.  My favorite for a sore throat is licorice root with lots of honey.  Make sure it's hot tea!
• Cold steam inhalation.  Get you something like this - a little personal steam inhaler, and spend a minute or two breathing from it throughout the day.  Usually when I do this early on, my sickness never develops into a cough.  And when I do have a cough, this helps it clear much more quickly!

You actually can sing with a cough.  It's not going to hurt you, the way singing with an inflamed throat will, but it might be really annoying.  The deep, abdominal breaths we need to take as singers might sometimes end in a coughing fit.

Get over it as quickly as possible
The faster you get rid of it, the less likely it is to creep down into your throat and chest.  And the less time you'll spend being miserable!

• Vitamin C.  I like Emergen-C, personally - the kind you stir into water.  Staying hydrated is an "always do" for singers, but it's especially important when you're sick.
• Medicate.  If you develop a cough and it really won't go away, you may have developed a bacterial infection.  Go get checked out, and see if you need antibiotics.  A good cough syrup can also really help - the grosser-tasing the better!  For the gunk in your face, though - most head colds are viral, and won't respond to antibiotics.  Still, a good decongestant like Dayquil/Nyquil will create an environment in your nose that's less hospitable to all the little germies who want to hang out in there.
• Neti pot.  Yup.  Sorry.

Happy New Year!

Tuesday, January 3, 2023 by Alix Evans | practice

Wishing you all the best for 2023!  No matter how your 2022 was, may 2023 be a kinder, gentler year.

It's a couple of days late, but if you're the resolution-making type, now is a great time to commit to good practice habits!  Here are some things that will help you implement an effective and sustainable practice routine:

• We're a lot more likely to practice if we make it a habit.  Block out time on your calendar (ideally the same time each day) for practice.
• Give yourself the space to practice!  Find a quiet place where you won't be bothered, and keep your music and maybe a music stand there, so it'll be ready when you need it.
• When it comes to getting the most out of your practicing, consistency is key.  If you're going to spend 2 hours a week practicing, 20 minutes a day for 5 days will get you a lot farther than one 2 hour block.
• Daily practice is awesome, but almost-daily practice is great too!  If you have days when you just know you won't be able to schedule time to practice, that's ok.
• Did you miss a day you meant to practice?  Don't beat yourself up!  Just jump back on the horse and try not to miss two practice sessions in a row.  Regular practice is not all-or-nothing.  We all have to skip sometimes, and that's ok.
• If tracking your progress is something you find motivating, try using the practice log in the student portal!

These are a few of my favorite apps...

Wednesday, December 14, 2022 by Alix Evans | theory

Have any travel planned this holiday season?  Music theory apps are a great way to keep yourself occupied on planes, in airports, or on long car trips while honing your skills!  Here are a few of my favorites:

Ear Training, by Musicopoulos - this delightfully simple app will take you through interval identification, as well as scale and chord identification in a very well scaffolded progression.

Music Theory, by Musicopoulos - this app teaches and drills the rudiments of music theory, including scale degrees, the circle of 5ths, chords, and more.  Like Ear Training, it's very well scaffolded, and offers exercises to make sure you master the concepts.  Unlike Ear Training, it also offers clear and in-depth explanations of music theory concepts.

Chet - Ear Training Games - this app plays increasingly complex melodies, which you then are asked to reproduce on an in-app keyboard.  It's a great way to start applying interval recognition and training your ear to know what it's hearing and singing.

Ella - Sight Singing & Reading - this app gives you short written melodies that grow slowly more complex, and has you sing them into your phone's microphone.  The app recognizes when you've sung the melody correctly and is able to point out any errors you might have made.