To: The Vocalist List
From: Yvonne Dechance & Gary Blackburn
Subject: Re: womens business
Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>

Katchia asked about the effects of the menstrual cycle on the voice.

The more you are affected vocally by the menstrual cycle, the more diligent
you have to be in knowing your own body as well as your voice. Keep a
careful calendar, and a record of your diet and any noticeable vocal
problems. That way you'll learn what days to be especially careful not to
oversing, and start to find correlations between what you eat and how your
body reacts. Each woman's body is unique, but recent studies have indicated
that eating fresh foods, cutting down on things like meat and processed
foods during the high part of your cycle, and getting proper rest and
exercise may lessen the severity of menstrual pain and other symptoms.

As for singing itself, if the body's uncomfortable and tired, it's likely
to stand out of alignment and sing without energy. Get the body moving,
stand with extra attention to proper alignment, and see if you can reduce
the under-energized feeling without oversinging. Watch out especially for
days just before menstruation when high notes suddenly seem effortless.
Great fun in practice, but it's very easy to oversing on those days and
then realize in hindsight what time of the month it was. The swelling
associated with menstrual or pre-menstrual bloating can also affect the
voice; awareness, prudence, exercise and diet are all keys to easier living
and singing.

Anyone for a chorus of "I enjoy being a Girl"??;-)

_Dr. Yvonne Dechance

Email: aleatory-at-sj.znet.com, webmaster-at-nats.org
Homepage: http://www.vocalist.org/dechance
The Diction Domain: Free voice diction resources for singers
http://www.diction.vocalist.org