To: Vocalist <vocalist>
From: Naomi Gurt Lind
Subject: re: questions
Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>

Teen Queen wrote:

>Hi I have some questions on singing that I really, really need answers to!
>First of all, I only have about two (maybe a little more) octaves that are
>really usable. Is that bad? How can I make my high notes stronger so they
>are as strong as my lower notes? Is singing loud bad if you're doing it the
>right way? ANd is it OK to sing with a sore throat?
>SOrry I have so many questions, they just kinda came to me...

These are great questions! My opinions:

There is nothing wrong with a small range; the main thing is choosing music
that fits comfortably within the range you have. Your range will change
and grow as you change and grow -- voice lessons can make those changes
occur more dramatically and will help you to make them occur in a healthy
way. Definitely a good voice teacher will be able to teach you the right
way to sing loud (in other words a healthy way).

My personal policy is not to sing with any kind of pain. I figure if I'm
not feeling well in any way (sore throat, headache, whatever) then I am
likely to be too distracted by the pain I'm feeling to be able to sing in a
healthy way. This is a policy -- I don't always live up to it 100% but I
use it as a guideline for myself. The problem with singing over a sore
throat is the very natural human tendency to do something different in your
technique to decrease the pain -- it's often the unaccustomed technique
choices rather than the sore throat that end up getting us in trouble.
Better to rest if you can.

Naomi Gurt Lind