> What do you mean by "allergic to chest"? I have a > very big chest voice,
Some teachers think that raw chest voice will harm the soprano voice -- something I find not valid, since I believe that the chest register can and should be used and strengthened in a healthy manner. But there is a school of thought out there that says that female chest voice is horrible, bad, damaging, and should never be used.
I personally like it -- call it vulgar taste, but when Callas or Zajick plunges into chest in those gutsy verismo arias, I thrill. I do agree that it should be used tastefully and for dramatic effect (or if you MUST cut through the orchestra and your middle C is up against a blare of brass), and not simply used by default in the lower voice.
THE PILL
I would never use the pill as a form of birth control. It is now known that the hormonal changes that occur while taking the pill, which affect the voice, do not go away after you stop taking it. Since the pill keeps your body in a thinking-it's-pregnant state, your body puts on weight and fluid; the amount is variable (5-15 pounds usually), but the hormonal changes in the cords (a richer, deeper sound at the expense of losing some top notes, a huskier quality sometimes) can be drastic. They can be minimal, too, but I'm not going to risk it.
Isabelle B.
===== Isabelle Bracamonte San Francisco, CA ibracamonte@y...
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