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From:  "Lloyd W. Hanson" <lloyd.hanson@n...>
"Lloyd W. Hanson" <lloyd.hanson@n...>
Date:  Sun Feb 11, 2001  7:23 pm
Subject:  Re: Okay - pregnancy and the singing voice


Dear Isabelle and Vocalisters:

I have taught a few students who have gone through a pregnancy while
studying voice. In each case they were comfortable singing until almost
their delivery day but their sense of breath management changed a lot.
Most of them discovered some new and helpful things about breath management
during pregnancy and after delivery.

The hormonal changes had a noticeable effect on the voices but it was not a
bad effect. In each case the voice become more rich and had a wider
palette of colors from which to draw.

After delivery, each student found that returning early to a reduced singing
practice many times a day actually seemed to accelerate their abdominal and
diaphragmatic return to normal.

Also, in each case, the quality of vocal richness seemed to remain. One
student has since had two more children with no noticeable changes in vocal
quality, good or bad.

Vocal range was affected but only minimally and, in my opinion, was
primarily caused by changes in breath managements issues while pregnant.
Within 3 months after delivery, original vocal ranges were reestablished
and each singer went on to further expansion of their vocal ranges.

Each student also brought new meanings to their singing of lullabies.


Regards
--
Lloyd W. Hanson, DMA
Professor of Voice, Vocal Pedagogy
School of Performing Arts
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ 86011#
#


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