I am a 25-year-old girl and I love to sing. When I am singing, I feel that my vocal cords
hurt. What can I do to protect them?
Dr Stephen Lee, Specialist in Ear, Nose & Throat Surgery, Raffles Hospital
Singing is an activity that requires the vocal cords to be in good order.
Good vocal hygiene starts with the right way to phonate, i.e. produce sound. Sound is produced when air
from the lungs is forced through the closed vocal cords at high speed. The air creates a rapid vibration of the
vocal cords. Many people use chest breathing instead of abdominal breathing to produce the air. It is imperative
for a singer that they learn or go for training such that they are able to use abdominal breathing instead of
chest breathing. This will result in less strain of the voice, especially when the singer is trying to push for
the extreme notes.
You don't actually need a warm up. However, you can practice deep abdominal breathing prior to the
singing session.
When you have inflammation or infection in your sinuses, throat or voice box, be aware that attempting
to sing under these conditions is likely to injure the voice. In some situations, it may even create small areas
of thickening on the vocal cords called vocal cord nodules. Obviously, you will be well advised to avoid singing
whenever you have flu, cold or sore throat.
It is important not to strain the voice. If you feel that there is strain on the voice box after a
period of heavy usage, then the wise action is to rest the vocal cords. You can do this by minimising the use of
the voice in all non essential situations such as for social use. If you must speak, do so in soft tones. Do not
whisper though, as this activity is highly stressful to the vocal cords.
Drink lots of fluids, and it is wise to avoid foods that 'stick’ to the lining of the throat. Peanut
would be an example of such a food.
You may also want to make sure that you do not have reflux of acids from the stomach.
Suspicion that one has this disorder is if you have "gastric' pains or bitter taste in the chest or throat.