British Voice Association - Rock & Pop Weekend 2018

There is far too much false information provided to singers about weight/resistance training being 'bad' for their voices.... and that's simply not true in most cases, because it depends on each individual and their circumstances. In this video, I present my opinion and thoughts on this matter as well as providing some simple top tips and example stretching to help with post workout tension.

As part of my services I always like to provide clients with self-help techniques that will enable them to take some control outside of the clinic, and after or between our sessions. These techniques are not a substitute for Manual Therapy applied by qualified practitioners and as fairly basic, but are very effective and help a large amount of people maintain better vocal health from a physical perspective, between sessions and at times of very high vocal demand, such as touring and/or recording. Feel free to check out the videos below - you might find some of the techniques useful. Any questions, just drop me a line.

I had the absolute pleasure of being asked to present at the British Voice Associations 'Tension Release' seminar last month at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester . The weather was horrendous as we endured yet ANOTHER storm, but the atmosphere at the seminar was amazing! The sold out event saw a mixture of Singers, Vocal Coaches, Speech & Language Therapists, NLP Practitioners, Physiotherapists and Osteopaths gather to listen to presentations and discuss everything related to helping identify, manage and ultimately reduce feelings of tension for voice users. I presented on 'Manual Assessments of Muscle Tension' and also gave some insight into Vocal Massage and Manual Therapy as one option; but we also looked at 'Voice Therapy Techniques', 'The Vibrant Voice Technique' which involved the use of vibrators (yeah, that's not an auto-correct) and even delved into NLP hypnosis to address some of the more psychological aspects of tension.

Why I think Vocal Massage shouldn't be painful.

I'm extremely lucky to work with all sorts of incredible voice users and feel truly blessed to help them keep their voices in good health as part of their vocal health routines. It's especially important to look after your voice if you're using it day-after-day and night-after-night. Even more so if you're adding energetic, strenuous dance routines and performances to it; not to mention the stresses and strains of daily life! However, a huge amount of voice users don't actually look after their voices enough considering that it's essentially their money-maker!! Like anything, if you use your voice regularly, or even to excess, it will become tired. Scrap that! That statement is not actually correct. Essentially 'the voice' is just air! So, 'the voice' doesn't actually become tired, it's the muscles and structures that work together to produce sound that become tired, and as a result your voice quality and sound changes in a variety of ways. Usually it causes a croaky or hoarse quality and makes creating sound effortful and laborious. Singing or speaking should be as effortless as possible - more effort usually means over working already tired muscles. This is where Vocal Massage come in! Athletes have regular soft tissue massage, manual therapy and osteopathy type treatments during training and performance to reduce the risk of injury, the effects of training and competition. Voice users are no different - we simply uses different muscles to perform our specialism. The effects on those muscles are no different from that of an athletes. They get 'stiff', 'tired', 'sore' and sometimes even stop working or become over active as a result of being used. If you don't look after them they will eventually let you know, which usually means a reduction in vocal quality, control and range. Worst case scenario it could result in vocal rehab or a period of voice rest - which is never good when you have a run of shows or gigs scheduled, recording booked or rehearsals to get through. Vocal Massage (as it's now being coined) will help to reduce the effects of fatigue by reducing symptoms of muscular tightness, restriction, soreness and helping to lower the resting position of the larynx, which is often raised following long periods of voice use due to natural and adaptive muscle shortening. It also helps the voice user to physically relax the body and mind, not just 'the voice', helping to reduce anxiety and nervous sensations. A 'Vocal Massage' will not only focus on the larynx, but other areas such as the jaw, neck, shoulders, ribs, diaphragm/abdominal region and sometimes even the hips! Interested? Get in touch and have a chat.

If you suffer with reflux these could help!

Talking with singers over the last couple of weeks, has highlighted the misunderstanding associated with the diaphragm. The diaphragm contracts (shortens/tightens) when we breathe-in. Breathing out occurs as a result of the diaphragm actually RELAXING . The muscle fibres of the diaphragm recoil to their resting and lengthened state, passively pushing air out. It is not the other way around. Obviously when we sing, we need that all important ‘support’ to help control the outflow of air for sustaining phonation and reducing the strain on the vocal folds and larynx. So, instead of completely relaxing as it does during rested breathing, the diaphragm maintains tone and recoils in a controlled manner supported by the extended engagement of the internal and external intercostals resisting the recoil and the abdominals remaining relaxed. #diaphragm #vocalhealth #vocalanatomy #vocalmassage #laryngealmassage #laryngealmanualtherapy #singers #actors #voiceusers #didyouknow

After a trip to the States, I touched ground in Heathrow and within hours was back to it. This time, only a few minutes down the round in Coventry. I had the absolute pleasure of being invited to the Godiva Festival this year to offer free 'Vocal Massage' to all artists performing on the main stage of this incredible festival. This festival is one of the largest in the UK and is absolutely FREE to enter. Yep! FREE to enter, and always has a great line-up of music old and new. It was a busy weekend and an amazing opportunity to spread the word about this therapy and the benefits it has for voice-users, especially those who are gigging and touring. We had some brilliant conversations with the artists, their backing vocalists and management; they tried it, they liked it, and went on stage feeling more relaxed and vocally 'free', and we helped them to wind down after their performance too. They also liked the free aluminium water bottles we were giving away. We didn't have many left by the end of the festival!! #passonplastic #refillable I have to give a big 'well done' to everyone involved in the festival, it was amazingly well managed and put together by people with a genuine love of music and a desire to put on a cracking show! I very much hope to be back next year.

The common ground and difference between sports people and voice users.