Had vocal nodules, now recovered but need new singing teacher!

Blano

I'm a 26 year old female who got vocal nodules last year(as diagnosed by the ENT specialist) - throat hurt real bad, had to go to speech therapy & rest voice for ages. ENT says they are now gone. Would like to get some new singing lessons that focuses on good breathing habits & techniques to prevent this happening again. I am based in Dublin 15 area - but will to travel - city centre or anywhere in Dublin - have own transport. Was considering either Speech Level Singing lessons or Classical.

I write my own songs (alternative rock) & would like to develop healthy vocal habits for recording & performing.

One of the concerns regarding the speech level singing method is that I don't know if the singers who use this method project very well. Whereas in Classical they seem to have powerful voices and focus on breathing from the diaphragm (well this is what i've gathered from the net -I have never taken these lessons before so I'm eager to learn more).

I used to go to singing lessons a few years ago but was taught NOTHING about breath control/proper technique. I think this led to me developing poor vocal habits, so it is really important I find the right teacher this time.

Anyways if anyone could recommend any good teachers? I'd be really grateful. I'm starting to think a classical teacher would be a good basis. My voice has pretty good tone, but have a gentle voice - not an incredibly powerful one - I probably caused the injury before by constantly trying to project in an improper way. My old singing teacher was all about projecting but never taught me proper technique as to how to go about it. My throat used to hurt a bit after lessons too (though I only realised the connection way after - I thought my throat was just dry or something).

Wurly

If you go to a teacher that doesn't teach you proper breathing, then get out of there quick and fast! I really cant believe that 'teachers' have the audacity to charge students for lessons and not even bother to cover the basic principles. Breathing is one of the most important facets of singing... :mad:

I coach singers. I also work on breathing - diaphragmatic and sustained. Please PM me if you want further info.

Otherwise, hopefully some friendly boardsies might have some recommendations for you.;)

coffee_cake

I'll be honest, I think my singing teacher is amazing, she's one of the teachers in Waltons (marta burns). I've made mad progress with her over the 18 months I've been singing and careful breathing and posture and technique is very important. She's absolutely lovely but very careful about all the technical stuff, I'd recommend her to anyone.

macdaid

Oh you poor thing. Nodules can be very traumatic, both on the voice itself and psychologically.

The main thing for you going forward is to relax back into the voice. Singing is something that gives the singer such joy- you do it because you love it, and it's key to keep this in mind during the more challenging times of recovery.

I would definitely recommend reading Janice Chapman's Holistic Approach to Classical Voice. Janice is an Opera Coach who carries out massive amounts of scientific research on the voice. The techniques outlined in the book are ones that I've used myself when coaching students. One singer in particular came to me after surgery for nodules and within 12 months, she passed her grade 8 classical singing with RIAM and was placed in the High Achievers' Category.


PM me if you'd like to speak some more about what you're going through. I'd love an update about how you're getting on!


Ta,
Elaine

macdaid

Oh you poor thing. Nodules can be very traumatic, both on the voice itself and psychologically.

The main thing for you going forward is to relax back into the voice. Singing is something that gives the singer such joy- you do it because you love it, and it's key to keep this in mind during the more challenging times of recovery.

I would definitely recommend reading Janice Chapman's Holistic Approach to Classical Voice. Janice is an Opera Coach who carries out massive amounts of scientific research on the voice. The techniques outlined in the book are ones that I've used myself when coaching students. One singer in particular came to me after surgery for nodules and within 12 months, she passed her grade 8 classical singing with RIAM and was placed in the High Achievers' Category.


PM me if you'd like to speak some more about what you're going through. I'd love an update about how you're getting on!


Ta,
Elaine