Vocal Blow out research

I have said it Rock singing is an extreme sport! No doubt about it.

Powerful singing can be impressive but it comes with its share of challenges. The biggest one for me has been correct breathing and VOCAL BLOWOUT.

WHAT IS VOCAL BLOW OUT?

Swelling of the vocal folds, due to muscle tension and excessive effort and air being used. This has resulted in power loss for me during songs.

Vocal Blowout can be classed as discomfort, fatigue feeling, loss of range and help towards those bad little monsters called Nodes, in the longterm.

There has been times when I have been singing in rock bands that require a great deal of effort and this has resulted in Vocal blowout because of

A) Not using proper technique

B) Not enough sleep - Not enough rest - Not eating right -Too much alcohol -Unable to hear yourself over the band

Excercises for reason A

Focus on the vowels of words instead of the using too much air on the Consonants. This will put less excess air  on the beginning of your words in singing and ease the pressure of the vocal folds.

If you run into any trouble spots, chances are you're pushing and closing your mouth on the consonants that begin or end the word

Example – Say the word HOW. Put emphasis on the H and notice how it feels and where the effort is being made.

Now try it with putting the emphasis on the vowel and see how it feels.

Examples of vowels

A – E – I – O - U

Examples of Consonant

B-C-D-F-G-H-J-K-L-M-N-P-Q-R-S-T-V-W-X-Z

Excercise for reason B

Not enough sleep - how much sleep should you get? well through research i have found that there is no magic number for this. Everyone is differnt but an avergae indication is between 8-9 hours per night.  Sleep is important to our survial. We speed on average 35% of our life sleeping and it is the main way our body recovers from the lifestyles we lead. when we sleep, the body's biochemical and physiological process take place.

Not enough rest - Like sleep the body needs time to rest. When the body rests it strenghens and rebuilds. Athletes need to have a rest day when training and its the same in siging. Not taking enough rest can lead to stalness, depression and  damage to the body. allow time to recover.

Not eating right - We all know why its important to eat right and fuel our bodies with the correct foods. The benefits are huge! a roug guide to work off is simple.

- try to eat at least five portions of fruit and veg everyday. There is alot of products that give you indications on the side to what size of portion it is. Its so much easier these days to get the information we need of this.

- Whole grain vs processed/refined grains and sugars - its better to eat wholemeal