Reevaluating the stigma around vocal health
“all I have to do, is forget how much I love him.”
Singers lose their voice from time to time. But why are we so afraid to talk about it? Why is vocal loss a shameful experience? What can we do as a community to change that perspective and to celebrate vocal health and support vocal healing when our comrades lose their voice?
I have been singing professionally since I was in undergrad at Spelman College.
I have been losing my voice off and on since undergrad, and I have never felt comfortable talking about it to anyone. I want to change that. Let talk about loss of voice and career attachment.
Losing your voice as a singer is just part of the job. I don’t know of one singer that hasn’t lost their voice at least once.
For me personally, I experienced my scariest and most prolonged vocal loss in 2019 during Kiss Me Kate. That vocal loss carried over into my return to The Lion King as well. It was terrifying. I was doing everything I could to keep my voice and nothing was working. Finally, I sought help from Susan Eichhorn Young, and my work with her changed everything. I am so grateful to Susan for giving me the tools and vocal confidence I needed to heal my voice.
I was dealing with vocal issues for the better part of seven months before I had my first lesson with Susan. During that time, I did not feel comfortable sharing what I was going through. I have found that most singers are not comfortable discussing vocal issues. For fear of seeming weak, or inept, or a poor caretaker of their voice. I’m not quite sure what caused my vocal loss last year, it could have been a combination of things, stress, overuse, stretching my range. I really don’t know. But I was afraid that I would never get my voice back. I truly believed that without my voice I had no purpose. Everything in my adult life and career life has been about my voice. Everything. Whether I’m using it to sing, or address a group, or do a voiceover, or give an interview, or simply a self tape for an audition. My entire career hinges on my voice and my vocal health. So when I was experiencing this vocal loss in 2019, I felt worth less. I felt like if I didn’t have my voice, I had nothing to offer this world.
Have you every felt so attached to your profession, that without it you felt lost? Do you feel that way now during this pandemic?
So I guess we have a couple of things to sort out. The stigma around vocal health. And our tendency to attach our career success to our self worth. I don’t have the answers for either dilemma, but I think the first step is addressing that there may be a problem with how we value ourselves in this society. In American culture to be more specific. And that as artists, we have to take particular care of our whole self. I believe in order to continue to create, artists have an obligation to themselves to be kind to their whole self.
I can admit that I haven’t always taken good care of my whole self. But if 2020 has shown me anything (and believe me, it’s shown me quite a few lessons), it’s shown me that utilizing and appreciating all the parts of me, not just my voice, is the best way to take care of myself. So now I don’t worry about the gigs as much. I don’t worry about the “next thing” as much. I try to enjoy each day as it comes. I cook more. I laugh more. I watch garbage tv without judgement. I make time to read a new book. I enjoy moments with my dog and my husband. I call my parents more. I make more time for my friends. When I think of someone, I let them know I’m thinking of them. I’m trying my best to live a fuller richer life. Because if 2020 has taught me anything, it’s taught me that our careers are not our lives. It’s taught me that we are whole, full, & complete beautiful human beings no matter what we are up to each day.
Cheers,
Adrienne
* If you are interested studying with Susan Eichhorn Young, check out her website.