Our choir has its Christmas concert tomorrow. We're doing Britten's Ceremony of Carols and some other traditional carols. I have a number of small solo spots: the solo bits in the Britten and 1st verse of Darke's "In the Bleak Midwinter".

With impeccable timing I have gone down with a cold. Not a really serious one but a standard snotty, sneezy, coughy grotty cold. Started Tuesday; currently at home off sick and feeling sorry for myself.

And the concert...what to do?

A few experiments with the tuning fork at home show my high notes have disappeared or are unreliable (crack). On the plus side I seem to have developed an astonishing low register - practically down to the low A over an octave below middle C. (Normally I consider anything below the A above that is a bonus).

Final rehearsal is tonight.
We have a young girl who is here to sing 1st verse of "Once in Royal David's City". She could take on most of the Britten (apart from the section where we do a duet together, which could be tricky ).

I really want to sing the Darke, but do I work on my voice, risk losing it for tomorrow, or rest it and hope that another day will help (but then I would be going into the concert effecively not knowing what will come out of my mouth - bit late for contingency plans).

Advice please! My throat is a little sore, although not when I swallow, but I have a gravelly sound when I speak. My singing teacher is away, so I can't ask her.

Rest or exercise?

For other measures, well I'm at home, keeping warm, taking aspirin and lots of hot drinks with honey. What else can I do? I'm also taking those slow release anti-cogestion things (hate having a blocked nose). Good or bad?

Aaargh, help please!

I would't take any anti-congestants as they might dry you out TOO much. Also a friend of mine who is an anaesthetist told me they will prolong your cold. I will leave all the advice about your actual voice to all the qualified teachers here, but I wouldn't sing until you really have to, ie tomorrow before the concert. When you sleep tonight put some olbas oil in a bowl of hot water in your bedroom. It will help to clear your sinuses. Also, a singer friend of mine gave me the recipe of a nice soothing hot drink which helps a cold. Its made with about a tablespoon of cider vinegar, a good bit of fresh ginger grated, hot water and as much honey as you like. Its quite nice and tastes quite festive. You could also steam over a bowl of hot water. Its a really good way to rehydrate your throat. I find fresh pineapple and pineapple juice good to drink before I sing. Its good for a dry throat.
All the best for tomorrow night and getting rid of the horrid cold!

Excellent advice from Possum, so I'll just endorse it: definitely no decongestants, or aspirin, and plenty of steam. Also, try not to talk too much. Whispering is even more harmful. With any luck, you'll get over the worst of it today. You just have to wait it out!

Love the festive drink recipe, Possum - can't wait to try it out. Now I know what to offer the non-drinkers.

Best of luck to thouston - please let us know how it works out.

Thanks...I have always been somewhat suspicious of decongestants and try to resist them, but on the other hand, sleeping with one's mouth open all night is probably also quite drying, and the prospect of singing "ib dhe bleak bid-widter..." is not very attractive either.
*sigh* I hate colds...

In 20 years of performing this has never actually happened to me...there was one time I had flu and there was simply no question of singing; other times I have been just about over or just about starting, so while the voice wasn't at its best I knew I'd be able to get through.
But right in the middle, can I, can't I...
GAH. Very grumpy and miserable

Go with lots of steam as already suggested and then, if you do sing (and you should be fine as long as there's no scratchiness in the throat - if there is, cancel - no joke...) try to keep your high notes purely in a thin fold setting (cry lightly into them, this will help the swollen folds make the stretch they need to get your high notes) then rest up totally afterwards to let the swelling go down in the folds.

Hope you get better soon and very good luck for the concert.

How was it for you, thouston?

Well, I survived! Sorry not to reply before - spent most of yesterday asleep...
Thanks for all your advice - and Rosfrog - the tip about how to sing through it worked a treat, so special thanks there! It made me sound a little like a choirboy, which given the material was no problem at all. I even got the killer high G-sharps in the the Bulalow in the Britten, which was most gratifying.
Got through the rest of the concert by miming most of it. Bit frustrating not to let rip with the descants to the carols at the end but sometimes discretion is the better part of valour.
On the mend now, should be in really good voice just as the concert season ends!

Incidentally, I have another technical question for Rosfrog...
What is happening physiologically when I can get these amazingly (for me) low notes when I have a cold? Obviously I must have the physical wherewithall to produce them, or it would never be possible. But when I don't have a cold I can't get anywhere near! I am much more familiar with what happens at the top end...over the years I have established that my physical limit is E-flat. Under no circumstances, ever, have I managed an E natural (in practice the top note I'd be prepared to sing in public is some way below that; I'm talking physical limits here). But I am much less familiar with the bottom end.
My teacher here has been working on my low voice, and it's all a new adventure. I'd like to know a bit more.

Hi Thouston !

So glad it went well and that the thin fold tip helped out.

To answer your question, low notes are usually obtained by relaxing the vocal fold and increasing vocal fold mass (either by shortening or actively slackening the folds) - when you're ill, your folds are going to be swollen and the increased 'mass' due to the swelling makes your low notes much easier to reach (it will usually add up to a minor third for little or no effort). The key to reaching these notes when you're not ill is to make sure that you're using a thick fold setting on the bottom (make the sound 'mmm' as if you're agreeing with someone, and feel where you're making that sound) - this will help you go down to your lowest notes. It won't be as easy as when you're ill, but as you said - the notes are there, you just need to have a strategy for getting them.

Keep the effort levels in the voice very minimal, and reduce as you go down the scale - eventually the voice will break into a kind of vocal fry sound - that's ok. By adding a little bit of twang to very small low notes (check out the thread on whistling and vocal folds for tips on this) you can create the illusion of a very loud and comfortable low note.

To help your teacher out, make sure that you're coming out of the thin fold setting as you come down the scale - come away from the head voice feeling and aim for a speech feeling down there.

Hope that helps !

Allan