Hello,

I'm 16 years old and I used to be able to able to sing excellently, freely and on key throughout my entire range but 3 days ago, I woke up and after warming my voice to rehearse for a performance, i found that I was struggling to sing and maintain a note.

This was big surprise to me because other times when i rehearsed, the song was a piece of cake and i was able to nail it, now....i feel the same way i felt from day one - when i couldn't sing at all, before i went in for my very first singing lesson.

I can't seem to hold a note properly, and my vibrato is messed up. I used to feel comfortable enough to listen to my own voice in a recording, now - when i record myself and play back, i hate listening to it! It sounds very breathy. Its like, the past few years of practising and developing my range has disappeared and i'm back to square one.

I'm Absolutely sure, i didn't "over-do" it or strain my voice the day before i came across this problem. However there is a slight feeling of aching in my throat. And i don't mean like a tummy ache, but the feeling you get when you sob or cry really hard and then it feels as if something is trying to jump out of your throat afterwards.

Has anyone experienced this before? I hope its only temporal. Its the third day this has been happening and next week in school, (since i have the part of tony in west side story) we're going to start working on the songs. :-(

Thanks in advance for all help, advice and suggestions!

Hi there !

Can you post a clip or recording so we can hear it? It will be easier to help you find out what it is if we can hear it.

What does your teacher say?

Has your voice finished breaking?

It could be several things, but if we can hear it we can either give you an exercise to help, clarify what's causing it or point you to the relevant specialist who will be able to help (ENT doctor etc) - it may be just a laryngeal infection (in which case rest is the best solution).

It's almost impossible to break your voice definitively, it's a very resistant instrument - if you were doing vocal damage, you'd have felt scratching or tickling in the larynx over repeated periods of time - if these sensations aren't happening, then it's unlikely to be anything too sinister.

Drop us a recording!

Hello rosfrog, thank you for replying.

I wont be seeing my teacher for a while as she is on holiday. As for my voice breaking, i do remember that my teacher mentioned it might have already broken. I'm not feeling any scrating or itching in my throat as you described which means i don't think it its damaged (phew!) although it does SOUND damaged.

The ache feeling has gone now in my throat and i'm managing to hit all my old high and low notes fine now however, its just the sound of my voice, something dosen't sound right....

As for the recording, i've PMed you a link, let me know what you think...

Thank you!
Wolfie

Hey Wolfie !

I got your recording and replied - it might be worth posting the link here - or at least asking which other teachers would be prepared to take it through PM - then you can get a few different opinions.

Your voice isn't damaged though - as I said in my PM it's two very simple things I'm hearing.