hoW to care for YoUr Voice
8. Take some voice lessons
Every preacher could benefit from taking some voice lessons from a good vocal coach. Dr. Evan Chesney shared a lesson he learned early in his career: “My first teaching experience began when I taught remedial English at Southern Adventist University. After my first week of teaching, I had pretty much trashed my voice,
how to care for Your Voice
1. think of an occasion when your voice was affected either by sickness or poor voice care. What were your thoughts and feelings during that time?
2. Which of the eight practical suggestions for voice care listed in this chapter are you currently following in order to protect and preserve your voice?
3. What new insight have you gained from this chapter that will enhance your voice care?
Chapter 26 — refleCtion/disCussion questions
which was very frustrating since I was a vocal performance major. My voice teacher pointed out that I needed to learn to speak the same way I sing. Applying the same techniques when speaking that I used in singing—proper posture, abdominal breath support, proper vocal placement and projection—relieved the stress on my vocal cords, and I didn’t have any more trouble.”
Your voice teacher can help you avoid voice strain and provide some helpful strategies to protect your precious instrument.10 Old habits die hard, but it is pos-sible to change with discipline and practice. If you are experiencing a vocal disorder of some kind, your voice teacher might suggest you consult a physician because your vocal cords could be damaged and may require complete rest or even surgery.
Your voice is a precious gift. Do not misuse or abuse it. Make an effort to prac-tice good voice care. Be determined to use your voice to bring honor and glory to God.11
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Notes:
1. “How to Care for Your Voice.” Ministry July/August 2010. Reprinted by permission.
2. I am grateful to Mark Becker, Reyna Carguill, Dr. Evan Chesney, Gale Jones Murphy, and Dr. Julie Penner for their significant contributions to this article.
3. Gale Jones Murphy serves as a choral teacher at Brentwood Academy in Brentwood, Tennessee.
4. Dr. Evan Chesney serves as the minister of music at the Forest Lake Seventh-day Adventist Church in Apopka, Florida.
5. Alcohol and caffeinated drinks are also detrimental to optimal vocal performance. Alcohol causes constriction of the blood vessels in the vocal cords, causing a reduction in vocal control. Caffeine causes dryness in the throat and impairs a healthy rest cycle.
6. Reyna Carguill is a professional operatic soprano.
7. Mark Becker teaches voice lessons and directs choral and handbell activities at Forest Lake Academy in Apopka, Florida.
8. A healthy lifestyle is an important part of caring for your voice. An excellent resource for whole person health is CREATION Health, which is produced by Florida Hospital. You can learn more about CREATION Health at www.creationhealth.tv.
9. Dr. Julie Penner is the director of voice activities at Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, Tennessee.
10. Preachers need to learn how to use a microphone correctly. You should not adjust your speaking voice in an attempt to find the appropriate volume or tone. That is the job of the audio technician. Take time for an audio check. The equalizer levels (EQ) are different for speaking versus singing. Female voices may require less treble and male voices may require less bass tones.
11. An excellent user-friendly book on the use and care of the voice is The Performer’s Voice by Meribeth Bunch Dayme (New York, NY: W. W. Norton, 2005). For a more technical book on vocal pedagogy, Dr. Julie Penner recommends Your Voice: An Inside View by Scott McCoy (Princeton, NJ: Inside View Press, 2006). A helpful Web site on voice care is www.your-personal-singing-guide.com.
how to care for Your Voice
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