On Vocal Rest

So I've been put on vocal rest.  I'm not even supposed to talk. This is harder than it sounds ( no pun intended )

DAY 02

About 2 months ago I somehow managed to catch a chest infection/cold, along with a pretty nasty cough. I got it right after my show at Howl At The Moon.  I suppose it's possible that I caught it from the microphone or from someone in the club.  I then foolishly performed a show and had a rather long band rehearsal before I had fully healed.  This ended up in me having to cancel my performance at the ENUF event.  I hate having to cancel shows.  But my voice was sounding so damn awful I was almost unable to sing at all. This really worried me as I've heard a lot about damaged vocal chords. I immediately sent out an e-mail to some of my most trusted and experienced singer/vocal coaches. Low and behold I got replies from all of them with lots of great suggestions and tips. Brenda, Kira and Jeannie you are all stars in my eyes! Also Helen Austin for the great tips she gave me via Facebook :)   I took every bit of advice from each of them, I have also gone ahead and purchased a copy of Jeannie Devas Vocal Warm Up CD to help rehabilitate my vocal chords.  I have just over a week to get them in shape before my next show.  I've put myself on complete vocal rest until the my next show at Howl At The Moon on July 11th. By Complete I mean no talking at all let alone singing.  This is proving to be extremely hard! Not to mention frustrating! I'm sitting here typing this while I drink some homemade Ginger Tea, Something Jeannie Deva suggested I do to promote healing. I've had slight vocal strain in the past but nothing as bad as this. I just finished the Ginger Tea. It was pretty good! I peeled and sliced up some raw ginger and boiled it to make the tea.  I added some artificial sweetener to get rid of the edge.  I'm trying to lay off the sugar as it's bad for the voice.

All in all I'm feeling very confident that my voice will be back in good health by the end of the week.  I will keep a blog update on my progress.  I've been on voice rest for almost 2 days, I've been supping on Bach, Rescue Pastilles, (Thanks Brenda)  drinking Ginger Tea and Organic Throat Coat Tea.  I also have some Natural Licorice which is good for the throat.  Oh and lots and lots of water!

Here are some links to my amazing friends who have been such a great help :)

Jeannie Deva
Brenda Lee Eager
Kira Alvarez
Helen Austin

And thanks to Johnnie Ferro for calling to make sure I was OK and also giving me some helpful advice :)

Johnnie Ferro

From now on I'm gonna take better care of my vocal chords.  They're so delicate.  Check this video out to see for yourself.

Around 3:10 into the video