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Singing Through The Menopause
In recent years there has been much more recognition of the impact of the menopause on women. The terms ‘hot flushes’ and ‘brain fog’ have become part of everyday language and are talked about much more openly than was once the case. In the past, many women suffered in silence, while those who spoke up often had their symptoms misdiagnosed, misunderstood or dismissed.
With the increase in understanding about the menopause there is now more support and treatment available to help women deal with the particular physical and emotional challenges that this phase of our lives can bring. This is very good news indeed, but there are also things that we, as women, can do to help ourselves during this time of change.
Loss of concentration and motivation can mean that we give up on interests that we previously enjoyed. We may also find that we struggle with some activities, discouraging us from continuing with them. These pursuits, however, are really important for our mental wellbeing and can help to brighten up the more difficult days.
The Effects On Singing
When thinking about the menopause, the impact on our singing voice may not be first thing that comes to mind. Dryness is common during the menopause, affecting the skin and eyes in particular, but it also has an effect on our vocal cords. The latter vibrate together to produce sound, and they need to be lubricated in order to prevent irritation occurring. During the menopause, we may have the sense of our throat feeling scratchy and our voice having a rough edge to it. We may also be aware of subtle changes to tone and slight variations in the range of notes we can comfortably sing. Sometimes we can find it more difficult to sing at volume.
Have Your New Year Resolutions Lost Their Sparkle Already?
If you find you are already struggling with your New Year’s resolutions, you will not be alone! After the over-indulgences of the festive season (no matter our good intentions, we all tend to find ourselves eating more and exercising less!) the New Year has come to be viewed as a time for starting better habits and taking up new activities. While we may start these ventures with positive intentions, our resolve can quickly be weakened when we realize that some things prove to be less appealing in the cold light of day. Getting up early to go out for a jog may have the shine taken off it, after the umpteenth time you have returned soaked and wind-blown on cold January mornings!
Thank You For The Music
“Mother says I was a dancer before I could walk. She says I began to sing long before I could talk.”
ABBA - “Thank You for the Music”
That was me, apparently. Or so I’m told; I may be a little hazy on the details.
My first public performances were at the age of two, serenading the local grocer’s shop with the recently-released Tom Jones classic “De-wi-wah” (Give me a break, Ls are hard when you’re two!) The customers seemed to like it and fed me chocolate. Granted, this could have been to give me something else to do with my mouth, but hey, this was back in the days before I got all angsty and self-conscious about the sound of my own voice, and just sang for the joy of it.
At school I was considered a bit of a girly swot (Not entirely true - Couldn’t count then, can’t count now!); so when I dared to try out for an inter-schools singing competition, I was met with a positive tsunami of ridicule. I subsequently won the competition, but this seemed beside the point. The message was clear- you have no business calling yourself a singer. Lesson learned.
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Don’t Panic! How Learning To Sing Helped Me Deal With Panic Attacks
Breathing is something we take for granted. It comes as part of the package of being alive along with a beating heart and a functioning brain. We may feel that our brains work better some days than others, but our bodies keep breathing in and out without us having to give any thought to the process. The latter however is not the case for anyone who has had the misfortune to experience panic attacks. For those, the whole experience of breathing suddenly becomes a much less automatic response.
Cue The Panic Attack
I don’t remember when they started, or why, but I will never forget the rising sense of panic, the struggle to catch breath or the overwhelming desire to flee from wherever I was, as fast as I could. Supermarket queues were a frequent location. There was no logical explanation for this. I could make my away around the store, gathering the items on my list but once I got to the till area and had to stand in a queue, I would suddenly become acutely aware of the overwhelming symptoms of a panic attack. Along with the increased heart rate that made me feel as if my heart was about to burst through my rib cage, there was the light-headedness that caused buzzing in my ears and made stringing a coherent thought together almost impossible.
No Hairbrushes Required! Singing with Dynamic Meladies by Liz
I’ve never been one to parade in front of a mirror with a hairbrush microphone, doing a Kate Bush. But I always did like singing, after a fashion. Sadly, my own fashion, which was just a few notes in the middle and a squeak for anything high, and pot luck for the words. But that was ok, I only sang in the car.
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