Adele and the Stigma of Vocal Injury

Good morning all you beautiful singers/teachers of singing! It is going to be another hot summer day here in the northeast, and that's just how summer is supposed to be! I love it. Summer is my favorite time of year. You can have all the winters you want, but please don't take my summer away!

We started the summer off right by traveling to Puerto Rico a couple of weeks ago for a much needed 7 day/7 night vacation. I tell you those beaches, the palm trees, the food, the music and the lovely people of that gorgeous island are something I will remember, especially on cold days that will inevitably return later on this year. Puerto Rico is a magical place to be. I know there are many political problems and financial problems there, but for the most part the people of the island seem happy. Must be the weather!

Ok, I've talked enough about the weather and our P.R. trip. It's time to get to the business of singing.

I have resisted talking about Adele and her recent vocal injury mostly because it is a topic that seemingly every vocal coach has covered or commented on in a FaceBook post, a blog or even a youtube video. As a huge Adele fan I found most of the comments were less than kind, some downright mean and others seemingly from self-righteous sounding vocal pedagogues claiming he or she had the answers to all of Adele's problems. Dr Gupta writes about this in the article I am sharing here.

Personally I applaud Adele for being so open about her vocal challenges and not trying to hide it or cover it up. What happened to this great artist could happen to any professional singer who is out on the road night after night, sleeping in hotel rooms that thousands of other people have slept in, flying on planes that circulate dirty, filthy air, eating food from restaurants that may or may not be sanitary, doing interview after interview in every town they perform in, and trying desperately to maintain a level of singing that sounds exactly like the recording of the artist's latest or past hits.

I found this article by noted laryngologist Dr. Renee Gupta and wanted to share it as it truly shines a light on the stigma of vocal injury.

http://www.ohniww.org/adele-voice-injury-canceled-concerts/

Adele and the Stigma of Vocal Injury | Los Angeles ENT Doctors ENT Specialists Top Surgeons

When I heard about Adele cancelling the last two performances of her tour, I felt profound sadness for her. I know how hard she has worked to endure injury,…

OHNIWW.ORG

From Georgia Carr 

singer/songwriter and recording artist

I consider myself to be one of the happiest singers in the world right now!  I am so delighted and deeply grateful that I have found such an amazing singing coach and mentor in Jeffrey Alani Stanfill.  So far I have had twelve transformational singing lessons with Jeff and I am singing for joy that my voice is back, stronger and more beautiful than ever.  

As a teacher, Jeff has an extraordinary blend of passion, experience, sensitivity and lightheartedness.  He is a veritable encyclopaedia of techniques and practices to help strengthen and support one’s natural voice.  His generosity in sharing everything he knows is amazing.

Together with his depth and breadth of understanding about how the voice works, how to keep the vocal chords healthy, and breathing practices to support you in your singing, I have thoroughly enjoyed every moment of my lessons and practices in between.  Because I live in Australia I have lessons via Skype which works brilliantly for me.  I record each session too so I can practice with those particular exercises throughout the week.

In 2015 after 9 months of losing my voice due a virus which caused pneumonia, thyroiditis and then laryngitis my vocal cords were in a terrible mess and my singing voice was very weak and unreliable.  

In 2016 my voice is completely healed and is soaring again.  I feel confident to sing my heart out effortlessly, and my range is both higher and lower than before.  Also my understanding of what I need to do to keep my voice healthy has broadened enormously through my coaching lessons with Jeff.  

I couldn’t recommend Jeff more highly.  His extraordinary skill, warmth, generosity and integrity shine through every lesson, and I am profoundly grateful to have found him, and privileged to be learning so much from him.  Thank you Jeff!

Good morning all of you beautiful singers/teachers of singing. It's a cold, cloudy day here in the the northeast, so what better time to learn more about the voice and some awesome Voice Soaring tips! The picture you see here was taken at my studio home in New York at the Ripley Grier Studios. I have been teaching there for 18 years and am so fortunate to teach so many amazingly talented singers at that studio. In the picture attached you see my lovely student Bijou using an old fashioned toy called the Floating Ball Game. I was first informed about this fun little toy by my dear friend, student and fellow vocal coach Ruth Ratliff. I remember Ruth coming to a lesson one day with the Floating Ball Game for me to try out. I was amazed at how much abdominal effort was required to get that little ball to float! At first I couldn't get it to stay in one position, and it (the ball) would either go flying off to the other side of the room from too much air pressure, or would simply drop on the ground. Once I found just the right amount of air pressure, I was able to make the ball go up, spin in one position and then gently come down to the holder. I began taking this little device to voice lessons to let my students try it out. Each of them had the same challenges I had and each noticed how much abdominal control it took to get the ball to float! I asked them where they felt the resistance in their abdominals, and without fail everyone of them pointed to the center of their abdominal muscles just below the diaphragm. These are the same muscles that we use to control the stream of breath for singing and especially for holding a high note. These are also the muscles that create "compression" for singing. I am currently in the pre-production stages of a video for my YouTube channel which will cover as much of what I know/understand and teach about compression. So stay tuned! Until then, you can find the Floating Ball Toy on Amazon.com for anywhere from $3.00-$8.00. It's a fun and will really work those abdominals so necessary for the sustaining notes! Peace and harmony to you all! Jeff