With respect of the voice disorders and voice problems, the symptoms are pretty much similar - the hoarseness, the difficulty to speak and/or to sing, raspy-ness, cracking and spasming voice, mucous-y and crackling voice and thus, unclear enunciation and pronunciation and sometimes a very muddy, deeply drowned, voice.

The causes of the above, however, are all different.

As I mentioned in my previous blog, that for example, the cause of spasmodic dysphonia is an emotional and neurological disorder.

But with respect of the growth on the vocal cords like nodes, nodules, polyps, is just simply an unawareness of the proper application of the voice, speaking or singing.

Peculiarly enough, after a singer, for example, acquires some growth on their vocal anatomy, he/she becomes emotionally disturbed and troubled.

Now he/she too needs life coaching, to restore the emotional balance besides the physical one.

So, as you see, the symptoms could be quite similar, but the causes definitely could be vastly different.

With a singer or a speaker, I have to work more on the vocal anatomy itself, nourishing it with natural herbs and homeopathic remedies and teaching those people how to speak and sing properly, using the facial muscles in conjunction and coordination with the abdominal muscles, so that the pressure on the vocal anatomy would be minimized and practically eliminated.

Where with spasmodic dysphonia clients, granted, I also have to work on the application of the voice, but in total conjunction with the past and present events in their lives, which exponentially affect their vocal condition.

The life coaching in those cases, is very much so in effect there.

In both cases, we need to strengthen the vocal box itself, while concurrently to cleanse the body from the excess of mucous and other impurities.

The holistic teaching suggests: CLEANSE AND BUILD!

The body still is the "instrument", which has to be strong, vibrant and nourished.

The "player" has to be aware of how to extract the maximum capacity of that "instrument", and with the minimum effort, accomplish the maximum result.

In other words, I suggest to my clients to work smart and not hard, but with absolute awareness of what is happening in their physical bodies and what is happening to them emotionally.

All of those factors are crucial with respect of their voice/vocal performance on every level, so to speak.

In other words, collectively with my client, we need to address the cause of their condition before we advocate the structure of how to conquer it.

We both will work upon design and therefore, the success of our collective venture is inevitable.

Author's Bio: 

Diana Yampolsky is the Master Vocal Coach, Studio Vocal Producer, and Non-Surgical Voice Repair Specialist at The Royans Professional Vocal School in Toronto, Canada. She is also the creator of the Vocal Science (TM) method and Talent Scout and Director for the 4 A.M. Talent Development and Artist Management Group Inc.

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If you find yourself struggling with vocal performance or are in need of voice repair, you can reach Diana by email or phone, Toll Free in North America, at 1-888-229-TUNE (8863)