Question for all you singers...

[Bacchante]

Is it normal for your vocal range to increase if you sing while sick? I had an awful flu a few weeks ago, screamed for an album with a semi-sore throat, lost my voice, and now my voice has changed noticeably. It has more "texture" I guess, and It's making it easier to sing...It's really weird. I'm now able to sing much lower/higher than I previously could.

WTF, is this normal???
This always happens when I sing with a sore throat/laryngitis...I've had other people tell me the same thing happens to them. What do you think about it?

 

[Myke Havoc]

Strange.

The throat isn't really supposed to get sore if you sing, as the air is supposed to simply pass through. If you're pushing, then I suggest looking up techniques to help kick habits that will diminish your range and ability over time.

As for being sick, its much better to rest and not push yourself. Doing so may only make it worse and prolong your inability to sing at full potential.

 

[Will Bozarth]

Same thing with me, only my range just goes lower, not higher.

 

[Dead Winter]

It depends if you're singing or screaming, and if you're using your throat (hopefully not) instead of your diaphragm.

If you sing over a long period of time (years) and you just sing every now and then, you'll notice that slowly but surely your range will get a little better. It's just like any other muscle in your body; if you exercise it properly, you'll have more resistance and will be able to do more things easier. However, I'm like Will...my voice is slowly getting lower but mainly because I'm getting older. At the same time, I can hit notes I once couldn't simply due to practice and my vocal chords are used to being used in a certain way. Singing 20 Alice in Chains songs every concert tends to limit your high end over time, however...especially if you're not Layne Staley.

I can belt out Man in the Box maybe once when I'm warmed up, but if I have to do it repeatedly, my voice is going to break. There is a physical limit to everyone's voice no matter how you sing. So to answer your question, your vocal chords are probably warmed up and used to being used in this way if you do it fairly often. Drinking lots of fluids, exercising, and warming up properly so you don't blow out your voice helps too.

 

[Bacchante]

I definitely noticed that my range mostly broadened with lower notes...which I'm stoked about.

It's possible that I'm just getting older and my vocal range is adjusting.

And I agree...singing while sick is a bad idea, I don't want them vocal cysts. It's just sometimes the urge to sing overrides my ability to think logically, haha @_@