Author: akintsucrooner

Our little bird Kiwi, whose species is prone to getting spooked, has officially made friends with her new step slide. #kiwi #conure #pet #parrot

I watch this tremendous film with a lump in my throat holding back tears. I continue to learn important and powerful American History shamefully not included in my Gen X history books. #SixTripleEight Tyler Perry #AmericanHistory
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt24458622/

The historic Six Triple Eight – also known as the U.S. Army’s 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion – is the largest group of Black servicewomen to serve overseas during World War II. In February 1945, the 6888th was deployed to Europe with a backlog of 17 million pieces of mail. The women were given six months to sort through the mail and ship it out. They completed the task in three months.

Time is a strange concept. Some days I drag along with the clock’s hour hand and other days I run out of precious minutes. Making music and challenging my musical abilities moves me rapidly through space that’s for sure. I am happy to say that I was able to restrain myself tonight from biting the nearby tenors and basses as they spun delicious choral tones on the Faure Cantique. In other news, my Lenten larynx is ready for some high, bright, and springy vowel motet singing. #singer #cathedralchoir #whatmakesmetick #faure #cantique #time #akintsucrooner

I am excited to share an upcoming recital with fellow Wagner voice faculty and pianist Giovanni Longo. I’m looking forward to the diverse musical menu on the program. Alyssa Click Hilary Baboukis Michelle Siemens Vincent Graña Julia Lamon Anthony Turner #voicerecital #Wagnercollege

I am grateful for my vocal coach Giovanni this past 8 years who knows my voice and picks out great rep for me. I’m currently learning Joseph Marx’s “Hat dich die Liebe berührt.” My favorite quote so far about the Marx piece is: “the on-going hand-crossing figures in the piano maintain the glow of lovemaking”. It is indeed a passionate piece. In other news, today I learned that Duparc wrote Chanson Triste at 21 in the midst of a mental health crisis. #singer #lieder #learningcurve

I have had the Robert Frost two roads diverged poem poster (above the mirror) since the 1990s. Somehow this poster has lasted 30 years of many moves and questionable storage. I will say the poster is solid card stock unlike the paper thin ones ya get these 21st century days. #robertfrost #tworoadsdiverged #lesstraveled

“The Road Not Taken”

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

~ Robert Frost

My voice was a happy camper tonight. This May, the Newark Cathedral Choir/Archdiocesan Festival Choir is performing the Haydn’s Creation with the NJ symphony. We began rehearing the score tonight. It was a true delight to fly free vocally in the symphonic choral arena with this classical soprano tessitura. The first time I sang the the Creation was in college in 1987 with Peter Tiboris at Carnegie Hall. It was my first trip to NYC and the energy of the big apple was electric. #newarkcathedralchoir #njsymphony #haydncreation

My first Willy Wonka was with my 4-8th grade in Chicago in 1996 starting an effervescent youngster Kristin Vanderbilt as Wonka. What a tremendous surprise I had today when she shared this superlative I gave her after the show that year. I recognize my verbiage but my handwriting after almost 30 years looks so different. I hadn’t yet lived in Vegas, Louisiana, and NJ; that must be it!😜 I am honored to have played a role in building the KV sarcasm monster. #Clissold #teacher #memories #willywonka #1990s #beverlychicago

By E. Perryman #akintsucrooner 1.30.2025

DAILY VOCAL USAGE: We use our voices for the majority of our teaching hours.  Once we have lost our voice, we realize even as non singers how important it is to keep our throat as healthy as possible.  In order to gauge my vocal condition, I use a percentage system so I best know how to circumvent challenges as they arise.

VOCAL HEALTHY PERCENTAGES: 

Why are percentages an important consideration?  Due to weather, illnesses, emotional challenges, sleep schedule, acid reflux and so on, we can wake up with various throat conditions.  Edema (swelling) happens on different parts of our vocal folds/different parts of our range and the result can be frustration inducing; perhaps why singers can be neurotic?;-)

The civilian gist is the following:

Vocal folds vibrate; sideways as you can see on the image. If we aren’t supported with our diaphragmatic breath and/or mis-using our heavy and light registers (chest/head/falsetto etc), our voice can become breathy and lose strength from vibrating on swollen cords.  Nodules (calluses on the cords) are a result of overuse of the voice when the cords are swollen.  Nodules can go away with rest and hydration but those most pronounced are hard to reverse.

100%-clear, easy, smooth, flexible, strong, no effort needed, expanded ability  

80%-accessible, reliable, predicable, warm up/technique  makes it stronger 

60%-warmup crucial, uneven, breathy, less strong/technique helps 

40%-cords swollen, weak, speaking difficult, breathy, hard to make sound 

EXTERNAL FACTORS

Barometric pressure

Lack of sleep

Aging (our muscles of our youth eventually get tired)

Eating too late at night

Colds/Respiratory illnesses

GERD/Acid Reflux

High stress

Significant emotional experiences

Vocal misuse (unsupported/speak with too much low or too much high)

Inauthentic production: we may like a certain sound but we need to speak with our authentic sound; affected speech can produce vocal health issues

PREVENTION/STRATEGIES

Be cognizant of the following: 

Eating/drinking foods especially acidic/high carb at night/alcohol is dehydrating

H20  You can never be too hydrated imo

If you don’t sleep, your body will react.  Find a way to rest.

Be aware of how you speak. Are you raspy and breathy?  

To find your core speaking voice, find where you live on a pitched instrument. Most people have a basic range once they can audiate their speaking voice. Not all people have healthy access to their low and high range/where they should healthfully speak.  If you find yourself losing your voice often, experiment through a vocal siren (think owl) and humming to find your natural tone on the breath.

Avoid starting sound with your throat; the good ole American glottal is hard on the voice.  When you speak a word and touch your throat and feel a glottal stroke, you’re speaking with your throat which aides swelling.   Practice putting a silent f before the word. Notice how it connects you to your breath support. Learn how this feels to avoid future dysphonia brought on by habits.

HOW TO FIX

Alexander technique (body-inhibiting drains all of us)

Non caffeinated tea with local honey and lemon

Steaming

Try Mucinex/Zyrtec/robitussin/allergy shots (I’ve had mixed results)

Gargle with apple cider vinegar

Use ginger 

Use a neti pot

Speak at the level of your fatigue/be gentle with swollen cords

Speak on your interest not principal sound

Use signals in class/be aware of how much you speak

Record yourself at different percentages; its fascinating

Sleep elevated

Use a humidifier 

Pace yourself when you speak even when healthy

Find your best vowel  (F with ee vowel helps me out when I  am at 60%)

A little motrin is helpful in the short term

Get a scope if voice doesn’t heal after a week

If you have to use your voice, last resort is prednisone (ask me about the MET)

——-

And sometimes, we just need to not speak and rest for a few days. EAP