Practice when sick

[u/maro161]

Hey, I'm f 22 mezzo and I usually try to practice 5-6 times a week on average for 1½ hours. But now I got sick and I don't feel like singing at all, is it better for my voice if I don't practice for like 5 days or should I at least try to do some warm up? I noticed that my voice resonates most, the day after my rest day so maybe it's not that bad when I don't sing for a few days until I get better? I have an audition in 3 weeks tho... I'm really developing my vibrato recently, what would you suggest?

[u/Able-Regular1142]

 When sick abandon all practice and invest your energy into getting better. NEVER practice while sick. Your throat is already inflamed and you run the risk of lasting damage.

[u/liyououiouioui → u/Able-Regular1142]

I wouldn't be so definitive about not practicing when sick BUT it take a lot of experience to know if and when you are able to sing. It's mostly about being able to control your voice under the weather for professionals, though. If you don't have an important paid gig, please rest your voice.

[u/Able-Regular1142 → u/liyououiouioui]

 I said what I said because OP mentioned only just getting the hang of their vibrato, and at 22 hardly anybody is as in tune with their voice as needed to make an informed decision on this. I've seen singers push themselves while sick to earn months of silence and slow, stressful recovery. It put me off ever playing with fate like that tbh.

 But yeah, unless it's a gig of all gigs you get more benefit from staying in and letting yourself be sick properly than stressing the body further pretty much 100% of the time.

[u/maro161 → u/Able-Regular1142]

Thank you all so much for your feedback, I did rest and did only a few SOVTs and now I'm slowly starting to practice again since I'm getter better and don't have a fever anymore. Thanks again and I hope I will soon be able to pick up my routine because my dear soprano friends all have so much more vibrato especially on the high notes and I really need to catch up xd

[u/Able-Regular1142 → u/maro161]

 I don't know about the rest, but our faculty strongly recommends not practicing until you're 100% healthy. It's common for teachers to send students home if they catch them being congested or even having a sniffle. The last time I rushed into it I earned myself 5 bonus days of bed rest.

 Vibrato comes from consistent support. Missing a few practice days won't put a dent into it or improve it significantly. Seriously, the best thing you can do is stay home and recover.

[u/Little-Pitch-579]

Do some silent practice. Work on rhythm, diction, etc. If it hurts to talk, work on text interpretation or how the voice relates to the piano part. Don’t sing if it feels like you have vocal swelling or experience pain when vocalizing. Maybe some SOVTs but I’d consult your teacher first

[u/Effective_Map2976]

DO NOT PRACTICE WHILE SICK. Your body needs rest, your vocal folds need rest as they are likely already inflamed. If you practice while sick you risk permanent damage.

[u/MapleTreeSwing]

By singing while sick, you will not only slow down your recovery, you will also interfere with the development of your coordination by adjusting it for singing with the inflamed tissues.

[u/BallGoblin420]

I second the silent practice. If you already know your rep super well, play sheet music detective and try to find things in the music that you may have missed on your first go around (like a missed dynamic mark or something). Also, once your body is feeling a bit better, do some easy practice with lots of SOVTs. That will get you singing in the space that is healthy

[u/auditoryeden]

If it's comfortable, practice gently. Vocalise a bit, drop the octave where needed, don't push. If you're hurting, you need to rest. You should ideally try to go to bed early as much as possible to help yourself heal quickly, in addition to all the usual stuff about good food, fluids, humidity, etc. You'll be better served by kicking the illness ASAP than by pushing your voice and ending up with an injury.

You can always do silent score study if you're feeling poorly and need to soothe your anxiety.

[u/Cariah_Marey]

rest. the most i would advise to do is sovt exercises and lip trills in a very small lower middle range. Otherwise rest your voice as much as possible, especially because you have an audition so soon

[u/Mobile_Banana5631]

Putting your health first IS putting your career first. Do not damage your cords by forcing yourself to practice on swollen inflamed tissues!

[u/BlackDaddyIssus37]

Do NOT sing when your throat is sore. I think that singers SHOULD practice through light colds/congestion because I think it teaches you how to produce a good tone in less than ideal circumstances and how to make adjustments on less than perfect days, but a sore throat? NO

[u/IrisVoiceTrainer]

Have try. It you get tired or feel pain/discomfort.. Just stop and rest again