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Barbershop quartet champ, vocal music teacher, & SD...
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Posted by: Al ® 08/29/2005, 15:57:32

Greetings: In 1997, my barbershop quartet won the state title (Michigan) and enjoyed a 2 year run of performances: National Anthem for the Detroit Tigers, Pistons, Shock (WNBA), and Vipers (OHL). We also did the Mitch Albom show (WJR radio), Fox 2 TV News, Michigan Inernational Speedway, Detroit Institute of Arts, etc. We broke up in 2000 due to my voice. I was losing quality especially on the high end. I did the usual parade of doctors/specialists/recommendations: general, ENT, therapist, lessons, massage, rest, and diet (had a lovely endoscopy - discovered I have acid reflux - I since take Prilosec). Finally, Royal Oak Beaumont Hospital said I had SD. Two doctor brothers put the camera down my nose and injected me through the throat. I was breathy for a bit but very quickly was back to my strangled speech. Tried Henry Ford Hospital. Did the side injection, assuming ABSD. Other than having difficutly swallowing, no real results. Heard Dr. Bastian (from Chicago) at a seminar and decided to try an injection from him. Again, after some breathiness, I returned almost immediately to my poor voice. Thus, I gave up any treatment and put my trust in God. Fast forward to 2005. My voice continues to deteriorate. It's a struggle to speak, takes lots of breath, I try to speak halfway through a breath, speakly loudly sounds terrible, singing is easier but doesn't have the quality I need. I'm quitting a vocal six part jazz group (that I love!) because I'm hurting our sound. (I though I could handle singing just low notes with a mike in my hand...) I use a mike at school, but even speaking softly is becoming a chore. On the positive side, because I gave up small ensemble singing (I still sing with a championship barbershop chorus), I turned to judging. After three years of training, I am a certified Barbershop Harmony Society Music Judge. {{{ta-da}}} Although I still trust in my Lord, I went back to Bastian a couple weeks back for another injection. (My attitude is better and perhaps this is what God is trying to tell me. heh-heh) My voice is weak, but speaking is effortless. He and I are pleased and we'll try a larger dose in a couple months. One of my problems is trying to find a suitable day to inject. Every week between now and Christmas has me obligated to do something where I need to have a decent voice: sing my last vocal jazz gigs, judge a barbershop contest (Toronto), run my own contest (Michigan), marching in Michigan State's Alumni band, etc. I reread Dot/Betty's book last night and was inspired to check out the NSDA site, thus my rants... Questions: 1) How many people are on this board? 2) What percentage are SD folk versus medical people? 3) Are there any other vocal music teachers or barbershop singers out there? Peace. Al Fisk Rochester, MI

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Re: Barbershop quartet champ, vocal music teacher, & SD... Re: Barbershop quartet champ, vocal music teacher, & SD... -- Al Top of thread Archive Posted by: Paula B. ® 08/30/2005, 04:24:24 Hi Al, Thanks for sharing your story with us. Also, welcome to this bb. This is a great place to be, and you will be able to find many who can understand exactly what you are going through, and you can get information, help, and much more. I found this board after seeing a local ENT (Ear,nose, and throat Dr). He sent me to the Bastian Voice Institute, where I was diagnosed with SD. I am sure you are in good hands. Dr Bastian and Dr Richardson are very good doctors. I have seen them both, and plan on seeing them many times more for relief when I need it. The last time I was there I was happy to see that I am not the only one around with SD, since there were many there for appointments too. :) I'm not sure as to how many people are on this board, but it has been around for years to my knowledge. I hope someone with the exact information that you asked for, in numbers, answers your questions. There are a lot of teachers on this board, and I know of some singers too. When I first came here, I read all of the pages on this board. I was so interested in learning everything possible about SD from people experiencing it. At the time, there only were about 8 pages. :) If you need to know anything, or have any questions, just ask, or you can search the archives for the information you need. I wish you the best, along with everyone else reading this, Paula (Chicago,IL) ADSD since Feb 2005 | Recommend | Alert Where am I? Original message Top of thread Current page Re: Barbershop quartet champ, vocal music teacher, & SD... Re: Barbershop quartet champ, vocal music teacher, & SD... -- Al Top of thread Archive Posted by: keith ® 08/30/2005, 12:29:20 Hi Al: Sounds like you've made quite some accomplishments in the vocal music world. I'm on the instrumental side of the fence, and teach instrumental music at the elementary level. For larger group situations I use a wireless mic system. I found it interesting when you said that you are "assuming" that you have AB. Has any ENT or neurologist specifically diagnosed you as having AB/SD? I'm just wondering, being that the muscles injected are obviously different for AB and AD. Since you referred to using lots of breath during speech, I think you probably do have AB, which is what I have. I tried botox twice, and neither experience was very good. I benefitted greatly, however, from speech therapy, although I also found out that there are speech therapists who know how to work with SD patients, and those who don't. The last two I had were excellent. If you feel excessive breathiness, you may be trying to force your voice too much from the larynx instead of keeping the pharynx very open and relaxed. Speech therapy taught me that you want to try and form your words near the front of the mouth, using the lips and mouth to help take the energy and focus away from the larynx. Keeping the tongue relaxed also really helps. Many people with speech problems that are due to instability in the laryngeal area, such as we experience, will suffer from either tongue depression or tongue retraction (where it keeps trying to pull back). The body does this instinctively as a way to try and compensate for the weakness in the larynx. In either case, the result is even more difficult speech. As a vocalist, I'm sure you're familiar with the 'yawn-sigh' concept to try and keep a relaxed, open throat. Anyway, to reiterate what Paula said, there are many teachers on the BB. I've run into several vocalists, actually more than instrumental. It sounds like you have a very good doctor in Bastian. I've heard that name many times. I hope you find some helpful suggestions, etc. on the board. Take care and best of luck, Keith AB/SD | Recommend | Alert Where am I? Original message Top of thread Current page Re: Barbershop quartet champ, vocal music teacher, & SD... Re: Barbershop quartet champ, vocal music teacher, & SD... -- Al Top of thread Archive Posted by: ron huggins ® 08/30/2005, 21:56:31 Hi Al, It's always good to hear from another musician. I'm absd, diagnosed in 1978. I've been a vocal music teacher all my life and due to retire in 4-5 years. Most of that time I've had SD. It can be a real bummer. Voice is always tired, and the schedule demanding even if I didn't have SD. I use an amplification system at school all the time now but I still have many bad days. My singing is limited to church and the classroom. I would love to have a strong voice again and not worry about how my voice is going to be everyday. But we go on believing we are stronger than this thing. Good hearing from you Ron | Recommend | Alert Where am I? Original message Top of thread Current page