Is it sounding like noise?

"The difference between sound and noise, is that noise is unwanted."

There is much in the media at the moment about wind farms. In particular about their viability as an alternative energy source. The government is concerned about the  “Noise” they make. There is an excellent paper outlining all that relates to wind farms, "noise" and their development for anyone who wishes to know more."The noise emissions associated with Wind Farming in Australia".

Windfarms create high levels of infrasound and low level frequency noise. 
They say you can have a normal conversation standing underneath a wind turbine. 
Those who oppose the wind turbines say that these infrasonic frequencies might release endorphins that won't let people relax: it might interfere with our brain waves. There is much that we don't know yet about sound and all of its properties. What we do know is that coal can be hazardous for many reasons. It was certainly a respiratory hazard, with other adverse health effects, acknowledged by  the Royal Commission into the Hazelwood Open Cut Mine Fire in 2014.  

Sound can be classified into different frequencies. The frequency is the speed at which it vibrates per second: Interestingly, Hertz is the German word for Heart. I remember at University delighting in the coincidence: the possibility that something at a higher frequencies might have a higher “Heart"
Just so you know...
Infrasonic: below 20z
Ultrasonic: above 20000 Hz
Supersonic: (faster than the speed of light). 

Where I am living in the urban bush (the middle of a State Park) presently, there are 3 sonic mice repellants plugged into wall sockets. Apparently, they are working well here, as before there were lots of mice in the house. I haven’t seen any, nor heard any (which is nice!). It seems like the dawn of a new implementation of technology, with sound being used to repel many animals. Using a phone app can exude the correct infrasonic frequency to repel mosquitoes. The mosquito frequency sits between 9.6 and 18.2 Hz depending upon the many factors that affect when mosquitoes come out to eat. Mice frequency sits higher at 32-62 Hz. And, just for some extra knowledge those dog and cat whistles are ultrasonic, being at 20000-25000Hz, out of our human hearing range. Check out our human Ranges of Hearing.

Just because we can’t hear something as humans, doesn’t mean it is not “hearable” (audible) It still means that it exists and we may just need the correct instruments to measure the sonic patterns. It can still affect us, possibly in both positive and negative ways. Here is a great story of a hearing impaired man who is recording the wifi landscape.  Wifi also has an infrasonic frequency and it is growing rapidly around us. Most homes these days in our modern, urban world are connected to Wifi and yet no one says their Wifi is noisy. (They may and do voice concerns about it in our environment).

We have found and are still finding all sorts of uses for these sound frequencies. 

As I sit here writing this, I have the crackle of the open fire, birds singing in the late pre-spring sun and the constancy of the Yarra River that never seems to stop making sound. I have been wondering whether the river is classified as white "noise", or pink "noise". As the river is near the rapids, apparently, it is more like red noise. It is loud and constant and took me a long while to get used to it.  I wrote a poem about the sleepless nights, called RiverBed.

All these colours remind me that there are rainbows of colour in light and that through the light we can see the colour. Messiaen was certainly a composer who used particular scales as they represented particular colours, and it is the Synesthete who often will say they see colours when they hear music. How exactly are light and sound related, and how do we explore this in more depth? I am indeed curious. 

The many different coloured noises are also amazing. Pink noise is white noise, with a predominance of lower frequencies so it sounds deeper.Pink noise affects tides and river heights, our heart beat, and the firings of single neurons. Pink noise can be found in pitch and loudness variations in speech and music.

White noise has been used as a remedy for tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and some people turn their radios to off the dial to get this white noise, and there are a multitude of you tube videos as well as sleep CD's to assist those who hear the constant zing. 

There is a voice and speech exercise that focuses on garnering the breath to sustain fricative sounds. The first is ssssss, which is “white noise” The second is shshshsh, which is pink noise.

Interestingly, a study in one of the big four banks here in Australia revealed that with piping pink noise through their speakers, there were less reported complaints. So perhaps pink noise is a key in achieving harmony…So much yet to discover about these frequencies. 

Back to wind farms....Engineers are looking to Owls for creating  the best blade design for wind farms, as Owls are renowned for hunting and flying soundlessly and they are keen to make blades that emit the smallest amount of "noise". We are on the cusp of this new advancing technology. 

What are your thoughts?

Riverbed

 The river of Sound

is endless.

Ongoing

Never ceasing

Overflowing

At night

In the dark

It feels like it is running

Through my bed

Through my head

Through my clothes

In my toes

The sound

The noise.

Breathing in to welcome the day

Breathing out

The river

The stream

The consciousness

The very life of this city

Is outside my window

Flowing to the sea.

It bursts along

Droplets flowing

Never knowing

The sound they’re making

In a quaking

Me into another night

Of no sleep.

The presence of the sound is strong

In the valley

With the birds

With the trees

Nature delights

Nature’s delight

Irritants and the voice

Is it irritating to be a Diva?....the importance of nose breathing.

The subject of voice and irritants arises, often amongst professional voice users, such as teachers and singers. Not for who is irritating to listen to instead speaking of irritants in our environment. Teachers, Actors and Singers can work in environments with dusty, dry and sometimes chemically laden air.

I have had clients who have suffered from sudden (and often violent) allergic reactions, from aeroallergens and irritants such as cedar trees, perfumes, grasses, spray'n'wipe amongst others. Most people, understandably,  get a fright when they realise that they can't breathe.
Most people try to talk while they are still coughing. Often not pausing to inhale again, concentrate of the breath and relax more fully. For some, it is almost as if the cough is in itself an irritant, and, by pushing through it, it will just go away.

There is a great article on aeroallergens and the voice. The difference between Asthma attacks and Vocal Cord Dysfunction is explained well here. 

So if we are afflicted with a sudden change of breathing, we might think  "G*sh, I don't know what this is, but its making it hard to breathe, and I'm coughing" Do we stop? Do we push on and keep talking or singing?

I was in a group voice class the other day. It was utterly delightful. There was a free and open feeling in my voice aided by incredible ease of lung expansion and long and easy breaths. I found my range exhilarating, and it was one of those beautiful times where everything felt wonderful. I was in the zone. There had been noise of construction outside the studio space all morning, and suddenly the smell of burning tar entered the building. It was intense. Before I could "breath in through my nose", I had open-mouth inhaled air laced with the smell particle of hot, burning asphalt.

What to do? I stopped. It stopped the class. I didn't really want to speak, as I was trying not to cough, so I quietly mentioned the smell. I then started to cough a little. I was grateful for the many hours of sessions as well as professional development i have done on chronic cough as well as keeping the throat open. I was sure there was "nothing" in my throat, despite the urge to voraciously clear the living daylights out of it. So I sat with it. Quietly. Inhaling through my nose, and breathing out through pursed lips, and implementing other techniques as I needed to. It was highly uncomfortable.  I knew that it would pass, and I would have to be patient.

It was the last half hour of class, so I didn't participate. Even though I really wanted to. It didn't feel right. I didn't have my breathing sorted nor my airways feeling easy and open. Breath is the very foundation of our being. It is the floors to our house, our canvas to our paint. I felt a bit "Diva-ish" sitting on the sidelines, whilst the rest of the class continued. And it was that feeling that made me feel uncomfortable as well as the throat sensations. I also was grappling with the 'but it had felt so great, and now it feels so horrible". However not panicking. Breathing.

It got me thinking afterwards. When is it that we push through and keep voicing? I mean in survival situations of course we would have to. It also raises the idea of what you might perceive to be a "survival" situation: If you were in a show and had one of these allergic reactions, would you still keep going? Would it depend upon how much you valued your voice (or how much monetary value it had)? If you were a Diva at LaScala, would you stop and if you were in an amateur chorus would you stop? And who would urge you to keep going? Yourself or the Director? And yes, it does gets complex. Do we place a value on our vocal health? And when is it valid rather than 'overdramatic'? It is a tightrope that we walk on at this time: knowing our body, knowing our obligations, and ensuring we honour both as much as is possible.

These sorts of allergic reactions are largely invisible. Initially for me, there was coughing and shortness of breath, with lingering different sensations. The desire to throat clear was defintely present: If I had entered into a state of guilt such as  "They must think I am putting it on" I could perhaps have indulged in some level of vocal theatrics and throat clearing to ensure that everyone would know it had indeed affected me. And if I had panicked, I might have closed my throat and became even more breathless and sure that "something is in my throat". Instead, I was silent. I moved towards people to speak with them gently and succinctly. I remained mostly silent, sipping water, swallowing.

It also raises the concept of internal versus external circumstances that we can change. Externally, I could have left the space, but would have been confronted by the tar men right outside the door. I went to the kitchen to see if I could get water and boil the kettle to steam, but indeed the kitchen smelt worse than the studio. So I turned my focus to my internal situation. Luckily, I had an understanding teacher that knows about Vocal Health and was supportive of the decision.

So instead, I waited, inhaled, exhaled and repeated this pattern for a while. And eventually, I had a cup of hot water, after I had "steamed" the water from the cup.

So a silent Diva of sorts...



Some practicalities.......
Why is it important to nose breathe?

Well, basically nose breathing warms, filters and humidifies air. The nose acts like a screen against anything unwanted coming into the lungs. Fumes, dry, dusty air, smoke can all be triggers for "irritants" and it usually catches us unawares. For some who have significant reflux, they may have a sudden "meeting" with the acidic taste in their mouth and throat. 

Why is it important not to throat clear?
The same cartilages in the voice box that come together gently for speaking, bang against each other strongly. It can cause swelling and irritation...and the desire to throat clear even more. The analogy of a mosquito bite comes to mind. 

What can I do if this happens to me?
Remove yourself from the irritant if it is possible, or place tour hand or scarf over you nose and mouth.
Breathe through your nose and out through gently pursed lips.
Sip water, swallow strongly.
Try not to clear your throat.
Gently hum if you are unsure and see how that feels to make sound. 
Don't panic!

Hamam songs

The seven lights on the steamed dome roof seemed to call in the seven sisters of the Pleiades. We numbered seven in the room who were singing.

A while I was privvy to an evening of bathing decadence at some outdoor thermal springs in the middle of winter. The moon was waning, and the night sky was darkened. Cloudy at first, and later a glorious web of stars in the sky was revealed.

Might I say that it was not myself nor my 2 companions who started the sound. It was a group of 4 young people: 2 with booming bass notes and 2 girls who sat cross legged as if opening themselves up to the wonders around them with open throated "ahhhhh's". What gloriousness to be spontaneously creative. Was it also due to the dome, the curvature, the essence of water or of the slight vision altering of the steam that made it easy to commune and make sound with people not yet met. The unifying nature of the voice and sound was palpable and powerful. Together we made sounds that luxuriated, reverberated and rejoiced. Hearts full with beautiful intentions of making sound to fill the wondrous space around us.

"Sacred chants paid as much attention to the way the tone was reached as to the tone itself- just as a true lover considers the way he or she approaches the beloved as important as the act of love itself" Rudhyar

The joy of hearing others make sound. The pleasure of making reverberations  enhanced the beauty of the environment. New friends made, new joys shared.

I heard one of the girls say "As she sang... I felt my whole body release"

A special gift from above that said "People want to use sound to be happy, to release, to be social"

Freedom from the inner critic

"Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains" Jean-Jacques Rousseau

There is so much information these days on how to manage our inner dialogue. Through our favourite search engine, there are a multiple different strategies. Often our inner dialogue, especially if it is negative, can get in the way when we are performing, public speaking, or even speaking to someone new in a personal setting.

I have done a great deal of work with clients over the last year, especially for performers in the area of the inner critic. I have to observe it in myself as well, otherwise the critic can suddenly explode and can lead to overwhelm and confusion. That internal dialogue of negativity stops us from being open, expressive and at ease with ourselves and our body. It is sometimes the inner critic that usually tends to trigger our adrenaline system. I draw on principles of mindfulness, as well as performance psychology to arrive at the easiest and most successful outcome for those that I see.

When we criticise ourselves, we respond with feeling under attack and our muscles tense. It creates a defence by tightening and tensing muscles. For many I work with, this judgement sits in the mouth and throat area and tightens the jaw, tongue, lips, neck and throat. So when we are looking for an open throat and jaw free from tension to obtain a free voice, it proves to get in the way (to say the least).


"Why do lock yourself up in these chains? No one can change your life except for you" Wilson Philips

Indeed why do we have such a harsh critic? What stops us from being more gentle with ourselves, for forgiving ourselves? Some of the things we might say to ourselves are mean, or nasty, or untrue, or based on something that happened when we were much younger. I often have clients who say that it was their year 3 teacher that told them they could not sing, and they haven't questioned it since!The first step is to be aware of when and why we do it, without criticising ourselves (using many of the mindfulness techniques).Is there a way of getting out of our own way and altering the stress-tension pattern. 

Below is one of the most interesting ways to view "stress"that I have seen. "Stress"is a term oft used and over-used: many of us glorify being "busy". Are we more obsessed  with "outcomes" in our modern world? I read recently that perhaps all we need is one life changing idea and it would alter our life forever. I doubt it would come in if we were frantic and focusing on our lack of time.

"Stress-tension-release-relaxation
 Stress-tension-release-rela
 Stress-tension-relea
 Stress-tension-stress"  King

We are not generally in the habit of releasing, nor relaxing as a general rule in Western society. The art of relaxing and releasing is often lost in our busy world and certainly stating to someone that we have had a great time dreaming and daydreaming lately may be met with considerable disdain. Or a judgement of being lazy....or in some circles extremely lucky. Distractions  and addictions are more common, rather than "releases" and focusing inward and reflecting. We may find that during the week, or during a rehearsal period, we are either at maximum speed or passed out on the couch.  Have we lost the balance?

So, as we focus on the doing in daily life, without breaking the tension, the stress cycle continues to develop and the inner critic rejoices that we haven't stopped, so that we may be successful and productive. I often wonder about some of the young corporate individuals who come to see me, as they often are unable to see that their bodies have any level of "stress". They no longer even recognise that they need to release, and they look at me as if i am quite mad to suggest that they need to actively release, focus on themselves, their breath, become grounded and flow again. How can this co-exist in their life? Especially if they are working 16 hour days, as well as weekends. What makes us then stop? 

For a lot of us, if it remains unchecked,  stress and tension continue to build. For many of my clients it is their voice, jaw or breathing that is affected. For some, I feel that their voice is giving them a warning to address their vocal symptoms. And sometimes, we need to know that we inhabit a space internally where it is safe to let go. For many perfomers and those that are more sensitive, being in a supported space with someone else can allow the release to occur. Sometimes it can feel too big to do on our own, especially if the critic is playing a heavy hand.

Here is a great video on the inner critic as suggested by Joyce di Donato, famous classical operatic soprano. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=Mgb-kIZcOI4 She speaks of how everyone who performs has to silence that voice in our head that gets in our way. And it is great for any non-perfomers out there too. 

We have the capacity to tone our nervous system and our thoughts. We do not always have to be busy or stressed. We can learn to re-engage our calm nervous system (Parasymapthetic) We need to target our thoughts and our body and listen to them intently and with compassion. 

So some thoughts on finding more internal space:

How can we luxuriate more? How can we structure less?  How can we thank our internal critic for all it gives us, and then allow it to take a back seat and listen more to our inner voice? How can we give ourselves full permission to discover the walls that confine and bind us? For in that must led to increased freedom and ease.

When we are free mentally and emotionally and physically, then we can resonate vocally. Find flow again, find more freedom, in our voice and in our life.... xx

"The human voice is the organ of the soul" 
Henry Longfellow

Riding the waves

"Let us sail beyond the sunset...."

Perhaps it is that time of year in the Southern Hemisphere where the summer heat evokes daydreams of luxurious warmth and warm breezes, but I seem to be talking to everyone about the images of waves. Personally, I love the water: to be floating, swimming, resting in the salty sea. The ocean is enticing, and awe-inducing all at once. It can move from still to stormy in a short space of time, much like our internal selves at times.

What I have been reflecting on is  how do we weather our internal storms? 

Riding the waves of emotion requires a surfboard of sorts, or even a boat that can be anchored. Many of us head out to "sea" with no lifejacket and no idea about what some of the dangers might be and so we retreat quickly back to shore with emotions that have not fully run their course and with a memory that the experience was overwhelming, or close to. The best known surfboard that I know is in the power of our breath. With the breath we can we ride any wave and not be dunked by it, overwhelmed by it and not left gasping and panicked. 

Part of the adrenaline response in our nervous system is to alter our breath, allowing us to get ready to flee/fight/freeze, even if the danger is only in our psyche and not physically in front of us.  Our breath becomes shallow, or at times lost, unavailable and foreign.

How do we recognise that our breath is powerful and provides a sense of centre for us to come home to? Feeling the sensation of the breath through the nostrils, the ribs expanding, the feeling in the lower back and the rise of the chest is a great start for we then physically can feel our body, even when all else seems foreign. We breathe, therefore we are or Respira ergo sum. 

Most people urge people to take a deep breath. however i prefer the idea of a long breath out first that then allows an easy inhale. 

Some waves are especially enormous. A wave of grief or anger can be more like a tsunami that can throw us off balance. In this confusion, how may we find that moment between reaction and considered action? The "space of time" where perhaps we can make the nanoseconds longer so we can stay with ourselves, our connection, our intention and our truth and not be lulled into the crazy making of reactions and "over-reactions". We know that time is not linear....if someone is 2 minutes late to pick us up in the pouring rain versus 2 minutes being deep in conversation with a long lost friend, time takes on a totally different characteristic. The breath can tap into this timelessness, and enable us to see the world, and ourselves more clearly. It can give us the space we are needing when we need it the most.

We often only reach this place where we need to know the importance of breath when we discover something else within us. It may be when the shore looks too horrible, grey and dank or that beyond the waves there is a glimpse of possibility of newness, or in the process of delving into a performance role. Paul Theroux said "as a traveller we don't know where we are going".

We trust that the path ahead will unfold, step by step, breath by breath. "Let us sail beyond the sunset...." 

How might we take a leap of faith and harness our inner most breath, so that we might be able to be in deep connection with ourselves. To be on top of the wave, and then land safely onto new unchartered, and unspoilt shores. 

So close your eyes for that's a lovely way to be
Aware of things your heart alone was meant to see....

Don't try to fight the rising sea
Don't fight the moon the stars above
and don't fight me...

By now we know the wave is on its way to be
Just catch the wave don't be afraid of loving me.

The Wave" by Tom Jobim,

"Voice Rehab"

"The wound is the place where the light enters" Rumi

I saw an old friend last night who had been seeing the limitations of themselves in relation to their injury. We do this. We limit ourselves. What happens when we are no longer able to do the things we were doing effortlessly and pain-free before? How can we not be hard on ourselves or punish ourselves, or as my lovely friend Sara says 'let ourselves off the hook'. Why is injury judged and what makes one judge it?

I had an accident back in June, and suffered whiplash (not for the first time either), with ongoing treatment being required. How may we work ourselves out of an injury? So many questions spring to mind. Is it easier if we have a high level of technical knowledge pre injury? Does it make it harder or easier if we have awareness about what is happening to us?  Where does our fear sit when we have an injury? Do we go into fear at all or is it all encompassing? If we know more what might go wrong, how difficult is it to surrender and allow healing and recovery to take place? How can we move out of the emotions that might be overwhelming, and move to a place of acceptance? What we know is that when we focus our intention upon the present and plan for the future that lies ahead, with all its unknown qualities, it leads to an easier path.

As a Speech Pathologist, my role is mulitfarious in terms of recovering the injured voice.  I create structures and guidelines (often quite strict) for my clients in order for them to rehabilitate vocally. Not to whisper, shout, sing, or in some instances talk much at all, depending upon the injury or infection. It is a big ask for someone to stop speaking, or at least, speaking as much as they used to. To stop singing, even for a short time, can feel as if someone is asking them to be one handed. Often as an explanation, in our voice clinic, we use the analogy of a vocal athlete. It is a wonderful analogy, so much so I created a business from this model www.vocalathletics.com Singers and other professional voice users are our vocal athletes. The opera singer sings a marathon night after night. (Wagner may be a double marathon!) But so is the local school teacher who runs the equivalent of 25km a day!

We usually don't think twice about an AFL footballer or elite sportsperson doing a "corky" or a "hammy" or sustaining an injury, especially at the elite level. In some ways we almost expect that this might happen. Post injury, these sport players get elite and frequent rehabilitation.The media reports on it (as a general rule) without punishment or blame and gives regular updates on how players are recovering. Not so, it seems, with elite singers. The recent surgeries of the likes of Adele and John Mayer received less coverage. We don't know who their surgeons were (unless we look extensively on the web), or what their rehabilitation was like. I could not find out who their Speech Pathologists were. It seems enshrouded in secrecy, as if these voice difficulties are best hidden. At the other extreme, such as in the case of Julie Andrews, negative publicity was generated because of her poor voice outcome. She later teamed up with those same surgeons in an effort to promote their work and raise awareness of these issues surrounding the voice.

Most of my clients, particularly those from the media or international/national singers do not want to be known to have had "Speech/ voice therapy". Obviously,  I respect their privacy fully, as it seems that they feel that they too may be judged from this. If they had a personal trainer to get a great physique, we would know about it, I am sure.

I speak highly on both a personal and professional level of the amazing specialist voice physio Annie Strauch of Performance Medicine Physiotherapy. A sports physio for the vocal athlete! Is neck tension and a tired larynx something to be ashamed of? I do not always think so, especially if our technique is good. Is it because they think they have done something wrong? Does an AFL player blame themself for their injury(ies)?  I do hope that this attitude is one that will change in future years, and that voice rehabilitation is not something to b ashamed of. The more awareness we have of the voice and how we can look after it well, the better, in my opinion. We are not flawless human beings with flawless medical histories.

So. look after your precious voice: "You don't know what you've got till its gone...they paved paradise and put up a parking lot" Joni Mitchell

With voice injuries, I always suggest that a sound structure goes a long way- an email outlining what has been happening (usually a set of 3-4 varied emails depending upon who the recipients are) as well as a voice message on phones (recorded by them or somebody else) that suggests an sms or email is the preferred as a way of contacting them whilst they are having difficulty. This does help to take some of the pressure off the repetitive nature of retelling the story and the injury. Could we imagine the person with the "hammy" standing up and re-enacting the dreaded scene and showing us the same pose that they were in when they were injured. No. No, I think not. Yet the voice is perceived as different. It is of course, and yet also needs some of the same treatment.  

In terms of "real life", others judgement and concern certainly happens quickly. The questions usually come when they least want them; scuttling out to get milk and the cashier says- "oh, what is wrong with your voice, you should really get that checked out. You sound dreadful". Or friends who are wanting to be supportive and want to talk all the time with them. How do we say what is in our hearts when we are not able to use our speaking voice? How can we do it especially if we have not addressed the important emotional aspects of the recovery. What if we want to cry or yell in frustration every time we go to open our mouths? Can we do our job silently? Do we have 10 jobs that we are juggling? How do we make money? Most jobs these days require that we use our voice. Would you be able to perform your job duties if you had to be minimally speaking? How do we find that elusive patience and mindfulness in the midst of this process to really know it is a process and not focus on the immediate outcome. So many questions also means that people feel that their lives are no longer in their control, and it is an interesting and sometimes unfamiliar place to be.

Voice rest is a controversial issue currently. How long should we not make sound for if we have had an injury (or lost the voice?) What if we misused it on a night out and sang too much karaoke? How much rest would we need then? There are many factors for us to consider, and it is usually recommended on an individual basis. And for those for whom surgery is indicated, how long post surgery should one be completely silent for? As yet, we do not have the definitive answers according to the evidence, however it is becoming clearer as time and research continues. A Speech Pathologist and a Specialist ENT have some up to date answers on this. Unfortunately I have seen too many people who were advised voice rest (of up to one month) with no follow up specialist referral when they had a serious injury. Time lost in the most important part of the process, so that recovery can occur in a timely manner. 

And as my Nan used to say "A stitch in time saves nine." So if you are not sure about your voice, and it has been niggling at times, or you have had unexplained voice loss, croakiness, soreness and trouble talking perhaps it is a wise choice to book in with someone who knows. And I mean really knows. Not the "my friend who is an occasional singer told me that......" An excellent voice coach or a Speech Pathologist who has extensive experience with voice is a good place to start. We may think we have excellent vocal technique, however sometimes this is far from the truth. And our voices are important to us. Often only found out when it gives us trouble. We also can learn from when it is not feeling good. We can then take steps to care for it. and find the easier path to great and fabulous "shibumi" voicing!