S2: E60 Teaching with Laryngitis

Season Two
Episode 60
Teaching with Laryngitis

This last week I taught with little to no voice for several days.  By Thursday I had literally no voice at all and Friday was only somewhat better.  Today as I’m recording this, is the first day I feel like I can talk. Laryngitis isn’t something I’ve gotten for a long time, but once it hit I knew I didn’t want to stay home and with the start of all new classes for the trimester I wanted to be sure that students were learning and that I was there.

Here are a few ideas that I used to help me make it through each class while still continuing to teach lessons:

1 - Teach in silence

• Literally waving and demonstrating everything
• You can do more than you think without your voice!  
• Don’t push your voice as it can make things worse.
• Plan to do things that don’t involve your voice.

2 - Teach movement pieces

• Teaching body percussion can be simple: do one step at a time
• Many folk dances, especially large circle dances, can be taught through imitation as you go along.  Visually demonstrate either as the movement goes along or in short sections through having students imitate your moves.  I used a few New England Dance Master folk dances and even though a few of them were overly simplistic for my students they enjoyed them and because they knew my voice was gone, they went with it.

3 - Use the recorder for the pieces you would have sung

• I led students through solfege exercises using the recorder and taught them a melody for a song this way that I would have normally sung.  Echoing on solfege works or even just on a neutral syllable.
• I also used the recorder to teach a new recorder canon - repetitive echoing and putting phrases together; music was on the board in four phrases.  We worked on the first two phrases only.

4 - Drum

• Just like singing can be replaced by the recorder, speech can be replaced with the drum.
• I taught students a short poem by drumming a rhythm and having them echo patterns that went along with text as the text was on the board
• Then after hearing the rhythm of the text on the drum, they could speak it.
• I was at a stage where I could whisper somewhat so I whispered the poem and they continued to speak it.  I know whispering is bad for my vocal chords so I tried to do it as little as possible and let students lead it with their voices.
• Then we transferred it to the drums and played.

5 - Review all previously known material

Much of what helped me overcome the laryngitis quickly was as a result of what I did when I wasn’t teaching.  To the best of your ability, take care of yourself and prioritize your health needs throughout your teaching day, but also as soon as the day ends.  

Early bedtime

Drink water and lots of it

Wash hands often

Drink warm/hot liquids

Steam from water

Cool air humidifiers are wonderful for adding moisture into the air and keeping nasal/air passages moist which is important.

Rest your voice - try not to whisper - this one is a struggle for me.  I know it’s bad for my voice, but I feel like I still have so much I want to say and need to say.

If your laryngitis comes back frequently or your voice is gone for long periods of time (more than 2 or 3 weeks or more), consider seeing a doctor that specializes in vocal disorders and who understands the voice.  I’ve had several friends who have had a range of vocal issues and seen so much progress as a result of going to an otolarangologist or other physician.

I wish you the best for your vocal health and hope that if you find yourself without a voice that these ideas help.