Pitch and Humming

--- On Sat, 7/9/11, Valerie Gabriel wrote:

Hi Misty,

Good job! Keep it up. I'm waiting for a fancy microphone I bought to use during practice. It's a handheld mic to remind of being back in Dr. Cooper's office. I hope See & Sing works like the voice mirror. Okay, I have an idea why you're not feeling much of a sensation when you're humming. I listened to your recording and it sounds like you have to go up higher on the second part of the "um-hmm." From what I was hearing, it sounds like you kept the same pitch throughout. This won't help with resonance and you'll just feel it more in your mouth area. If you make more of an concerted effort to go higher, it'll put your voice more in the face. Sometimes, I use my hand to remind me to go up. For example, the "um" part my hand is at my mouth and then on the "hmm" part it jumps up to my eyes. So, it's a higher intonation like a question.

Good job keeping your hand on your tummy. It'll help keep you on track with your breathing and not tense up when you're humming. This will also come in handy when you transfer to numbers because your stomach will be able to go in even more with the breath out on the numbers.

Talk to you soon!
Valerie

On Fri, Jul 8, 2011 at 9:44 PM, Maria Shellyn Chua wrote:

Hi Valerie,

Here's a 30 second recording of my Humming voice. Recorded after 2 hours of practice today. I understand what you mean when you'll feel the buzz on the nose and mouth. It is taking me a while to feel it. I need to hum a few times (ok, a lot of times) before I can move the buzz from the lower throat to the nose. Even now, I can hardly feel the buzz in the mask. But at least there is some sensation there now.

I had my healing massage bed treatment so I stopped practice first. I have a patient on the bed now. I'll continue the humming this afternoon to complete the 5 hours. I know I sound like I'm too focused on the schedule, but then if I don't do it this way, I might end up not doing it at all! :-)

I'm also being careful not to use volume. I should use pitch, like what you said. Coz I'm like you, I tend to hum using force and volume, like I'm forcing it from my stomach and at the first time I was humming my tummy tightens when I hum because i'm forcing it out. So now, I sometimes put my hand on my tummy while humming to give myself feedback.

Blessings,
Misty



--- On Sat, 7/9/11, Valerie Gabriel wrote:

Of course, I can be your drill sergeant, Misty!

First things first, when you do you "um-hmm" do you do them quick and end with an up intonation as if you posing a question or answering excitedly to a question? Sometimes I pretend someone asked me something that I was really excited to say "um-humm" to and that helps. I even nod my head in agreement. HAHAHA The fine line is you have to make sure you don't "force" or "push" it. Dr. Cooper always says...."don't use volume, use pitch." You should feel it primarily in the nose and a little in the mouth area. It's better to be higher in pitch just so you bring it out of the lower throat. Part of my problem is I come from a loud Italian family and I'm small in stature so in order to be heard, you have to be loud. So, when I talk the way I'm supposed to in the "mask" it feels very soft, gentle...not how I'm used to speaking. So, sometimes I "push," to be a little louder instead of using pitch and going higher and that's part of my habit I need to break. This is known as a vocal myth that I've habituated as part of my vocal identity.

By the way, all of Dr. Cooper's techniques work for me too. It's because they're simple are target the root of the problem...talking in the lower throat. As much as I like and respect Connie and will probably attend her clinic, I agree more with Dr. Cooper and his take on the condition than hers. Maybe it's because I've been exposed to him longer and just recently found out about Connie. Some of her techniques may work for other people, but if the focus is coming from the lower throat it isn't going to help. Like the side to side and counting thing or the kazoo. It will help with breathing, but if you're speaking from the lower throat it won't help your voice. Or the lip drills and tongue drills. Same thing, if the voice is coming from the lower throat how does that help? So, with Dr. Cooper, the "um-hmm" goes to the heart of the problem and lifts the voice out of the lower throat bringing it to the face "where all good and great voices come from" and then you work on vocal image. And, not to sound like a broken record, then you have to change the voice image/identity to create the permanent change.

As you know it takes tons of practice...what I forgot to mention is that after the 5 hours in Dr. Cooper's office I would go home and practice another couple of hours. Then, when I woke up I practiced on the drive to his office, at his office, a little on the drive home because I was tired and at home. Seriously, it's a lot of practice and sometimes it can be a lot for someone to do, but all this practice is just until you get a handle on how your voice should work. This is where I got off track. I got lazy and didn't practice as often as I should've. Dr. Cooper always jokes "it's a 25 hour a day job!"

Also, honestly, about the videos. Don't waste your money or worry about them too much. One of the DVD he gave me is just former patients talking about his treatment and before and afters. You can get just as much information watching his YouTube videos. He tells you all his techniques there.

I just have one roommate. She's a firefighter and she's gone 2-3 days in a row sometimes. So when she is I take advantage of that time. It's hard sometimes when she is home because she wants to do stuff or hang out and that takes away from my practicing. So, I have to be more selfish and concerned about my recovery.

Okay, so if you were to start your practicing this weekend -- this entire weekend just focus on the "um-hmm" no numbers. This way you get used to the feel. Remember what I mentioned at the beginning of the email. It has to be quick with an upward intonation and you should feel it in your nose, mouth area. Some people also feel it in their cheeks and some can even feel their teeth rattle. You also have to use the right amount of pressurization. What I mean by that is don't do it too quietly because you need to get the resonance. Also, don't do it too loudly that you force or push the voice...look for that sweet spot. I hope I'm not confusing you. Then, try to carry over this higher pitch when you're talking in conversation...don't be too hard on yourself if you can't. Just go back to the "um-hmms." I only hum "happy birthday" in the mornings when I'm establishing my pitch and then at night.

Hope that helps!
Good luck! Let me know how it goes or if you have any questions.
Valerie


On Thu, Jul 7, 2011 at 7:06 PM, Maria Shellyn Chua wrote:

Hi Valerie,

Thanks much for answering all my queries! haha. I guess I sounded like a kid being in the zoo for the 1st time. Lots of questions! ;p

I haven't gotten in touch with Connie lately. Yes, she's very nice and supportive. And she had SD also before. So she can totally relate. She has lots of testimonies from patients as well. I haven't gotten back to her yet because I'm still doing the exercises myself. And like she said, I also need to practice on my own. It's the bulk of it. Also, just in my specific case, I've tried both the diff techniques of Dr. Cooper and Connie. And some of Connie's techniques worked for me, but almost all of Dr. Cooper's worked. So I'm leaning towards Dr. Cooper's techniques. It's really so sad that he's not doing well medically right now. I'm praying for his healing.

Yes, you can attend Connie's clinic. You can incorporate it with Dr. Cooper's techniques you learned. Get the best of both, the ones that work specifically for you. Connie's is more wholistic and more modern. Dr. Cooper is more targeted and old school (in my perception). haha. But I don't care coz his techniques work for me! :-) The only problem I'm encountering about his being old school is I can't get his videos because they don't accept paypal or money transfers! Only cash and check, I think. Sigh.

Oh, you have roommates now. Right, I had 2 before. And yes, it can get embarrassing to practice. I also find it uncomfortable practising with other people around. Sometimes I do it if it cannot be helped. Let's figure out a way to work around it! :-) How many roommates do you have? Do you all have the same time shifts? What times are they usually not home (like they're at work or in school)? Would you like me to help you figure out a schedule and stick to it?

Oh, that's great! You have a drill sergeant! hehehe. It's good to be accountable to someone.

In the meantime that Dr. Cooper is not available for consultation, I'll follow the schedule you gave. Would it be alright to ask for your help in making me keep it? :-) I'm practising now 2 hours a day, but i'm not that sure if I'm doing it correctly. I think I'm doing it too fast. Like I read paragraphs with the Sing&See. Perhaps I should do it the way you did it in Dr. Cooper's clinic. You were there for 1.5 weeks:

First 3 days, Voice Mirror right? Ok, i'll do that with the Sing&See. What did you do in the first 3 days, hum only? or hum with numbers? Or the correct way is to just simply hum (no numbers, no words)? Do happy bday hum?

Blessings,
Misty



--- On Fri, 7/8/11, Valerie Gabriel wrote:

Hi Misty,

Great questions...it's good to be thinking about all that you are.

Practicing until you get it is the most important. It took one of Dr. Cooper's patients six months of practicing 8 hours a day until he got it. Granted, he and a paralyzed vocal cord, but the point is still the same. Bryan reminds me to never give up and to stick with it, until you get it and it will pay off. I don't practice with Bryan. He just checks in one me every few weeks to see how I'm doing and to keep me accountable. As someone who's been through this and has been successful, he's a great mentor. I call him my drill sergeant because he doesn't mince words and tells you like it is.

Carry over is hard for me too sometimes and it goes back to your voice image and practicing. You have a persona/identity of how you want to been seen and how you "think" you should sound. When you change this, it feels as though your personality has changed even though it hasn't--that's why carry over can sometimes be hard. When you're alone it doesn't matter what you sound like and you put less pressure on yourself to sound perfect.

Setting time aside is great! I need to do that too. It's hard with roommates though, huh? I sometimes get embarrassed if people hear me humming or talking to myself, but that's my own issue. Yes, if you can help it, don't rest your voice. Hum "happy birthday" or "um-hmm" at least. I understand what you're thinking, but it's counter-productive. If you rest your voice, your brain won't remember all the practicing and work you've done and when you go to speak will revert to what's familiar because it's forgotten what you were practicing. Does that make sense? Remember, this has to become 2nd nature and the only way to do that is to do it constantly. I've seriously become a humming fool! Hum or "um-hmm" like you said mid-sentence or before you speak just to get tone focus is what you're supposed to do to remind yourself. Sometimes it helps to just hum what you want to say, then say it. This will help you to breathe when you're suppose to breathe and to get the tone focus.

You do have to be your own psychotherapist. It's hard not do become withdrawn, depressed, sad, but you have to stay focused and PRAY! I've struggled with all that....if I slip into depression mode, I pray for strength and grace to stay focused and do what I have to do.

I completely understand not talking to others that don't have SD. They don't get it. People say..."why don't you just breathe" or "why don't you just talk higher" it's so much more than that because of the mind games. Dr. Cooper says it's 1/2 technique and 1/2 mind games.

HAHAA Dr. Cooper's schedule was long with lots of practicing, but that's what makes it intensive and this is what you have to continue with when you leave. It was a 5 hour day in his office. You didn't work too much with him. Maybe an hour or so total the whole day. He loved questions, so you could ask him anything you want. He's great. He would always tell me "your prognosis is excellent, but you have to do what I say" or "I want you to be successful!" He checks on you throughout, but most of the work was on your own or talking with a partner. The first 2 or 3 days all I did was "Um-hmm" in the Voice Mirror. Again, this was to get the tone focus/placement. Then, you transition to "Um-hmm" and numbers. My last day there he moved me to another room to practice sentences. I'm sure I would've done more, but I was just there a week 1/2. Remember, I was supposed to stay 3. He has you do group work which is great because you can talk to other patients. Everyone thinks they sound like Minnie Mouse or sing-songy or loud and then we all tell each other that they don't sound like and you realize it's just in your head. It's really great because you need that feedback. He also had you do "pressure sits", where he puts you in an uncomfortable situation to see how you handle it. Mine was talking on the phone, so he called Bryan and I talked to him for five minutes. He said I did good and sounded great, but he still heard a little squeezing in my lower throat, which is caused from nerves/pressure and I felt it because my throat was a little tight. Again Dr. Cooper has a gifted ear and can pick up even the slightest "off" to your voice and knows exactly what you're doing wrong and how to fix it. The reason why he suggests most people stay with him 3-4 weeks is because it takes that long to develop a new habit. Then, you just monitor yourself until it becomes 2nd nature.

Quick question for you? I was thinking about attending Connie Pike's clinic. I know you had a consultation with her, have you spoken to her again? I've been emailing her. She's super sweet.

Talk to you soon!
Valerie

On Wed, Jul 6, 2011 at 10:08 PM, Maria Shellyn Chua wrote:

Hi Valerie,

The humm puts my voice up in the face. Sometimes if I just humm without giving much thought to it, I can still feel the voice in my lower throat. So I guess until it becomes 2nd nature like your friend said, I'll have to be mindfully practising.

I have noticed that I also have voice when I laugh. I actually try to be more funny now, or at least laugh even though I don't feel like it. haha. I know it sounds fake, but better to fake it till you make it! ;p

But of course, we cant laugh all the time. :-) So we'll still have to practice having a natural conversational voice.

Placement/ tone focus is my biggest challenge right now.

The voice image needs to be shattered! I'm being my own psychotherapist now, lots of prayer, etc. to overcome it.

I can't seem to carry over my practices to everyday life. I was able to do it though last end of May (the 2nd recording you heard) but it only lasted for a week. Now it's not that well again coz I slacked off my practice session. So now what I'm doing is I've arranged my schedule so that I can have a room to myself from 9am to 11am to focus solely on my voice - doing Humms, trying to read a few uplifting lines (with Sing & See), watching Dr. Cooper's Youtube vids, reading his books.

I have to really set aside time or else I'll slack off, and won't be able to talk! Plus now I'm also using a whiteboard to communicate. I know Dr. Cooper says we don't need voice rest, but it's not voice rest that I'm doing. It's more of stopping myself from going back in the old voice habit. Until I get this right by myself, I don't plan on talking to other people who don't understand SD. A bit extreme? hehehe. I do talk with my boyfriend sometimes and a family friend. I've explained SD to them so they allow me to stop mid-sentence to hum and get my correct pitch before talking again.

How about you? How are you coping? Do you practice with your friend?

How was your schedule with Dr. Cooper the last time you were there? How many hours a day did you have to practice with the Voice Mirror? Was it by yourself? With Dr. Cooper? With a practice partner?

Blessings,
Misty



--- On Thu, 7/7/11, Valerie Gabriel wrote:

Hahaha Misty, the voice mirror was my best friend! Honestly, after hours (yes, hours) practicing on that you really get the feel of where your voice should be. What software did you buy? Is it See & Sing? I was looking into that. Is it helping you? I looked everywhere for the Voice Mirror, but the company that made it in the early 80's went out of business. The reason why Dr. Cooper is so good at finding your pitch is because he's a musician. He has a gifted ear. He knew as soon as I began to speak that I was talking at EFG above middle C and need to go a tone 1/2 higher to ABC above middle C. When you practice you're "Um-hmm," do you feel your voice jump to the front of your face? If you go, "Um-hmm" and hold the end 'hmm" for about 3 seconds talk off that and will help you place it. Or, what works for me is talking off my laugh. A Dr. Cooperism "your laugh is your voice" so if you laugh and talk off that, it will help you with placement too.

I keep in touch with a friend that I met through Dr. Cooper. His name is XX and he went to see Dr. Cooper in 2000, stayed with him 3 weeks and if you ask him he will tell you he's cured. He doesn't think about the way he talks anymore and he has a perfectly normal voice. He keeps in touch with Dr. Cooper and speaks with him at least once a month. He tells me had I stayed the entire 3 weeks it would have "solidified" my new voice I would've just needed to self monitor. At that time, I really didn't understand what I was up against and couldn't afford it, but at least I have the foundation. Dr. Cooper says "you have to use the new voice so you become familiar with you. You won't use something you don't feel comfortable with."

The voice image is roughest. Intellectually, you know what you have to do to be better, but your psyche won't let you do it. It tells you to "talk in your old voice" or "talk how you feel comfortable talking." It's very powerful.

The main thing is that you get the proper resonance. Pitch is a prop to get you to talk forward in the "mask" or in the face.

I do practice everyday, but I don't practice as long as I should because life does get in the way or I get lazy because it can get tiring, right? After Bryan got home from Dr. Cooper's he would practice for 2-3 hours a night for the next couple of months. Then, he noticed he was practicing less and less until it became 2nd nature. I don't have any voice recordings that I can upload. I look though. The only voice recordings are from when I worked with Dr. C and one when I was moving out of my apartment back in January--that's on my phone.

How often do you practice? Do you notice a difference? Are you able to carry over your practicing into everyday life?
Valerie

On Tue, Jul 5, 2011 at 7:02 PM, Maria Shellyn Chua wrote:

Hi Valerie,

Are you using any kind of pitch indicator? Like the Voice Mirror Dr. Cooper uses on his videos? I saw a software that acts like it and I bought it. :-)

I've attached a recording of my voice May 04, 2011 and May 30, 2011. Before and after doing Dr. Cooper's exercises.

Yes, the voice image could be hard to shake off. But I'm really trying. You're so correct! I do feel like I have a little girl's voice with a higher pitch! ;p But then, at this point, I'm willing to try anything.

How long do you practice? Do you practice every day? Do you have voice recordings? :-)

Blessings,
Misty