My voice broke! I can’t sing anymore. Will it ever come back?

What they probably forgot to tell you or weren’t sure how to tell you.

This is very important. Your voice plate has thickened because your body is now producing massive amounts of testosterone. You’re becoming a young man. Because testosterone thickens the voice plate, it also changes the shape and the audio dynamics of it. Just like taking a guitar and adding another 2 inches to the neck length would change all the dynamics of the guitar, so does changing the thickness of the vocal plate. You would have to learn to play the modified guitar all over again.

Your voice plate is no different. The reason a boy squeaks when he speaks or tries to sing is his minds says to the body, “On my cue, tighten these muscles to shape the throat and position the larynx thus, lungs – push this amount of air out, mouth make this shape and tongue just get the hell out of the way.” The problem is that the mind is playing the old guitar. It needs to reprogram the body for each note.

If you go too fast it can’t keep up. (At least until the mind reprograms it self.) Once the new program is in place you can scream, rap or do just about anything. For now though until your mind is solid on it’s new commands, you need to sing very slow songs. And sing them softly. You can add volume and speed later. That will make the programming more precise. Learn sloppy and you will sing sloppy. Take the time to learn properly and it will pay off. I know it is frustrating because you had a well trained singing voice just a few days ago.

My sensei once told me, *“It is better to practice one time correctly, than a thousand times wrong.”( * Sensei Katsutaka Tanaka, Alaska , a long time ago.) * http://www.tanakasmartialartsacademy.com/

Learning is learning. Karate or singing or anything else worthwhile in life. Learn correctly. Don’t try to sing in the voice you had before. That time is over and now you need to focus on the new you; your new sound. Keep in mind that as beautiful as your treble voice was, so too will be your new voice. Whether it is alto, tenor, baritone or bass, it is yours. It is still uniquely yours and you need to devote time to making it yours and making it right. Start where it is comfortable. If the notes all squeak then you’re probably still trying to sing too high or you are still in the throws of growth. Give it a few days and try again.

Just like a child learning to speak. As he focuses the words will get better. You however have a more difficult time because your mind has already been trained one way, so you have to unlearn.

Think about each note and slowly deliver it and you will find a whole voice lacking nothing. And before long, you will have retrained your mind and body. All that you have learned will come into play, so none of it was wasted. It will all add to who you are today. You may be the youngest of men, but today you are a man training a man’s voice. Just like when you were a treble, it will take time to get that richness and depth in your new voice. Be patient, I know it’s tough, but you were a treble. That was tough and you made it then too. You can do this also.

Sing a lot, it gives you something else to do in the shower and the moisture is good for the throat. But remember that rushing it is what confuses the voice plate. The mind and the body must synchronize for harmony to be restored once again. If it remains confused because you rushed it, you may never relearn properly.

So for a while, work on retraining. Do the scales and start at a comfortable level. When you get a note you squeak on, take a breath relax the throat and focus on the note. Don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t come right away or if your mind can’t identify or co-ordinate all the muscles perfectly right now. Move on to the next note. As your mind learns adjacent notes which are easier to oscillate, it will learn to step in the same fashion as your previous voice. Remember that it is still growing too so sing slowly and your mind will compensate. Soon it will find the missing notes simply by taking the shape of the previous note and stepping the same way it has learned previously, going note to note.

If you had a beautiful voice before, you will probably have one again; different but beautiful nonetheless. Work at it and you will be pleased with what you end up with.

I hope this make sense. I’ve tried to lay it out in a way that is easier to understand. It’s all so ambiguous when the say your voice broke and they are always willing to tell you what happened but few are able to explain the “whys” and more importantly the “what do I do now?” It’s frustrating because you not only had control but it was special and put you in the limelight. Remember that your hormones make you crazy during this time and your mind and body are also learning new things. Moving is even differently because muscle mass is different. Overnight you stretch out.

The bottom line for you is to do what you can do and be patient. Some guys need to give it some time for the body to quit changing things, before they start to retrain. So go play some sports, exercise helps the body normalize and helps the muscles stretch and fit your new frame. Now is when you will build your new muscle mass. If you want to have those six pack abs, now is the time to start building them. Remember, you’ll want to look good up on that stage when you get up there to sing next.

It would also be a great time to take up a form of martial arts. It may help you to have, “A sound mind, in a sound body.”

Cheers

Please note that The motto of Sensei Tanaka’s Dojo is, “A sound Mind, in a Sound Body.” And although I have taken the wisdom of his teachings with me and have shared them with you here, this should in no way be construed as to infer, directly or indirectly, any type of endorsement or affirmation By Sensi Tanaka or Tanaka’s Martial Arts Academy. But I will always remain grateful for his wisdom.