My sister is in a musical and she thinks she's strained her voice somehow. She says it sounds muffled when she sings and it hurts afterward (she's a soprano). Resting her voice isn't an option, since she's in rehearsals all say ever day. Is there any quick fix or something she can do? She has tried oil of oregano to no avail - it didn't really do anything.

If she has actually strained it, the only real solution is to rest it. It sucks, but is there any way she can not sing in rehearsals, just go through the actions? Surely the director would understand. My voice tech lecturer at uni used to say that 72 hours is all it needs to improve a lot.

Have her talk to her music director. My last musical, we all got some vocal fatigue about 2 weeks before we went up because of our intense rehearsal schedule and we all sang at 30% for a week, or not at all, to rest up. Directors should understand the strain vocal chords can go under when being used over and over, and I'm sure he would want his actors to feel good about what they're doing. In the meantime, tea with honey, wear scarves to keep her throat warm, and no talking unless necessary.

I used to sing upwards of six hours a day, five days a week so I can relate. If her voice is really strained (which is common if someone is 'belting' like in a musical) then the best thing she can do is to rest it. I'm sure her director would prefer she take a day off singing, then have vocal nodes or not be able to sing during the show.

Till then, licorice tea, or tea with lemon and honey is the best thing. Herbal Medicinals makes a 'Throat Coat' tea that is excellent for singers. I get it from Whole Foods, Safeway or even Target in the tea section. Keeping her throat warm may help it feel better too. I would suggest she even limit talking as much as she can.

Best of luck!

REST!!!! And seriously, she needs to talk to the director. There are no quick fixes with injuries. She might need to go see a remedial vocal therapist as well, in case she's doing something very wrong with her technique causing her to hurt her voice.

Helen

Drinking hot tea with honey always helps me. Break a leg!