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On
On the Voice
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Matthew Hoch, editor <mrh0032@auburn.edu>

“I’m Sick—Should I Sing or Not?”

by Mary J. Sandage and Mariah E. Morton-Jones

At some point, all singers face the dilemma of ably best to stay home and rest.
whether it is safe to sing while feeling under the weath- Symptoms that are more likely to negatively impact
er. Choral directors are often the most trusted voice singing voice include nasal congestion, laryngitis, and
professional in a singer’s life and will often be consulted pulmonary infection because these symptoms affect
about whether singing is advisable. The answer to this the subsystems of singing: vocal tract tuning, phona-
question is not straightforward; however, by reviewing tion, and respiration. Given that management of sub-
commonly encountered scenarios, providing updated glottal pressure, vocal fold posturing, and resonance
evidence, and doing some myth busting, a clearer path are all key mechanisms for managing vocal loudness
may emerge. and pitch stability, impairment of any of these mech-
The severity and type of illness will matter. Having anisms due to illness, will likely cause difficulty with
a high fever (>100˚ F) should preclude performance singing. We will address these individually and then
of any kind to avoid exposing choral colleagues to po- discuss how the conditions often overlap.
tential infection and to allow time for healing and re-
covery. A gray area is when a singer experiences a low-
grade fever. Some singers may feel up to performance Nasal Congestion
if symptoms can be medically managed; however, to Nasal congestion typically accompanies the com-
be a good citizen of the chorus, spread of infection mon cold, sinus infection, allergic rhinitis, and some-
to choral colleagues should be a consideration. Unfor- times COVID. Physiologically, when the sinus spaces
tunately, COVID, influenza, and RSV still circulate in the face and the nose are congested with thick mu-
in most communities and the spread of infection is cus, it is harder to create the ringing vocal quality that
particularly notable in singing communities. Singing many choral singers aspire to produce. Vocal tract tun-
masks are available to limit aerosolizing spread; how- ing—the ability to change the shape of the spaces in
ever, unless it is a high stakes performance, it is prob- the neck and face that extend from the vocal folds to

CHORAL JOURNAL September 2024 Volume 65 Number 2 45