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This isn't a major problem, but I think it's new this week. I noticed it a lot after choral rehearsal Wednesday night (unusually 'intense' singing, because we did a run through of the whole Brahms Requiem, without interruptions for corrections or fine-tuning). It's not especially troublesome, but I wonder whether I'm having a new problem. I certainly don't have excellent singing technique, and could be doing something funny with breathing, but I'd think that effect would have worn off by now.
It seems to me that this must be happening north of the MC hot zone, but of course the whole system is clearly affected.
I just posted about loving seltzer, but I don't think that's it - that's a pretty infrequent treat around here, and though I'd like to make it a regular occurrence, I'll definitely be waiting to add more bubbles to the system.
Any ideas?
Thanks as always,
Sara
Belching?
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Sara--
My guess is that you swallowed a lot of air doing that run-through. If you are not trained on how to breathe properly while singing such a difficult piece, you tend to gasp air in at the end of notes, instead of breathing during them while the rest of the choir can cover you. This staggered breathing helps us power through at the end, instead of having to force the note while running out of breath. Give it a try next time, and see if it helps.
Love,
Mags
My guess is that you swallowed a lot of air doing that run-through. If you are not trained on how to breathe properly while singing such a difficult piece, you tend to gasp air in at the end of notes, instead of breathing during them while the rest of the choir can cover you. This staggered breathing helps us power through at the end, instead of having to force the note while running out of breath. Give it a try next time, and see if it helps.
Love,
Mags
That would be my guess, also, but if that's not it, maybe you're just lucky. When was reacting, I was always full of gas, (because a lot of gas is generated as food putrifies, instead of being properly digested). Like most people with MC, I was usually unable to get rid of the gas, so I was severely bloated most of the time. 
IOW, be glad that you're able to belch.
Tex
IOW, be glad that you're able to belch.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
LOL, Mags & Tex - I do feel lucky to be able to belch, given the alternatives...
And Mags - that's a great explanation, and thanks. I was worried about over-breathing *before* the big long passages, but I bet you're right that it's partly about what happens later in the long notes. I can see a way to plan to stagger that's not where everyone else might choose to breathe. When the person next to me and I both breathe at the same point in passages like that, I probably overreact ;)
We have a soprano sectional on Monday... that's probably an ideal occasion to work that stuff out.
Thank you both,
Love,
Sara
And Mags - that's a great explanation, and thanks. I was worried about over-breathing *before* the big long passages, but I bet you're right that it's partly about what happens later in the long notes. I can see a way to plan to stagger that's not where everyone else might choose to breathe. When the person next to me and I both breathe at the same point in passages like that, I probably overreact ;)
We have a soprano sectional on Monday... that's probably an ideal occasion to work that stuff out.
Thank you both,
Love,
Sara
And Mags, p.s. on that other thread...
Black Box Drug? That sounds like the kind of situation where someone holds a gun to your head and says "get in this car or else." Now that I've watched enough scary TV, I know that's never a good idea. "No thanks - I'll be fighting you to the death right here on the sidewalk!" Yay!
I had never heard of that, and hope none of us ever needs to encounter it again in a clinical situation.
And Tex - I was more bloated than I realized! I have lost more "size" than weight these past weeks. I just thought I was middle-aged and pudgy. I did notice fluctuation that I now realize was bloat, but I didn't put the pieces together. If I have to have transient gas, I'll take the belching thing over any of the alternative forms, for sure. Maybe it's even a weird sign I'm healing - the whole intestinal tract has calmed down enough to allow the stomach & various points north to have a cranky day.
Thank you both.
Love,
S
Black Box Drug? That sounds like the kind of situation where someone holds a gun to your head and says "get in this car or else." Now that I've watched enough scary TV, I know that's never a good idea. "No thanks - I'll be fighting you to the death right here on the sidewalk!" Yay!
I had never heard of that, and hope none of us ever needs to encounter it again in a clinical situation.
And Tex - I was more bloated than I realized! I have lost more "size" than weight these past weeks. I just thought I was middle-aged and pudgy. I did notice fluctuation that I now realize was bloat, but I didn't put the pieces together. If I have to have transient gas, I'll take the belching thing over any of the alternative forms, for sure. Maybe it's even a weird sign I'm healing - the whole intestinal tract has calmed down enough to allow the stomach & various points north to have a cranky day.
Thank you both.
Love,
S
Sara,
Unlike most people with MC, my episodes ran in roughly 10 to 14 day cycles of C to D. After a few days of feeling great, (with the initial stages of C), the nausea would begin, and it would last for a few days, then the C would turn into D. As the nausea became worse, I would proceed to swell up like a toad frog, (as they say). As the nausea began to end, I would once again be able to belch, and my stomach would get some relief, (but not my gut), and a few days later, as the D began to phase out, I would once again be able to purge the gas by the other route, and the bloating would quickly disappear. The first few tentative gas releases of each cycle, of course, were not for the faint of heart. The trick was deciding if I was far enough along to safely trust my instincts. Interestingly, the loud rumbling noises so common with MC, were the most noticeable a day or two just before the "safe" stage.
Tex
Unlike most people with MC, my episodes ran in roughly 10 to 14 day cycles of C to D. After a few days of feeling great, (with the initial stages of C), the nausea would begin, and it would last for a few days, then the C would turn into D. As the nausea became worse, I would proceed to swell up like a toad frog, (as they say). As the nausea began to end, I would once again be able to belch, and my stomach would get some relief, (but not my gut), and a few days later, as the D began to phase out, I would once again be able to purge the gas by the other route, and the bloating would quickly disappear. The first few tentative gas releases of each cycle, of course, were not for the faint of heart. The trick was deciding if I was far enough along to safely trust my instincts. Interestingly, the loud rumbling noises so common with MC, were the most noticeable a day or two just before the "safe" stage.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Sara--
Do you sing first or second soprano? I sing first... Regarding training, I come from a family of singers on my dad's side. My aunt was the children's choir director at my church, so I got roped in at the ripe old age of three! Throughout the years, I got voice lessons, sang in church and school choirs, and got the chance to compete at local and state levels in various choirs, ensembles, etc. Singing has always been a huge part of my life, and MC has put a cramp in it, of course. When I lived in Atlanta, I always had a place at my home church when I felt able, but since I moved north so I could be close to my mom, there is really no place for me. I miss the huge Schantz pipe organ and the beautiful music we used to sing. There is nothing like that up here....so I just stick a Robert Shaw CD in and sing to my heart's content.
Another great memory is me, my aunt, and my Grandmother standing around the piano singing hymns in three part harmony. We did it again recently, sadly at a funeral. However, those moments of three generations of women's voices lifting "Amazing Grace" together somehow transcended the sadness and leant meaning, at least to me of what those words really meant.
Love,
Maggie
Do you sing first or second soprano? I sing first... Regarding training, I come from a family of singers on my dad's side. My aunt was the children's choir director at my church, so I got roped in at the ripe old age of three! Throughout the years, I got voice lessons, sang in church and school choirs, and got the chance to compete at local and state levels in various choirs, ensembles, etc. Singing has always been a huge part of my life, and MC has put a cramp in it, of course. When I lived in Atlanta, I always had a place at my home church when I felt able, but since I moved north so I could be close to my mom, there is really no place for me. I miss the huge Schantz pipe organ and the beautiful music we used to sing. There is nothing like that up here....so I just stick a Robert Shaw CD in and sing to my heart's content.
Another great memory is me, my aunt, and my Grandmother standing around the piano singing hymns in three part harmony. We did it again recently, sadly at a funeral. However, those moments of three generations of women's voices lifting "Amazing Grace" together somehow transcended the sadness and leant meaning, at least to me of what those words really meant.
Love,
Maggie
Mags, I'm singing 1st. I'm the soprano section leader, so I try to make sure I can flip to 2nd at a moment's notice as our membership balances out - it's a harder trick, sometimes, finding the note between the top line, where we're used to listening, and those alto powerhouses to the "south" of us.
Robert Shaw - what amazing choral sound.
I hope you can find a place to sing, and the energy to do so. I also have been singing all my life, but have never had voice training (lots of piano training, though). I joined this chorale just a few years ago after a long spell of being a shower singer, and I'm so glad I did. As you may know, it has proven (and amazing) health benefits in older populations. I decided not to wait until I was officially older.
How extraordinary that you had this beautiful and profoundly meaningful moment of three generations raising voices together in harmony. I did a lot of singing with/for my mother late in her life - we had always sung together (in the car, around the house, at random moments). It opened up a line of communication into profound topics; she was saying 'It's later than you think' and 'Che sera, sera' - so I knew she wanted to talk about her finitude in a way that I wasn't quite letting her do... and we started by singing those songs.
There are definitely some areas that have better choral action than others. One of the churches near me has a great choir, and I know people who joined primarily for the singing. Maybe there's a wonderful choral home for you that you'll find when the time is right... I hope so.
Love,
Sara
Robert Shaw - what amazing choral sound.
I hope you can find a place to sing, and the energy to do so. I also have been singing all my life, but have never had voice training (lots of piano training, though). I joined this chorale just a few years ago after a long spell of being a shower singer, and I'm so glad I did. As you may know, it has proven (and amazing) health benefits in older populations. I decided not to wait until I was officially older.
How extraordinary that you had this beautiful and profoundly meaningful moment of three generations raising voices together in harmony. I did a lot of singing with/for my mother late in her life - we had always sung together (in the car, around the house, at random moments). It opened up a line of communication into profound topics; she was saying 'It's later than you think' and 'Che sera, sera' - so I knew she wanted to talk about her finitude in a way that I wasn't quite letting her do... and we started by singing those songs.
There are definitely some areas that have better choral action than others. One of the churches near me has a great choir, and I know people who joined primarily for the singing. Maybe there's a wonderful choral home for you that you'll find when the time is right... I hope so.
Love,
Sara
Sara--
I think second soprano may be the most difficult part! I always hated having to "drop down" and sing it. I really admire those who do it on a regular basis. My aunt always sings second. As for Robert Shaw, I grew up singing his arrangements, and a couple of members of my church choir had been in his chorale (he was in Atlanta, after all.) One of my voice teachers was, also.
Love,
Maggie
P.S. Wow! Congrats on being section leader! You must be a lot better than you are letting on!
I think second soprano may be the most difficult part! I always hated having to "drop down" and sing it. I really admire those who do it on a regular basis. My aunt always sings second. As for Robert Shaw, I grew up singing his arrangements, and a couple of members of my church choir had been in his chorale (he was in Atlanta, after all.) One of my voice teachers was, also.
Love,
Maggie
P.S. Wow! Congrats on being section leader! You must be a lot better than you are letting on!