Any child preparing to sing in an elementary school talent show has heard it. Any member of a choir preparing to perform in a competition has heard it. The characters on “Glee” are walking, singing, over-the-top personifications of it. And there’s a fair chance that many famous contemporary musicians have heard it at some point in their careers.
Sing your heart out.
It’s a musical call to arms, a mission statement for musicians determined to throw all the effort they have into every single performance. But lately, it isn’t musicians’ hearts that have been sung out. It has been their vocal chords.
Last week, vocal powerhouse Adele had to cancel U.S. tour dates for the second time this year. This time, she had to do so because of a hemorrhage in her vocal chords. Now, the situation is not quite as scary as the word “hemorrhage” makes any situation sound. But, if Adele had continued to sing without resting and rehabilitating her voice, it could have caused permanent damage to her singing voice. Now that would have been a scary and sad situation.
Adele is not the only artist who has had to cancel tour dates because of ““ for lack of a better term ““ vocal injuries. The Vaccines, Stone Temple Pilots, Duran Duran, Young the Giant and Kings of Leon are just a select few of all the groups that have had to cancel tour dates because of vocal issues (though it would seem that other forces are also at work in the Kings of Leon camp).
This all prompts the question, “Why?” Why are all of these artists coming down with vocal chord problems?
I think it’s because of the arguably over-rigorous touring schedules these artists attempt to take on. Playing five shows a week for months on end no doubt takes its toll, and traveling across countries can only exacerbate it.
There are a couple good examples of this kind of tour happening right now. Over the week from Oct. 11 to Oct. 18, acoustic singer and songwriter Joshua Radin will play five shows in four countries: the United Kingdom, Sweden, Switzerland and France.
Blink-182 played roughly 30 shows from Aug. 25 to Oct. 8. Over the course of one five-day stretch, the band played shows in Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Indiana and Michigan with no rest days.
I personally get tired just from the thought of flying across countries and continents day after day. And the thought of singing night after night after such marathon travels is downright exhausting.
Even the seemingly inexhaustible Lady Gaga had to cancel a couple tour dates around the end of the first leg of her Monster Ball tour after she collapsed. However, Lady Gaga otherwise pulled off a well-rationed tour, consisting of roughly 200 shows over about 16 months. That breaks down to an average of 12.5 shows per month, giving Mother Monster some downtime over the course of her marathon.
I think artists should work to limit their touring, either by performing fewer shows or by spreading them out over a longer period of time.
I know this approach may at first scare fans (myself included) who count the days until their favorite bands come to a venue near them. But the fragility of singers’ vocal chords requires a trade on the part of the fans: give up a little short-term entertainment in exchange for knowing that their favorite musician is sure to continue his or her career in good health.
If you also think vocal chord hemorrhages are bad, email Bain at abain@media.ucla.edu. “B-sides” runs every Monday.