November 15, 2024

The Voice

I think it is funny... and mind boggling at the same time.

I recently realized that my voice is not as good as before when I sing hehe.

Born into keluarga berdarah seni, most of my siblings are good singers or musicians. My ears are sensitive, I can detect if the notes is a bit flat or a bit sharp. 

Recently when I read Quran alone as a practice for my fortnightly tajwid class,  I tried to read aloud with decent tunes. Not even tarannum. Funny that I hear my voice very unstable.. I cannot stay on the right course. A lot of flats and sharps here and there. What happens? Then I tried to sing a few songs and record it. I was struggling especially at high notes. I can't reach the notes decently even I am using mix voice or head voice. And the notes is not that high pun. Still within an octave. My voice sounds funny..

My analytical thinking is working very hard. Then I realised and I remember I read it somewhere that our vocal chord is a muscle. If it is not used and exercised often, the muscles will become weak.

This is my findings. After I retired from my job, I rarely speak loudly. Previously, I often deals with the users, conducting meeting and workshops, which requires me to speak loudly.  Now at home, there is no kids to be yelled at hehe. My daily Quran reading only requires me to use my soft voice. Using only mix voice. Which does not require much energy. I rarely used my chest voice. Usually you use your chest voice when you want to speak loudly. And of course when you talk loudly, your vocal chord will vibrate and work extra hard. 

So that's it then.  My vocal chord is getting weak and getting old. It is under utilized and as we aged, our muscle is not as flexible as before. Now I understand, some people do not have good voice not because they are tone-deaf, but because they are not used to sing. And now I am one of them haha...

Suddenly I am amazed with this creation called vocal chord, Subhanallah.. 

Ok, now I need to start working on my vocal chord. Not to sing (well I did sometimes when I am alone hehe), but so that I can read Quran loudly in front of Ustazah with just a pleasant tunes.. insya allah :)