I have a tenor male voice and so far my range, though i'm not fully firmilar with notation yet, is "Caro Mia Ben" Opera. I am seeking vocal lessons and my teacher is so far happy with my voice though it's low in pitch. She says it doesn't appear to be damaged. Even though I trust my instructor, I still have to ask someone who I am not a pay check to, in order to recieve complete honesty in regards my questions.
Back when I was sixteen I recieved some 'good' advice that left me in the dark. Using the diaphram and other muscles to focus and sing. However, this person that gave me this advice was just a friend. I put my trust in him and i feel now that my voice has had permant damage. For the next eight years i've made very little progress, though i feel i can use my diaphram fully now...my hight in pitch, however, I feel has suffered. I'm not sure if this is true or perhaps my anxiety and paranoia. However I have looked up online hoarness which does come occasionally when i'm pushing too hard with my diaphram (because my friend said loosen up your throat completely) etc.. But not always. Not to the point where i've lost my voice completely. I also feel like I have a lump in my throat every now and then after singing. But I only feel this when i'm trying to reach a new level on songs, which obviously means i'm not using my muscles/vocal cords right. Now I am aware of 'nodules' that can occur over time. Again I feel as though I can hit high notes and low notes, but there's something wrong with the medium. I'm not sure if this is a lack of training seeing how I have only had one lesson (this past friday) so far, or permant damage of vocal cords in medium notation.
My question is this: For all you singers out there that know what I am talking about, does this make any sense? If so, is there any treatment I can get incase I DO have nodules or polups or what not. I still feel as though I have a lump in my throat. It goes away after a while (an hour or two) but I can't help but feel as though i've permantly damaged my voice. If there is surgery involved (which they say is only necessary for 5% of people with nodules) ...is it possible to be able to recover your voice fully by removing the nodule? I understand there is a risk involved with it and you can loose your voice permantly but is anyone firmilar with treatment that could recover voice damage? How bad is 'permant damage' compared to 'temporary?' Again, like I said: I only had my first REAL lesson yesterday. I guess i'm impatient, and I apologize for my lack of patience in regards this question, but I can't help but wonder if i'm going to be able to recover my voice to reach a higher pitch, tone, and notation. Can anyone explain perhaps besides 'hoarness' and 'lumpy feeling' ...how someone can sing something ...and pay attention to certain things which might point to the direction that my voice is permantly damaged as opposed to 'lack of training?' I just need someone who isn't seeing me as a paycheck to help me understand this.
~FiveShadows
p.s. If anyone has any audio clips I might be able to listen to in order to understand the difference between damaged cords/nodules and lack of training, I would GREATLY appreciate it. I've looked and have yet to find anything.