pregnancy and singing

[kcobweb]

So, I need to vent a little bit, and ask your advice, and maybe just be told that it's/I'm okay.

I'm having a relatively easy pregnancy, I think, all things considered - I generally feel great, symptoms are minor and fleeting, etc. etc.

Except when I sing.

I came home last night from Chorale rehearsal feeling like I'd been hit by a truck. My entire abdomen ached, my back hurt, my breathing was still a bit labored (while singing, I'm generally totally breathless and sometimes have to breathe every measure), and I just felt like crap. And I tried to take it easy last night - not sing too hard, etc. And then I realized, I felt like this after rehearsals each of the past few Monday nights (though last night was a little more so than in past weeks).

I don't know if I can do this. And I *hate* that. I don't deal with weakness well. I also don't like breaking a commitment (i.e. I will sing in this concert/I will not sing in this concert). But I'm starting to wonder how I will be *able* to sing the concert. Every time he has us stand for ONE song in rehearsal, I moan and groan, and I'm generally not thrilled about standing for one 3-minute song. How will I ever make it through a 2-hour concert?

And I have the soprano part for the solo quartet in Britten's Hymn to the Virgin, and I really really really want to sing it. I want to sing O Magnum Mysterium and Bogoroditse Devo and some of these other things.

And I'm starting to think I just can't. The concert is just 3 1/2 weeks away. This is not going to change (and certainly not for the better) between now and then. I don't think I'm hurting myself by doing this, but I'm certainly not helping myself any. I had a crappy night of sleep because my body hurt so much I couldn't get comfortable.

And I know I shouldn't beat myself up mentally/emotionally over this - no one will see this as weakness, and no one will criticize me for saying I can't (if they do, they should be shot).

I already knew that the December concert would be my last for a while - um, I'll be otherwise occupied for the March and April concerts, that's for sure.

So, do I call my conductor and tell him I need to bow out?

Your thoughts? I need feedback here.

Comments

[kassrachel.livejournal.com]

I know how much it sucks to reneg on a commitment, and also how much it sucks to miss a concert where you really dig the music. It sounds to me like you should bow out, though -- what you describe sounds painful and uncomfortable and downright crappy.

Pregnancy is, fortunately, a temporary condition; singing is one of your lifelong loves. Okay, you'll be busy in the spring *g* but there's a woman in my community chorus who brings an infant with her every week, swaddled in one of those big tie-on sling things (it's like a very long piece of cloth, multiply wrapped, to hold the baby in a fabric "X" against her chest), and the baby either sleeps or gurgles happily through rehearsal. So once you adjust to having a wee one, you can bring her to rehearsal with you, and get back into the swing of singing quickly...

Anyway. Never having been pregnant, I'm making this up as I go along, but it sounds to me like you should sit this one out. *hug* My sympathies; that's an annoying side-effect of your condition which probably wouldn't bother most expectant moms, but I can imagine how it would bother you a mighty lot.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

When I had much worse arthritis than I do now, I used to sing concerts perched on a high stool. It's much better than sitting in a chair, in terms of your posture. Some of the other singers were elderly, and did the same. Maybe run that by your director?

You might also need to rest significantly before rehearsals.

[kcobweb.livejournal.com]

I know he'd let me sit through the concert, so that's not so much an issue. But I already feel horrible after an easy rehearsal that is almost entirely sitting, so the sitting doesn't help much. (Or if it does, standing would about kill me, verily.)

I haven't decided officially yet. I'm actually still waiting to hear from my sister, who is my personal resident singing expert. But I'm strongly leaning toward I-think-it-would-be-best-to-step-back. I'm coming to terms with it. It's okay. :)

We'll see.

[saltcod.livejournal.com]

I'm no expert whatsoever on either the pregnancy or the singing front, but I suspect your breathing problems are simply because the Electric Baby is using up all that nice space you were formerly properly using as diaphragm-expansion room when you sing; if you're continuing to breathe as you did formerly, perhaps all the body aches and such you are experiencing are because you are forcing your body to behave in a way which is now becoming impossible and thus straining every muscle to correct the situation--plus, you are singing as if you actually were getting all that oxygen you normally would, but now you're both getting less oxygen and having to share what you get. Maybe. This is kind of conjectural. But you might play around with trying more thoracic breathing, and see if you can maintain your singing voice while not taking very deep breaths. It's possible that some yoga breathing exercises would help too, but again, not an expert there...
Hmm. There's a heck of a lot of empty theory there. Just tossing out random thoughts, maybe or maybe not helpful. Anyhow--best of luck with finding a solution that you're happy with!