Does reading aloud make your voice tired?

[MusicMama]

Reading aloud for thirty minutes is straining. I'm very confused. I have a decently trained soprano voice and have sung in concerts/shows that were 2+ hours. But reading aloud more than thirty minutes is tough. What is going on?!?

 

ETA: I've always been this way, and no, there are no nodules. :) I've normally kept reading to a short time period, but as my kids are getting older so is their attention span. I want to be reading for longer stretches.

[I.Dup.]

yes. I don't get it either. I guess I'm not used to talking THAT much. lol

[Laura Corin]

Are you breathing properly, as though you were singing? Perhaps you are sitting in a slumped position, so that your breathing is all from the top of your chest and that is straining your voice.

 

Laura

[MusicMama]

Laura, your reply made me laugh! I had a mental picture of myself while trying to read with my lap full of three of my dc. They all want to stuff themselves into the arm chair with me. Yes, I do think my posture may be compromised! I'll try to correct that and see if it helps. :)

[Madeline05]

Definitely try to adjust your posture when you're reading, I know it's hard with all the kiddos in your lap!

[Guest]

I don't normally have trouble in the morning, but in the afternoon, my throat kills me after about 30 minutes. Even if I haven't read that morning, the afternoon will always do me in. I think it could be something in my air, though. We have very dry air here.

[ChristusG]

Yes....glad I'm not the only one LOL!

[2_girls_mommy]

Yes..

[Coffeemama]

Yes....glad I'm not the only one LOL!

 

Me too! My younger two are always asking me to start a new novel with them, but it is just so exhausting!

[WTMCassandra]

Yes, it exhausts me too and wears out my voice.

[boscopup]

I have built up a little more stamina than I used to have, but yes, 30 minutes would kill me. I am good for about 20 minutes at a time, and I just read multiple times throughout the day. So I may be reading a total of 90 minutes in a day, but it's broken up. I read a couple chapters of the Bible and a chapter of a historical fiction book at breakfast. I read a chapter for history later in the day. I read some books to DS2 for about 20 minutes after lunch. I read a chapter or two of a good chapter book at bedtime. All that adds up, but it's usually 20ish minute sessions each time.

 

For some reason, Uncle Wiggily and Milly-Molly-Mandy wear me out more than Chronicles of Narnia though... Not sure what that's about. :lol:

[three4me]

I have built up a little more stamina than I used to have, but yes, 30 minutes would kill me. I am good for about 20 minutes at a time, and I just read multiple times throughout the day. So I may be reading a total of 90 minutes in a day, but it's broken up. I read a couple chapters of the Bible and a chapter of a historical fiction book at breakfast. I read a chapter for history later in the day. I read some books to DS2 for about 20 minutes after lunch. I read a chapter or two of a good chapter book at bedtime. All that adds up, but it's usually 20ish minute sessions each time.

 

For some reason, Uncle Wiggily and Milly-Molly-Mandy wear me out more than Chronicles of Narnia though... Not sure what that's about. :lol:

 

I totally agree with this. It definitely depends on what I'm reading. Little House in the Big Woods I can read for 30 minutes with no problem. Uncle Wiggily? I struggle to finish the chapter. Which is unfortunate, because my kids love Uncle Wiggily.

[texasmama]

I believe that you can train your voice to last for a longer time, but that is just anecdotal experience talking. I just finished reading aloud for an hour and a half, and by the end, my voice was getting a bit tired and hoarse.

 

I recall when I first went back to adjunct university teaching and would be lecturing for the better part of 3 hours. My voice was hoarse at the end of the class, but this did improve with time.

 

I use voice-sparing techniques when I find my voice wearing out - speaking more softly with less inflection.

 

And yes, reading aloud for an hour and a half at a time is not uncommon here...and that is just our literature read alouds. I read history earlier today.

[Plink]

Only when reading certain books. Hank the Cowdog, the giants in BFG, and several others have a very raspy voice in my mind, so I have to read aloud in shorter sessions to limit the strain on my voice. (btw - I am entirely incapable of reading without assigning each character their own voice - I just can't do it).

 

Usually I don't have any problems though.

[Hunter]

Yes, I have to break things up.

 

I also have some weird stroke like speech impairments that go along with my seizures, that are a LOT worse at some times than others, and I have to adapt to that. It doesn't affect my writing anywhere near as badly as my speech. Sometimes I cannot read aloud at all. Sometimes reading aloud is worse than regular speech.

 

I have audios for the McGuffey Readers, because sometimes I cannot do reading without them.

[momtoamiracle]

yes, have been that way since I was a child. My dad has a weak voice as well.

 

 

that's why I LOVE audiobooks! So glad my son likes to listen to them. I read the shorter books but the long chapter books he listens to.

[Holly]

We also break it up! In between books, we work on math, copywork, piano, etc. I used to do all our read alouds in one sitting and this works much better. Not only does my voice get a rest, but they are more attentive to the readings. I also have them read aloud for portions with a few subjects.

 

Another help is to keep a glass of water handy. My endurance has gone up a bit, but I still struggle if we've had a lot of readings at once.

[TravelingChris]

I have Sjogren's Syndrome and that means I have a very minimal amount of saliva, so yes, I can't read aloud for very long. I figured that out fairly early in homeschooling and stopped doing read alouds, except for very short periods. But not big chapter books. My dh did one- Pilgrim's Progress. We also heard a few tapes. But mostly they didn't get read alouds. (I did read to them as babies and preschoolers but those were shorter books).

[travelgirlut]

I'm in the same boat. This is actually what did in CM for me. I just couldn't read enough to get through all the books and still have my voice intact. Now my kids are older and actually prefer to read to themselves, so I'm off the hook most of the time.

[Donna]

Yes, if I read for a long time.

[No More Perfect]

Yes, and I hate read-alouds for this very reason. :eek:

[TheAutumnOak]

I have a pretty strong and forceful voice so I am not sure if my voice is tired, but I know I get tired of reading aloud...I have been gradually doing it more and more, slightly lengthening the time I read because I believe it is important for the boys...But I generally don't like reading an entire book aloud...After about half an hour I get tired of the focused energy it takes to read aloud, which is different than just talking in a conversation...

[J-rap]

My voice has always been that way! If I'm at a social gathering where I have to talk all evening, then all the next day I have to rest my voice. I figured I must have used/developed the wrong muscles over the years or something.

[MusicMama]

I'm glad I'm not alone! I'm going to a conference next week, and Jim Weiss will be there. How does he do it?!? I need to find out his secret!

[Capt_Uhura]

Yes, I have SJogren's and by the end of the day, my voice is just done. And then my 7yr old  begs for me to read aloud to her. Some nights I just can't do it and she reads to me or she asks her dad. 8-( I chew Biotene gum and that helps and if I remember, I take a Salagen tablet about an hour before her bed time.

[texasmama]

I often read until I am hoarse but this will often be two hours a day.  I have found that one can build up a certain stamina, though.  I recall when I was doing adjunct professor work and teaching three hour classes.  At the beginning of the semester, my voice was almost gone by the end of class. At the end of the semester, my stamina had increased quite a lot.

[texasmama]

 

I also have some weird stroke like speech impairments that go along with my seizures, that are a LOT worse at some times than others, and I have to adapt to that. It doesn't affect my writing anywhere near as badly as my speech. Sometimes I cannot read aloud at all. Sometimes reading aloud is worse than regular speech.

 

Would you mind speaking more to this?  I have some issues, as well, but I don't have seizures.  I do have a migraine headache history so the neurological crossover is there.  If you don't want to go into your personal medical issues on the internet (lol), please pm me or don't answer.  No big deal.  I've just not heard anyone describe something that sounds similar to something I deal with.

[GailV]

 

I use voice-sparing techniques when I find my voice wearing out - speaking more softly with less inflection.

 

 

Oddly, speaking more softly with less inflection wears out my voice more quickly.  I think I pitch my voice lower when I do it, though, so that might be what the problem is.  Hmmm, I need to experiment!

 

Also, we're just plain loud here, so our high volume, high inflection range gets lots of workout on a regular basis.  When theater microphones are broken, my kids are the ones who go without so other kids can have mics -- we don't need to shout to be heard by the audience.

[Ellie]

I only read one chapter a day aloud, from the good book I've chosen for us to enjoy together. :-)

[G5052]

I often read until I am hoarse but this will often be two hours a day.  I have found that one can build up a certain stamina, though.  I recall when I was doing adjunct professor work and teaching three hour classes.  At the beginning of the semester, my voice was almost gone by the end of class. At the end of the semester, my stamina had increased quite a lot.

 

This is definitely true.  Being able to read out loud or teach for long periods of time can indeed be "built" although of course there are other factors as well.  When mine were much younger and had a lot of Sonlight read-alouds, I sometimes then had a hard time with my evening college classes.  Over time it got better though, and I learned that the skills I learned in voice lessons and being well-hydrated make a big difference.

 

Now I do fine teaching 4 hours straight online in the morning, and then another 3 in the evening at the college as long as I don't have a cold or such and drink water all day.  My teaching gigs have times when I'm not talking though, and that is different than reading out loud.

 

And recorded books are a huge help.  We used those a lot too and used to always have one we were working on in the car.  

[SweetMissMagnolia]

makes me sleepy---I've noticed it does my son also

[Occasionally]

Yep, and it makes me yawn, too.

[aprilleigh]

I have the same problem, yet I can lecture without experiencing it. I think it's because I tend to walk around the room while lecturing to both watch the students for looks of confusion and keep them focused on the lecture (they're less likely to be texting instead of paying attention if I might wander by and catch them at it). I sit on the sofa next to DS when doing read-alouds. I ended up buying the CDs for SotW and turning bed-time reading over to DH (which has other benefits because now DS sees DH reading). This saves my voice for other read-alouds.

[trulycrabby]

I did 90 minutes with The Jungle Book this morning, and boy, my throat was sore afterwards. I sing and know how to use my voice correctly, but sometimes it just wears out. It was worth it, though. :)

[Piper]

Oh my, I am so very glad to know I'm not the only one!!  Sometimes just by the end of the school day I'm done - and that's not counting read-alouds.  I teach a couple of religious ed classes, and that does me in, too.  I have a feeling that posture has something to do with it, so it was good to see that mentioned as a feasible possibility by a pp.  Also, when teaching a class, I think I just tend to be loud.  I really need to focus on speaking more quietly.

[...................]

I'm a talker so I'd have to read for more than 2 hours before my voice would get tired!

 

BUT I have TMJ so my jaw can only handle it these days for about a half an hour.  :o(

[idnib]

Yes, both my throat and jaw become tired. 

 

We do make caffeine-free honey-sweetened tea during read-aloud time. The kids think it's a fun ritual but really it's designed to relax them and soothe my throat.

[mommymilkies]

Oh yes, me too. I'm not a talkative person IRL and never realized how weak my voice was before I coached boys soccer. Lol

 

I can only read about 20 minutes at a time. My voice just wears out like I have laryngitis.

[Seeking Squirrels]

Yes it exhausts my voice quickly. I used to be able to read aloud or talk for a long time with no problems, but I had h1n1 a couple of years ago and my voice hasn't been the same since. It feels strained a lot of the time, but especially when reading aloud.