Singing advice when you are in an area with poor air quality
  • rvisser
    Posts: 81
    I live a few hours south of Canada, and we have a lot of smoke here from the wildfires (those of you who live in Canada must have it much worse!). The sun has barely shone for weeks, and the smoke is having a very noticeable effect on my singing voice. My choir is also noticing the effects on their vocal cords. All of us are having a hard time making it through a whole Mass.
    Any advice from those of you that deal with poor air quality on a regular basis? This is my first year living so far north. My normal tricks for dealing with crud while singing aren't working with the smoke. My range is getting more limited, and my voice gets hoarse easily. Sometimes I am not able to sing at all.
  • SponsaChristi
    Posts: 606
    From what you’re saying, it sounds like unsafe working conditions and it would be safer to just have low Masses with no music. If there’s smoke getting into the church and you have a pipe organ, it’s also at best causing soot to build up in it, if not causing damage to the organ as well.

    I’m in Canada and a few weeks ago they postponed a CFL football game to the following day because air conditions (that weren’t as bad as what you’re describing) made it unsafe for the players. It probably cost them a lot of money in lost ticket revenue with having to refund tickets (it was a sold out game, but the stands were practically empty).

    It’s not something to mess around with or try to power through as some sort of proud martyrdom (it’s something that would happen in some places).

    Thanked by 1rvisser
  • francis
    Posts: 11,175
    New choir garb
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    726 x 1447 - 723K
    Thanked by 5Abbysmum rvisser MatthewRoth tandrews monasteryliturgist
  • AbbysmumAbbysmum
    Posts: 105
    Yeah, I'm in Canada too, and it's one of the worst years ever. I'm about an hour north of the border (as are most Canadians lol). I'm in Manitoba, and we've had very significant fires up north in our province, as well as on the east side. And they burn forever, sometimes for years. I was at my SIL's cottage this past week, and there were fires there in the spring. The turf is still burning underground in some places, even though the fire above ground has been out for months.

    N95 masks help somewhat. Some are okay to sing in, as I learned during the height of Covid. The best treatment is avoidance, like Sponsa says.

    Older folk and the very young are especially prone to the effects, so even if you're okay, they shouldn't be singing or being out and about. That might also be a reason to just not sing.
    Thanked by 2CHGiffen rvisser
  • SponsaChristi
    Posts: 606
    I'm in Canada too, and it's one of the worst years ever

    Ironically, I’m in western Canada and for once, we haven’t had a smoke-filled summer. We’ve just had rain and elephant sized mosquitoes.
    Thanked by 2CharlesW Abbysmum
  • GambaGamba
    Posts: 641
    Smoke will continue until tariffs improve.
    Thanked by 6CharlesW Abbysmum tandrews StimsonInRehab Heath francis
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 12,041
    We gave even gotten some smoke in East Tennessee along with some from several fires in our own area.
    Thanked by 1Abbysmum
  • rvisser
    Posts: 81
    Thank you, Canadian neighbors!
    We have air quality alerts until Tuesday so it might be improving this week, but I will see if we can do a low Mass for Assumption, at least.
  • AbbysmumAbbysmum
    Posts: 105
    Ironically, I’m in western Canada and for once, we haven’t had a smoke-filled summer. We’ve just had rain and elephant sized mosquitoes.


    We were in Alberta for 2 weeks in July, and it was wonderfully smoke-free but tons of rain. I imagine there's mosquitoes there now... Of course, it was pea soup driving through SW Saskatchewan to get there...
  • SponsaChristi
    Posts: 606
    Of course, it was pea soup driving through SW Saskatchewan to get there...

    Grasshoppers?
  • AbbysmumAbbysmum
    Posts: 105
    Grasshoppers?


    Pea soup like the expression for dense fog. The Cypress Hills were unhilly because we couldn't see them!
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
  • SponsaChristi
    Posts: 606
    Pea soup like the expression for dense fog. The Cypress Hills were unhilly because we couldn't see them!

    It’s grasshopper season in Saskatchewan. They bake onto your car and windshield when you hit them on the highway and make such a mess.
  • M. Jackson Osborn
    Posts: 8,486
    It sounds like some choir members complaining about overly (wonderfully, to me!) smokey thuribles.
    Seriously, I have not experienced your plight, so all I can do is to pray for you.

    Years ago, at the height of the air pollution era, we had a serious hovering of industrial pollution that pervaded everywhere in Houston.
    Going outside in that air caused one's eyes to burn, the smell was odious, and the sky had the colour of a sick yellowish grey.
    Fortunately, that is a thing of the past.
    I hope that conditions in your area improve.

    Would a few well placed fans be of any help?
    Thanked by 3CHGiffen rvisser CharlesW
  • AbbysmumAbbysmum
    Posts: 105
    It’s grasshopper season in Saskatchewan. They bake onto your car and windshield when you hit them on the highway and make such a mess.


    Oh THAT. Yes. I had to wash the van. The wasps were following us around lol. Manitoba gets like that too - I didn't even think about it.
  • monasteryliturgistmonasteryliturgist
    Posts: 508
    We live in a highly polluted area and have similar issues- the best we have come up with is very strong ginger tea at night. It helps a little but in general its not an easily solvable problem.
    Thanked by 1rvisser
  • rvisser
    Posts: 81
    It is clearing up around here (the sun is actually shining!), finally. @M. Jackson Osborn - we do have fans running in the church and in the loft (it's not air conditioned, so the windows are all open, which probably isn't helping with the smoke) but I haven't found it that helpful.
    This feels different than incense smoke, which we also have plenty of on Sunday mornings!
  • SteveOttomanyi
    Posts: 44
    I'm director of music at a parish that was within the evacuation zone in the Eaton Fire in the Los Angeles area this past January. Mandatory evac zone was two blocks north for about 3 months. The slightest breeze and we got ash and smoke everywhere for about two months.

    Our choir sang every week, but the first few weeks we all masked when not singing; some more-sensitive singers (asthma, diabetes, etc.) masked for about 2 months, some even when singing. One or two of the most sensitive singers stayed out for two weeks.

    From the time of the pandemic, the church has very good, high-quality air purifiers in the AC/heating system, HEPA filter and all, so it helped a great deal.

    As for the junk pipe organ we currently have, we are fortunate in that we are getting a new organ (new for the parish, at least; it's a 1927 Skinner), so soot and debris in the pipes were not as great a concern, especially since the current instrument is deeply enchambered. But, had things been worse, I would have had dust covers over the postage-stamp openings.
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