Parkinson’s disease is an incurable neurological disorder affecting the entire body, including the voice. Symptoms may be mild at first and become progressively worse. One of the common ailments for those who suffer with later stages of PD is difficulty with speech. Unfortunately, that usually means those same people will not sing with the same ability as before, however learning how to sing properly will increase a PD patient’s overall ability to use their voice.

Parkinson’s and the Voice: Parkinson’s disease is caused by an inability to produce dopamine in the brain. It can affect breathing, the vocal cords themselves, the ability to move the articulation muscles, and the overall sound of the voice. The muscles may be weaker, but are more often harder to coordinate. Because Parkinson’s patients have to think about muscle movement that was once automatic, overcoming voice dysfunction involves learning how to use the muscles in a new way. Beginning singers and PD patients have that in common. Many advanced voice teachers analyze how to use each muscle involved in speech and voice. Hence, the study of singing is a fun and effective way for PD patient’s to regain and retain function of their voice.

Breath Support: Parkinson’s patients may lack the ability to take a large breath, they may run out of air before speaking an entire phrase or sentence, and their voice may be weak and hard to hear. Singers spend a significant amount of time training in low, diaphragmatic breaths and achieving a steady stream of air throughout a sung phrase.

Singers also learn to connect their voice mechanism with the breath, in order to achieve a strong, projected tone quality. As they train, the techniques involved in breath support tend to roll over into their daily living. I, for one, take low breaths throughout the day and can easily project my voice over a large crowd. At whatever stage of Parkinson’s, learning to sing helps with communicating on a regular basis. Especially those who are just in the beginning stages of Parkinson’s should study singing while their voice is still strong and flexible.

Articulation Muscles: The articulation muscles of the lips, tongue, and mouth can be exercised using simple singing exercises like “bubble gum, bubble gum.” Singing requires over-articulation in order for listeners to understand the meaning of the text. If a PD patient works on being understood while singing, even if they never achieve a high degree of success, the practice will improve their ability to move their articulation muscles in speech. The International Phonetic Alphabet is also a useful tool to help dissect language into its simplest sounds, which helps native speakers rethink and improve the way they speak their own language.

Learning to Stress the Right Syllables and Words: One big component to Parkinson’s can be a monotone, expressionless voice. Whether the person wants to be dynamic or not, English is a stress based language. A lack of accents on correct syllables or words in a sentence simply makes it harder to be understood. For instance, I can say “Don’t tell me that,” with a raising of pitch and emphasis on ‘that,’ and sound more accusatory, versus an almost equal emphasis on each word, “Don’t tell me that,” and beginning the phrase from high to low, which expresses more of a frustrated feeling. A lack of stress on longer words like “ubiquitous,” can make it almost impossible to understand its meaning. Just like those with PD, most beginning singers also struggle with emphasizing the correct syllables and words in phrases.

Social Benefits: Parkinson’s patients who struggle with speech may feel isolated and alone. Yet thousands of singers across the world are fraught with the same obstacles as a typical PD patient. The difference is huge between singing and speaking well, but PD sufferers may find singers more sympathetic to their plight. For some PD patients, a group voice class may be just as refreshing as a support group. Even if the training does not result in professional quality singing, it will improve your quality of life by teaching you how to effectively use your voice.