Here are 10 healthiest ways to keep your voice in top condition:
10. Take the snot out of your diet!
Limit your overall consumption of dairy and gluten products when getting ready for a performance. These things are just bad…bad…BAD for vocal health and tend to cause mucus build-up on the vocal cords (which restricts the range of sound they can produce).
Limit your overall consumption of dairy and gluten products when getting ready for a performance. These things are just bad…bad…BAD for vocal health and tend to cause mucus build-up on the vocal cords (which restricts the range of sound they can produce).
9. Inside voices, please!
Get rid of husbands, wives, girlfriends, and kids–or anything else that may cause you to yell or scream. Your voice only has so many hours per day before it becomes strained, and yelling shortens this window.
Get rid of husbands, wives, girlfriends, and kids–or anything else that may cause you to yell or scream. Your voice only has so many hours per day before it becomes strained, and yelling shortens this window.
8. No smoking!
DO NOT SMOKE ANYTHING! Smoke is an irritant that swells your vocal cords and burns the cilia off of your lungs, inhibiting them from absorbing oxygen. You think I’m kidding? Really? A singer who smokes? One of my best friends has throat cancer from smoking. They just cut his throat out….doesn't sing too well now.
DO NOT SMOKE ANYTHING! Smoke is an irritant that swells your vocal cords and burns the cilia off of your lungs, inhibiting them from absorbing oxygen. You think I’m kidding? Really? A singer who smokes? One of my best friends has throat cancer from smoking. They just cut his throat out….doesn't sing too well now.
7. HYDRATE, HYDRATE, HYDRATE
Drink 8-10 glasses of pure water every day. Water lubricates your vocal cords like oil lubricates a car engine. Adding a little lemon also helps. Citric acid tends to clear the mucus off of your cords, and thick mucous causes unwanted friction and trauma to vocal cords. More water = less friction = less trauma = better voice. Get it? Vocal science, not rocket science. Also, you may want to take a porta potty everywhere you go.
Drink 8-10 glasses of pure water every day. Water lubricates your vocal cords like oil lubricates a car engine. Adding a little lemon also helps. Citric acid tends to clear the mucus off of your cords, and thick mucous causes unwanted friction and trauma to vocal cords. More water = less friction = less trauma = better voice. Get it? Vocal science, not rocket science. Also, you may want to take a porta potty everywhere you go.
6. No gravel!
NEVER go into the gravelly part of the throat—this means YOU too, rock singers!. Although it sometimes sounds cool, dropping the larynx roughs your voice up like sand paper and will ultimately reduce your range to one octave! Coughing or clearing your throat does the same thing, so try and drink water to clear your throat next time you are sick.
NEVER go into the gravelly part of the throat—this means YOU too, rock singers!. Although it sometimes sounds cool, dropping the larynx roughs your voice up like sand paper and will ultimately reduce your range to one octave! Coughing or clearing your throat does the same thing, so try and drink water to clear your throat next time you are sick.
5. Get good training!
Develop a good singing technique. Vocal training will not change your style, it will strengthen your voice and allow you to sing longer, louder, more often and without fatigue. Vocal training will help make you a vocal athlete and hopefully a great rock star with lots of female fans. Or male. Whatever floats your boat.
Develop a good singing technique. Vocal training will not change your style, it will strengthen your voice and allow you to sing longer, louder, more often and without fatigue. Vocal training will help make you a vocal athlete and hopefully a great rock star with lots of female fans. Or male. Whatever floats your boat.
4. A good singing voice starts with a good speaking voice.
Develop a speaking voice to go with your singing voice. You speak 99% of the time and sing 1%. A poor speaking voice often leads to vocal strain that will carry into your singing voice. This is true especially on tours, when giving radio and other media interviews, and while speaking publicly.
Develop a speaking voice to go with your singing voice. You speak 99% of the time and sing 1%. A poor speaking voice often leads to vocal strain that will carry into your singing voice. This is true especially on tours, when giving radio and other media interviews, and while speaking publicly.
3. Shut up!
Take vocal “naps”. Your voice needs a rest, just like you do. So, find quiet time everyday – especially when on tour. You also need to take an 8 hour break from talking every 24 hours…for most of us this is sleep. But if you are like me and never sleep, at least find time to be quiet.
Take vocal “naps”. Your voice needs a rest, just like you do. So, find quiet time everyday – especially when on tour. You also need to take an 8 hour break from talking every 24 hours…for most of us this is sleep. But if you are like me and never sleep, at least find time to be quiet.
2. Warm up!
Do warms-ups every single morning…your voice will get use to waking up earlier and earlier. This is very important! I could use this entire blog to stress the importance of warming up your voice Annoy your roommates and neighbors as much as possible with your warm ups.
Do warms-ups every single morning…your voice will get use to waking up earlier and earlier. This is very important! I could use this entire blog to stress the importance of warming up your voice Annoy your roommates and neighbors as much as possible with your warm ups.
1. When your vocal cords speak…LISTEN!
Most importantly, listen to your voice. Like any athlete, you will be the first to know when trouble is starting. If you voice hurts, back off. Change your set. Choose songs you can sing without straining your voice. However, don’t submit to doing this every single time…find out what the problem is and fix it! You will eventually learn the dos and don’ts of your particular set of vocal cords.
Most importantly, listen to your voice. Like any athlete, you will be the first to know when trouble is starting. If you voice hurts, back off. Change your set. Choose songs you can sing without straining your voice. However, don’t submit to doing this every single time…find out what the problem is and fix it! You will eventually learn the dos and don’ts of your particular set of vocal cords.
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