Many aspiring singers use and abuse their voice and wonder why their throat hurts when they are taking singing lessons. They are frustrated about feeling like they need to cough every time they start singing and can’t figure out what is causing the discomfort. As a celebrity voice coach, my job is to make sure my clients can perform for 2 hours a night for audiences of 10,000 fans sometimes even 5 nights a week. Here are 6 important tips for keeping your voice on point whether you are a beginner or a professional and even in snowy weather, like we have at our studio in Bend, Oregon.
- Do Drink Plenty of Water
First things first, you guys are singers! You need to know that your vocal cords get dried out just like your skin. Keep them hydrated and they will thank you especially when you are practicing singing. Always have a bottle of water with you when you are in your singing lesson, recording, performing or even just practicing at home. Think of singing as a workout. You wouldn’t dream of going to the gym without water so give yourself the same rule for singing, even in the car.
- Do Get Plenty of Sleep
Your mamma told you, your teachers told you and now I will tell you. Go to bed. Look I get it, you are singers, there are times when you have to stay up late to perform (or even just have a life), but always have a game plan. If you are up till 3am at a show, plan to sleep to 11am. Try and always get your 8 hours if you want your voice to be at 100%.
- Do Breathe Correctly
Breathing wrong can cause extra vibration on your vocal chords which leads to scarring. This is bad. In case your not sure of you are doing it right, click here.
- Do Warm Up Your Voice: No Matter What
At The Golden Voice we are really serious about our warm ups. My clients are not only touring till late at night, but often times can’t get the proper amount of sleep after a concert because of a 5am radio interview or an inconvenient flight. If there is one thing that saves their voice it’s that they use the customized warm ups we teach them at The Golden Voice. Warming up should be like taking a shower; it’s something you do every day even if it’s only for 5 minutes. Some of the benefits of keeping your voice warm are that you will increase your range, protect your vocal chords and be more ready when you are asked to sing on the fly. If you guys are singers who don’t know how to warm up or even just need a new regimen and want to know what the famous singers do; call us at The Golden Voice for a singing lesson in Bend, Oregon, Los Angeles or via Skype, and we can hook you up.
- Don’t Yell
Just like how professional athletes are typically banned from extreme sports like base-jumping and skydiving (unless of course that is their job), don’t yell! Yelling for a singer is like a football player base-jumping, where as he might break his legs or die, you might damage your voice permanently. If you have to yell because you’re at a nightclub and can’t hear your friends over the music or you’re at a football game…yell in a high pitched, nasally chest voice and keep it to a minimum, or just whistle! It’s not worth blowing out your voice if your goal is to sing.
- Don’t Whisper
Just like yelling, whispering puts unnecessary strain on your voice. Believe it or not, I have known singers to completely lose their voice from loudly whispering.
- Do Try The Whitney Houston Warm Ups
If you lose your voice because you’re dehydrated or were up late, or sang without warming up, or yelled or whispered too much but you still have to perform, try this technique. First, don’t talk all day unless you have to. Be like Celine Dion who just writes everything on a notepad on her touring days and refuses to speak. Then about 20 minutes before your show, instead of normal warming up just hum along to your song lightly. Keep running through one of the songs you’re going to perform but now add a little more volume to your hum. Then try scatting the song, next do a mumble/sing through the lyrics, finally you sing the lyrics clearly. Now you will be warmed up without any extra stress on your voice and you will be in the mood and vibe to kill your song.
In conclusion, if you want to become a professional singer and pass up thousands of other aspiring singers, you really need to treat yourself like a pro athlete would. For more tips on keeping your voice at it’s best read this.
