Voice Lessons Online- How to Maintain a Healthy Voice

Many people fail to realize that being a professional vocalist is much like being a professional athlete. Not only do you have to take care of your voice as your prepare for performances or recitals, but you must also maintain the health of your voice when offstage, much like how an athlete must take care of his or her body and stay in shape in the off-season.

Vocal health is vital to maintaining foundational vocal skills learned through voice lessons online but also for acquiring new skills and mastering different vocal techniques. Following are ten singing tips to help you maintain the health of your voice.

1. Rest. Sleeping is not only important for the health of your body overall but also important for the health of your voice. Your body performs many regenerative and restorative processes while you are sleep. This is the period of time when your body heals itself and getting adequate sleep ensures that your vocal chords are receiving the necessary healing processes that they require.

2. Water. Drinking lots of water every day is essential to voice health. Water keeps the vocal chords hydrated as well as aiding in all other physiological functions. You should drink between 6-8 glasses of water per day minimum or up to your body weight in ounces. Therefore if I weight 120, then I would ideally drink 120 ounces of water throughout my day. That being said, monitoring your intact of dehydrating drinks is also important. You should limit your consumption of alcohol and caffeinated beverages, especially before a performance.

3. Smoking. Apart from the general health risks associated with smoking, smoking is especially detrimental to the health of vocal chords and therefore and dangerous habit to be held by professional singers. Smoking inflames not only the larynx but the vocal chords themselves which can make optimal singing much more difficult. Smoking also inflames the lining of the lungs themselves and can make breathing more difficult which affects the breath support needed for vocalization, therefore it should be avoided. If you previously smoked and find yourself having difficulties with breath support, you can find proper breathing tips through voice lessons online.

4. Clearing your throat. Clearing your throat can cause excessive damage to your vocal chords. When you clear your throat you are essentially slamming your vocal chords together. For an athlete it would be analogous to a pitcher running his throwing arm into a wall over and over again. Your most valuable assets as a professional singer are your vocal chords and you want to treat them with care. If you feel the urge to clear your throat, try drinking a glass of water, or warm tea with honey until the feeling subsides. If you must clear your throat try coughing instead, it is less harmful on your vocal chords than clearing your throat.

5. Take Naps. Now, we already talked about the importance of sleeping. I am referring to a “voice nap.” Set aside periods of time in your day where you can be silent. Giving your vocal chords a rest can help them heal and allows the vocal muscles to relax. Give yourself three or four fifteen minute periods throughout the day where you can be silent and allow your vocal chords a break.

6. Relax. Relaxing is important for all of our muscles, including your vocal muscles. Relaxing the muscles of your neck, shoulders, and face is important to allow them to heal if need be and be restored by the body. I often do not realize how tense I become and have to remind myself to relax the muscles around my neck and shoulders, but I have noticed a huge difference in my voice (and attitude) when I began making relaxation periods a priority.

7. Yelling and Screaming. Don’t do them. Period. Yelling and Screaming can be incredibly damaging to your voice. Both can cause hoarseness, vocal chord scarring, as well as periodic loss of voice completely! Try to avoid scenarios which would require you to shout or yell and follow the next tip if those scenarios are unavoidable.

8. Amplification. Use amplification when performing or doing public speaking. Using amplification devices is the easiest way to prevent vocal strain and is readily available these days in almost every venue.

9. Humidity. If your voice feels dry or you feel excess mucous in your throat, get a humidifier (or move to Florida). Your body may start to produce more mucous if the weather is too dry, or the vocal chords may simply dry out, whereas in a mildly humid or moist environment, vocal chords are able to stay moist without fighting excess mucous.

10. Warm-ups. Never, NEVER try to sing at full capacity without first warming up your voice. Vocal warm-ups allow your voice to ease into singing and prevent vocal strain and vocal chord damage.

Like an athlete, professional vocalists (and vocalists in general) must take great care of their voices. Vocal health at all times is necessary for optimal performances at specific times and simple life alterations can help vocalists take better care of their voice and achieve their desired vocal health.

You can learn more about vocal health and singing tips to help you master new vocal skills through voice lessons online.