Incorporating healthy speech in your singing
Your speaking voice directly affects your singing By taking good care of your voice when speaking, you are improving your vocal health. Try making your speaking habits more healthy by: Talk at full volume when you want to be heard, but don’t scream. Talking at a reasonable volume, not speaking loudly all the time. Noticing the articulation as you speak to prevent tension – not speaking with tension, such as jaw tension or tongue tension. Use your knowledge of breathing and apply it while using the telephone. Avoid talking until your voice hurts from lack of breath.
Getting the skinny on weight
Though it might not be an issue for you, being too lean can cause problems regarding stamina when singing and trying to sustain higher pitches. To improve your stamina, make sure you’re giving your body the nourishment it needs. There are singers that don’t eat until late in the day, but the body needs nourishment to get started. To prevent snacking late at night, get in the habit of eating earlier in the day.
Keeping yourself hydrated
The human body is composed of 50% to 60% water. Your lungs need water in order to keep its tissues moving as they should. Muscle tissue is made up of 75% water. So keeping your body well hydrated helps your singing voice work better.
Many people don’t drink enough water because the taste is boring to them. You can balance out your hydration with other liquids as long as you realize that sugar content in most drinks doesn’t help your waistline and that caffeine actually dries you out. Because caffeine is diuretic, which means that it makes your body get rid of water, you can’t rely on that morning cup of coffee to keep your voice in good working order.
Get Plenty of Sleep
Not getting enough sleep doesn’t give the tissue in your throat enough time to heal. Your voice feels sluggish when you are sleep deprived. You have to give your voice a chance to regenerate and recoup at night. Try sleeping a little more for several nights and see the difference it makes in your singing.
Making sure you’re well nourished
Always maintain a balanced diet. Following guidelines of basic nutrition means getting a balanced amount of whole grains, fruits and vegetables, meats and dairy products. You should also ensure that your getting the right amounts of fats, protein, and carbohydrates. Because singing often requires extra energy, you may want to add some extra protein to your diet to enhance your ability to last through long rehearsals.
Preventing a Sore Throat or Infection
It can make a big difference if you keep just a few simple remedies hand for the times you feel a tickle coming on. One staple that many singers swear by is a bottle of saline nasal spray which is nothing more than water and salt. You can wash out any germs that may be lingering, waiting to make an attack on your immune system by spraying the solution up your nose.
You can also gargle with warm salt water. You can dislodge any germs from the back of your mouth when you gargle with a half a cup of warm water and a few teaspoons of salt. If you have frequent infections around your tonsils, you may find that saltwater is one of your best friends. When you swish the saltwater around in your mouth, you can stop any painful canker sores in their tracks.
I hope you found this vocal health information helpful. To learn to sing like a star and discover more about maintaining the best posssible vocal health, I recommend checking out the Bristow Voice Method from Per Bristow.