Singing is similar to any physical activity. If you’re reckless or don’t have proper training, you’re likely to hurt yourself.
In the cases of John Mayer, Adele, Keith Urban and others, they’re in the business of using their voices every day. They’re likely to get injured; it just comes with the job. It’s no different than a professional athlete being more likely to sprain an ankle than the average desk jockey.
They can also afford to take months off to have surgery at the earliest detection of a problem.
Most of us can’t.
Sooo, we must take precautions to reduce our chances for injury. Here are some guidelines to follow.
Stay hydrated and develop healthy habits
Drink the recommended 8-10 glasses of water every day. Although ice cold water may feel great on a hot day, it’s not best for vocal chords that will be vibrating rapidly. Drink water at room temperature, especially if you’re planning to sing in a few hours.
Keep in mind that water takes a while to actually hydrate you. Chugging a gallon of water five minutes before your set will only leave you bloated. Drink a few glasses a few hours beforehand and then sip during the show.
Avoid caffeine and alcohol, they both dehydrate you. You know what happens when you leave a rubber band out in the hot summer sun? You don’t want that for your vocal chords.
Smoking also dries and irritates the voice. It also affects your breathing, which leads to tension. Tension is bad for singing and most other activities.
Within an hour of singing, avoid any beverages or foods that produce that slimy mucous in your mouth (i.e. milk and other dairy, sugary fruit drinks and soda/pop). Tea (decaf) with a little honey and lemon is good, just don’t overdo the lemon because it can dry your throat.
Warmup properly
Before singing, warmup for a minimum of ten minutes. Twenty minutes is better. If you’re singing in the morning, warmup twice as long.
Every vocal warmup should start with a simple humming exercise. It is safe and low impact on your vocal chords and will loosen things up. You can then move on to the traditional vowel-centered scales and other exercises.
Don’t run a marathon when you trained for the mile
The amount you practice will show in your voice during performances. You’ll feel it and others will hear it.
If you only sing once or twice a week for ten minutes at a time, don’t expect to be able to perform well for a two hour show on a Saturday night.
If you plan to perform regularly, work up to the time just like any athlete would train for a competition or game day.
Don’t abuse your voice
Avoid screaming. On top of being bad for your voice, your family doesn’t like it either. Whispering is also straining on your voice, so avoid it as much as possible.
Talk in a normal tone, at a reasonable volume. Many men and women talk lower than their natural tone and this puts unnecessary strain on the the voice. In general, talking a lot throughout the day can strain your voice. Just be careful.
If you’re sick and can afford it, cancel the show. Illness presents obvious physical limitations like dryness, swelling or soreness, but it also affects your head.
If you’re worried about hitting high notes with your cold-lowered voice, chances are you’ll be far more tense than you should be. If you absolutely can’t avoid singing, drink extra tea and water, warmup twice as long, and avoid unnecessary talking before and after singing.
Invest in yourself with voice lessons
Whether you want to sing pop, rock or opera, qualified vocal instruction is crucial. It’s where you learn the foundation for proper breathing, vowel formation, register changes, posture, and many other important techniques. It’s like having a personal yoga instructor for your vocal chords.
In general, use common sense and don’t abuse your voice. If you like to sing, it IS your instrument, so take care of it. It’s also part of your body so why would you want to hurt yourself?
We found some great resources on caring for your voice here and here. They are a bit lengthy but include solid information.
Question: What other tips do you have to protect and maintain a healthy voice?
** The featured image for this post is courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net / phanlop88