The Healthy Singer

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You only have one voice. You can’t abuse it and then expect a doctor to make it right again, because it may never be the same. Another thing that people forget is that when the voice doesn’t feel right we tend to compensate with habits that are not ideal. These new (or old) bad habits may stick with us after the voice should be healthy again.

Here are some things that are harmful to your voice or just plain taxing. How many do you do?

Screaming, talking forcefully all the time, talking in the car, lots of laughing
Doing funny voices
Dry air, not enough water intake
Glottal attacks and throat effort in your speech
Breathing very cold air
Poor diet, lack of sleep, stress
Cheerleading
Allergies
Allergy medications
Aspirin, ibuprofen
Caffeine, alcohol
Smoking, especially marijuana
Talking, singing or whispering when you have laryngitis

Sure, some of these are hard to avoid. The singer must spend a lifetime working to minimize the stresses on the voice, though. If you have allergies, for example, do everything you can to be good to your voice in other ways, like drinking lots of water and eating properly.

Eating just before bed is a favorite ritual for some of us, but this can lead to acid reflux when you lie down, which is very hard on the voice. Eating spicy foods for dinner or eating too much of anything within a few hours of bed are best left to the non-singers. If you tend to have heartburn and stomach problems and if your voice is rough in the morning and improves through the day, you should ask a doctor about reflux. (For more about reflux, see What is GERD?)

Wintertime Immunity

Singers have to stay on top of their health at all times. A little cold can leave you with a cough, irritated vocal cords, or a sinus infection for weeks, making singing an unpleasant activity and perhaps leading to more serious damage to the voice.

In order to avoid illness as much as possible, be sure to eat well, get regular sleep, and be a bit fanatical about washing your hands, disinfecting doorknobs, and steering clear of sick people. Vitamins might help keep you strong, and water has a beneficial effect, too. Some people like to take herbs like echinacea and garlic, but these work best if taken when you've been exposed to a bug but haven't gotten sick yet. They may not help at all after the sore throat has begun. At that point you might try breathing steam to clear out your respiratory system and help the entire respiratory system heal.

And if you do come down with something, consider the following.

The Advantages of Being Sick

No, it’s not crazy . Think about this:

1.When you're sick you don't expect so much of yourself. You tend to expect the singing to not sound good, so you relax and let it go without employing your usual extra effort. The result is free singing that you normally wouldn't allow yourself. And if you can't stand what you hear, put your fingers in your ears!

2. If your throat hurts, you’ll work extra hard to get the sensations (effort) away from it, which is always good. This is a good time to go for the forward placement.

2. At the beginning of a cold you often sing better because the mucus is thinner on your vocal cords.

3. Sometimes the congestion in your head is situated just right so that the focus is really obvious.

4. You can learn a lot by working when the voice is just a little under the weather, since old habits tend to come back and you must work them out again.

5. This is a great time to concentrate on expression and character.

Don't push too hard for high notes, perfect clarity or long rehearsals, and you should be okay. But remember to do no singing (or speaking, whispering or even whistling) when you have laryngitis.

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