Healthy Speech Can Improve Your Singing
Your singing voice is affected by your speaking voice By taking good care of your voice when speaking, you are improving your vocal health. Try making your speaking habits more healthy by: When you’re at parties, clubs, or sporting events and want to be heard, speak at full volume without screaming. If you tend to speak loudly all the time, turn down the volume. Noticing the articulation as you speak to prevent tension – not speaking with tension, such as jaw tension or tongue tension. When talking on the telephone, apply your knowledge of breathing. Don’t talk so long that your voice hurts from lack of breath support.
Maintain a Healthy 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. Be sure to give your body the nourishment it requires to increase your stamina. While some singers like to eat late in the day, this isn’t a good idea since your body needs fuel to get started. Try to get yourself into a routine where you eat something early in the day so you don’t find yourself snacking late at night because your body feels hungry.
Keep Yourself Properly Hydrated
Your body is 50% to 65% water. Your lungs need water in order to keep its tissues moving as they should. Muscle tissue is made up of 75% water. This means that your singing voice works better when your body is hydrated properly.
Some people get bored just drinking water. You can drink other liquids to keep yourself hydrated, but remember that drinks that are high in sugar won’t help your waistline and caffeine can really dry you out. Since caffeine is a diuretic it makes your body shed any excess water which means that cup of coffee in the morning isn’t going to help your voice.
Get Plenty of Shut-Eye
Too little sleep makes it difficult for your throat tissue to heal. If you continually deprive yourself of sleep, you voice begins to feel sluggish. You have to give your voice a chance to regenerate and recoup at night. Try getting more sleep for a few nights and see if it makes a difference 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. A balanced diet also includes the proper amounts of fats, carbohydrates, and protein Many singers find that performing requires more energy which means protein should be added to increase energy levels.
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. When you spray the solution up your nose you effectively wash away germs that may be waiting around, ready to attack your immune system.
Or try gargling with warm salt water. Adding a few teaspoons of salt to a half cup of warm water and then gargling helps wash away any germs that can lodge in the back of your mouth. Simply mix about a half cup of warm water with a few teaspoons of salt and gargle, washing away germs that are lodged in the back of your mouth. People that get frequent infections around their tonsils find that saltwater is a good friend. 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. If you’d like more information about vocal health and learning to sing I recommend checking out Singing Success. Singing Success is a world famous home study singing course created by Nashville singing coach Brett Manning.
