Helpful Article #03

Good Vocal Health - How to Have a Healthy Singing Voice
By Dileesa Hunter

The health of one's voice depends largely on how one treats it. If one could actually see their vocal cords in action, one would note that they are delicate ligaments that are easily manipulated, and easily bruised.
It is important to note that good general health precedes good vocal health. "Good" health is relative, so let's cover the basics.

• If you are a smoker, STOP. Smoking doesn't take you from soprano to alto, its takes you from soprano to nothing.

• Drink plenty of clear fluids daily. Singing is an athletic activity that involves the entire body, so you must be hydrated.

• Increase fruits and veggies. Why? Again, singing is athletic!! Just as a track runner prepares for a race by eating right, so should singers.

Now, more specific to singers, it is important to recognize that many times we wear our voices out before we even get on stage! How? The way we speak. Please remember, our speaking and singing voices use the same vocal cords. So, talking in a loud cafeteria, on the phone with the car windows down, rounding up the kids, all wears on our voice. People who consider singing their vocation must 'baby' their voices. Here are some tips:

• Find a note that you can easily hum on, and speak on that tone. It may sound funny at first, but your voice will love you for it.

• Make people move in closer to hear you, as opposed to you shouting over a noisy room

• Limit phone conversations in the car, or at least wind the windows up and turn the radio down!

• ALWAYS stay hydrated.

• When you are sick, REST. Trying to sing when you are already sick with a cold or flu can cause permanent damage, so take it easy.

Here's another tip that's easier said than done: Find your 'mix' voice, and sing in that as much as possible. This will dramatically increase your vocal stamina. A 'mixed voice' is the technique of mixing your chest voice with head voice to find a middle voice that makes your voice much more fluid, full, and even from top to bottom. Having sung and still singing Gospel music for so many years, (I believe) it's the only way I survived!!

Some also refer to this technique as speech- level- singing. The basic idea is to place your singing voice where you talk, to make the most natural sound. We speak with our teeth, tongues, lips, but so often when we sing, our voice is in the back of our throats! SPS, or singing in our 'mix' , brings us back to this basic truth of forward placement.

I want to hear from you! If this article was useful, please let me know your comments! Also, please visit http://www.AmericanSingingStudio.com for more information and products.

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