If you want to become a professional singer, you need to know how to take care of your voice.
Losing your voice is not only devastating to you as a performer – but it also means that you are losing gigs, and not getting paid to sing.
The good news is, it can be very easy to avoid any damage to your voice – as long as you follow a few guidelines.
10 Ways To Help Prevent Loss Of Voice When Singing
1. Always Warm Up Before Singing
Taking the time to fully warm up your voice is vital for any professional singer. This includes warming up before you perform on stage or even before you practice at home.
Take about 20-30 minutes to fully stretch your voice and you will find that you can sing for longer without getting a sore voice.
Here’s a great article to get you started – How to warm up your voice before singing: Vocal warm up
2. Remember to Cool Down After Singing
After a performance you’ve given your vocal folds a good work out. Just like you need to cool down after a long run – your vocal chords need to cool down as well. Spend a few minutes stretching and soothing your voice after every time you sing.
3. Avoid Coughing
While sick, coughing can sometimes be hard to avoid – But, it can be quiet damaging for your vocal chords. The action of coughing makes your vocal folds squeeze and rub together harshly. Which can often lead to voice problems or worst case, throat nodules.
If you can, try to gently swallow instead of coughing. This will hopefully suppress the tickle in your throat and remove any built up mucus.
If you must cough, shape your mouth as you would to sing an “oooooo” sound and cough with an “oooooo”. This is slightly less damaging than other coughs.
4. Don’t Drink Cold Water
As a singer it is vital to drink lots of water and keep your vocal chords well hydrated. But remember, cold or iced water is a big no no!
Cold water increases muscle tension, which can reverse the effect of all those vocal warm ups you just did. The ideal temperature for water is room temperature.
5. Don’t Drink Tea Before Singing
It may be a bit confusing, as many people believe that a nice cup of warm tea should be soothing for your voice. This is not the case.
Tea, just like coffee, contains caffeine which is a diuretic. Diuretics promote the production of urine and in turn have a dehydrating effect. It’s best to have a warm cup of water with some lemon and honey, to soothe your tired voice
6. Don’t Yell
This can sometimes be difficult for singers who work in bars & clubs, needing to talk to friends and customers when there is constant noise around. But if you find that you are yelling to be heard, maybe suggest you find a quieter place to talk. This will help keep strain from your vocal folds between singing and you will avoid any hoarseness of the voice.
7. Avoid Straining for High Notes
It takes a lot of technique and practice to hit high notes. You can’t just achieve it over night. And trying to do so can lead to loss of voice or even worse, vocal chord nodules.
Sing songs that sit comfortably in your range, and gradually work up to belting out a high note – your voice will thank you for it.
8. Use a Microphone
Most singers will encounter equipment malfunctions at some stage in their vocal career. However, if it happens to be your microphone that malfunctions, do not continue singing.
The added stress of trying to project and be heard in a crowded room can be incredibly damaging to your voice. Either find another mic to use or stop singing completely. It’s better to get the situation fixed than to damage your voice or get vocal nodules.
Don’t sing louder to compensate for a microphone that is not amplifying your voice enough. Ask the sound engineer to push your levels a little higher.
9. Don’t Whisper
If you are sick or have accidentally damaged your vocal chords though excessive singing – don’t whisper.
Whispering can cause even more damage to your vocal folds than regular speaking. The reason you have lost your voice is most likely because the vocal folds have become swollen or irritated, which means that they cannot come together properly.
If you don’t give your vocal chords adequate rest, the damaged areas could become hardened, resulting in nodules.
So get out that pen and paper, learn sign language – do whatever you have to, to rest that voice!
10. Don’t Smoke!
This one is a no brainer for many reasons – but smoking is especially damaging for a singer’s voice.
When the vocal cords are damaged, voice quality and vocal range, especially in your higher register, is affected. If you continue these bad habits you can do irreparable damage to your voice.
Is that a risk you are willing to take?
Take care of your vocal chords and you will be able to have a long, successful singing career.
