How to care for the voice? Practical guide for singers
Your voice has no case: care with daily habits. Drilling, resting, warming and knowing when to demand a professional appraisal.
To care for his voice is above all a sum of habits: to drink water throughout his day, to sleep well, to warm up before singing, to be sure that his name and his name and his name have been broken after intense use. No last-minute trick replaces these habits.
The guide talks about habits and about treatments. If you have persistent hysteatness, pain or changes in your voice, you have to be valued as an otorrinolaringologist and the phonoaudiologist is the professional with the rehabilitation of the voice.
To sum up
- What moisturizes the vocal cords is the water you drink during the day, and not the glass you drink right before you sing.
- Vowel's rest is to speak less and more softly, and to whisper with force isn't a rest.
- Switch the carraspere to swallow saliva or have a sip of water.
- Singing should have no pain: pain, dung that doesn't leave or loss of notes are a reason for consultation.
- If your snoring lasts more than two or three weeks, contact an otorrinolaringologist.
Hydration: inside and outside
The vocal cords vibrate hundreds of times a second and require a fluent layer of mucosa to do so without pounding. That hydration has two sources.
Inner
The water that you have to drink does not pass through the vocal cords: it goes through the esophagus. It comes to them through the body and that takes time. That's why it's more useful to have water spread throughout the day than a big glass just before the trial.
Out.
The air that you have breathing also counts. In Bogotá there are very dry seasons, and the electrical heaters, office air conditioning and airplanes have been more resounding and breathing through the nose while you are not singing helps to warm and moist the air before it gets to the larynx.
There are substances that resound or irritate: alcohol, cigarettes and vapour and for some people an excess of coffee. It's not about prohibitions but about how your voice answers.
Voiceover and Loading of Voice at Day
Your voice doesn't only work when you're singing. If you're a teacher, you get public care, you talk about phone for hours or you get out of rumba and you talk about music, and you get to the singing class with your already tiring voice.
- Plan the day: if you have an essay at night, speak less and more softly at night.
- Do not speak above noise, be it at the bus, at a bar or at a court.
- After a presentation or a long essay, give your voice a few hours of quiet use.
- To whisper with force isn't to rest: it also requires larynx. It speaks little, with a soft and natural voice.
- Sleep well: A tiresome voice is usually a tiresome body.
Check your practice notebooks on the days that his voice felt tired and what you did earlier. Eventually you will see patterns that help you better plan.
Warm up and cool after
Unheated singing is how to run without stretching: you can but the voice answers worse and you work more. About ten minutes are enough: body, breathing, lips vibration, soft sirens and scales in a comfortable record. The complete routine is at [vocal warming exercises]](/blog/ejercicios-de-calentamiento-vocal)and the base of everything, at [breathing exercises to sing]](/blog/ejercicios-de-respiracion-para-cantar).
The cooling is often forgotten. After singing strong or sharp, dedicated a couple of minutes to lower: lower lips vibration, a soft buzzing with his mouth closed and a few words spoken in your natural tone.
Warm doesn't make an inappropriate repertoire sure. If a song forces you to push every time you get to the choir, perhaps it's in a tone that doesn't suit you: ask your teacher if you can get down.
Carrasphis, screams and other wear-out habits
Carraspear makes his vocal cords hit with force. Once nothing happens, often a day, yes. And a circle becomes: his skin irritates, his irritation gives his light and his face more and more wants to be carraspized. Change his face with more soft alternatives:
- Swallow saliva.
- Take a sip of water.
- Do a soft buzzer with his mouth closed.
- Blow air with force but with no sound, as if you have a glass.
If the feeling of something about his throat doesn't leave, it's not a technical matter: talk about it with a doctor.
- To shout at parties, concerts or to call someone from afar.
- Singing about a band with no monitoring or microphone, forcing to listen to you.
- Imitate voices quite different from yours, very serious or very rough, with no technical guide.
- Spend a lot of time at the end of your record.
- To speak as usual in a more serious or more sharp tone than yours.
Reflow, tap and other health factors
There are health conditions that are felt in your voice. It's not up to you to diagnose them, but to recognize the signs to check them in time.
Reflujo
The reflux that goes up to his throat can irritate his larynx. Signs that are usually associated with him are morning ronquera, frequent carrasphis, feeling something jammed to his throat or a bitter taste. If you identify, consult a doctor before taking medicines or changing your food by yourself: diagnosis and treatment are from a health care professional.
Fan, allergies and rough voices
- If you are hysterical or with a tap, don't force: you have less, more soft or no singing, depending how you feel and what your doctor tells you.
- Do not use pills, spray or drink to put up with a presentation without consultation. Relieving the discomfort doesn't mean that the voice's okay.
- Tell your teacher: He can adapt his class with breathing, reading his song or performing without demand of his voice.
Hormonal changes, some medicines and age also have an impact on your voice. If you do not understand them, you have to consult with your doctor, but with the internet.
Common Myths about Voice Care
| That's what we say. | What's best to know |
|---|---|
| Honey with lemon cures the ronquera. | It can relieve his throat but does not reach his vocal cords or replace his rest or his consultation. |
| A drink before you have been singing, let go of your voice. | Alcohol resists and reduces perception of effort: you can force without noticing. |
| To whisper is to rest his voice. | Forced whispering also requires larynx. Better to speak little and soft. |
| If it doesn't hurt, it's okay. | The ronquer that doesn't leave or the loss of notes are signs even if it doesn't hurt. |
| Cold beverages damage your voice. | They don't get through vocal cords either. If they get you upset, avoid them, but they're not the usual cause of voice problems. |
| A good technique can be used to get sick without risk. | The technique helps but doesn't protect an inflamed voice. If you're bad, how prudent it's to stop. |
When to go to the otorrino or phonoaudiologist
Your singing teacher may notice alert signs but can't see your vocal cords or make a diagnosis.
- Ritcher that lasts more than two or three weeks.
- Pain with talking or singing.
- Sudden loss of voice or note, especially after a strong effort as a shout.
- That singing costs more and more, even if you practice well.
- Voice that's broken or tipped without explanation.
The Torrino looks at the larynx and makes the diagnosis. If you have to rehabilitate the voice or learn how to use it otherwise, the phonoaudiologist goes with that process, often in co-ordination with your singing teacher.
The best prevention is a good technique, and it's built with someone listening to you every week. If you're starting, check what to expect from your first singing classes or look how [singing classes] work](/clases/canto)If the singer of the house is a child, read [children's singing: how to care for his voice]](/blog/canto-para-ninos-como-cuidar-su-voz).
Frequently asked questions
What's good to have before we sing?
Water at room temperature or tibia is sufficient. What really hydrates the vocal cords is the water you have been using during the day. A flavour can be pleasant to your throat but does not replace warming and rest.
How much vocal rest do I need after a lot of singing?
It depends how and how much you have been singing. A few hours of quiet use and a good night's sleep are often necessary. If you have been hysterical and if your voice doesn't answer the following day, do not insist and if it persists, have a look at them.
Is singing with a tap bad?
Singing with his or her affected voice increases his or her risk of forcing his or her face. If you are hysterical, it's prudent to put down his or her burden or not to sing and to follow your doctor's advice.
What's the difference between the otorrino and the phonoaudiologist?
The Ominolaringologists are the doctor who looks at larynx and makes his diagnosis. The phonoaudiologist works for rehabilitation and healthy use of his voice. They often work together, and your singing teacher can support that process from his technique.