Just curious what everyone else does to keep their "instrument" in line... I've been really learning a lot about my voice in the last year, just by trial and error and paying attention to what causes it to behave in certain ways. Funny thing, the voice...

This goes for singers and non-singers... we've all got to keep it in shape regardless. Do you do exercises? Avoid certain foods/drinks? Use any commercial products?

Just wondering what everyone else's take on this is!

one way to protect your voice is to stay away from talking alot in loud places (ie bars)...if you notice if youve been out all night and not even realizing that you have to strain to talk louder so people can hear you that when you leave your throat might hurt.

Drinking lots of water

I head you can really ruin your voice by singing or even just talking while acting in the wrong techinique.

Some people get knots on their vocal chords that way, but I don't know if that's true.

Truthie,

I think what you're referring to is getting polyps on the vocal chords b/c of "glottal fry". That's something I know a bit about b/c I frequently have "glottal fry". It's basically a rumbly sound that happens in your throat -- it's hard to describe in words. But if you listen to yourself when you're tired, the ends of sentences often go "glottal" -- almost like the last part of the last word is crackling.

BUT - there's an exercise that can help. This is gonna sound weird and I"m not sure I can explain in in writing (I usually teach it in voice workshops)... but if you take your tongue and press the tip of your tongue behind your front teeth. Then try to saw your lines -- or a poem (I use Mary Had A LIttle Lamb). With your tongue pushing into the back of your teeth, you'll have to work hard at enunciating your words clearly. YOu should be able to understand them, though you may sound like Marlee Matlin.

This accomplishes a couple things -- it pulls your voice out of your throat and back up into your head (thus eliminating the "glottal fry") and it exercises your facial muscles, tongue, and cheeks --- sort of a warm up for your face.

It's quite effective!

~Tanya

I also do laryngal stretches. This is done by grabbing your throat around the sides, and gently pushing your larynx from side to side. It stretches your vocal folds and strengthens them. This makes for a more crisp resonation. Breath exercises are very important. We tend to forget to breathe from the diaphram and we usually breathe from the throat. This causes major tension in the chest, throat and shoulders. Simple breathing exercises everyday are always useful, and easy. They can be done while driving in the car! Over use of the voice can occur if you're not keeping hydrated. Stay away from coffee, certain tea, and anything with lots of sugar, as it will dry out your throat. Don't smoke! Duh. There's lots of exercises out there to strengthen your vocal muscles!
Stretch the face, massage just under your chin, if you push that part up, you should feel it under your tongue. Massage your masseter joint (where your jaw meets your skull). Practice with your vocal resonators. hmmmmm, buh, kuh, duh, thuh, mmm, puh, duh, tuh, luh, nuh, nguh, guh...Take notice on how sound travels through your head. Where do you feel vibration? where do you feel air passing through? Where are you closing off the air? Things like that can really make your understanding of the voice better.

For me, I have to drink a lot of water, which isn't always easy, as I don't like water that much.

I also have to remember to take my allergy medicine every day whenever the seasons change. If I don't, I risk losing my singing voice for weeks on end.

If I'm singing something and I feel uncomfortable or pain, I stop. I live in constant fear of vocal nodes.

Hey Everyone,
I'm currently doing an Off-Off B-Way run, 6 shows a week, no mics, 6 in the chorus. So it is all projection. I'm in week 3 of the run right now and over the past 3 days I have notices my voice is sounding a little raspy. I have been trying to drink alot of water and tea w/ honey and actually get some decent sleep(the one main thing). But I am still sounding a little funky. I'll be pretty good for the show but then shortly after it just begins to fade. And I have also found I'm getting alot more tired after certian numbers then before. Does anyone have any suggestion on how to get my voice back in good shape? I have to do most of the show in a lower regester mix to get volume and I'm fine there. But my head voice is extreamly week at the moment. I'm having to slide up touch the note and get off of it in order to pull it off. Suggestions please???? Several other member of the chorus are feeling the strain too. So any help for us would be great thanks!

quote:

Originally posted by Grace:
Hey Everyone,
I'm currently doing an Off-Off B-Way run, 6 shows a week, no mics, 6 in the chorus. So it is all projection. I'm in week 3 of the run right now and over the past 3 days I have notices my voice is sounding a little raspy. I have been trying to drink alot of water and tea w/ honey and actually get some decent sleep(the one main thing). But I am still sounding a little funky. I'll be pretty good for the show but then shortly after it just begins to fade. And I have also found I'm getting alot more tired after certian numbers then before. Does anyone have any suggestion on how to get my voice back in good shape? I have to do most of the show in a lower regester mix to get volume and I'm fine there. But my head voice is extreamly week at the moment. I'm having to slide up touch the note and get off of it in order to pull it off. Suggestions please???? Several other member of the chorus are feeling the strain too. So any help for us would be great thanks!

Grace, I would just suggest breathing exercises. If you strengthen the diaphram, the air would travel through your spinal column with more ease, thus making you work less to get that power in your voice. I did an outdoor drama, and it was a similar situation to yours. It was six days a week, performing outdoors, in the hot, the cold, the rainy, and the humid. 76 shows. And we had to project because there really wasn't much in the way of acoustics in this place. It was a large house too (2500 seats). Sometimes the wind would carry our voices away from the house, and when it rained heavily, forget about it! Many actors lost their voices within the first week. I did breath exercises every morning. I still struggled a bit too, but my voice stayed strong throughout the summer.

Here are a few random tips that may help:

1. Invest in some some good voice classes, plural. The vocal exercises that I've learned from voice teachers for singing are closely related to, but not the same, as those I learned for spoken work. This is only my opinion, but Alexander based singing warmups and the Chuck Jones method (spoken) 24 step vocal warm up that I recently learned compliment each other very well and have done wonders for me. Spend the half hour a day and you'll see the results.

2. The above stated work has made me VERY conscious of the different resonators we use. Thinking about where I am placing notes across them has made a huge difference. I don't have to work nearly as hard when that's all coming together for me. That and posture, posture, posture!

3. Don't yell at the cab driver on your way to the theatre. Punch the back of his seat until he opens the little window and hangs up his cell phone.

4. Here's a last tip learned long ago when touring... Tea with honey is fine, but get the LOCAL honey when you come to a new town. Believe it or not, the local bees produce different... I dunno the scientificky term... antigens? antibiodies? cures for the local stuff that ails ya. Yes, you're moving into another dusty, musty community playhouse and veteran's center, but it's a different kind of dust, pollen, etc that's affecting you. Believe it or not, the local stuff makes a difference.

Good luck Grace and everyone!

Hey Guys,
Thanks for your suggestions! I'm actually sounding pretty good at the moment--I think getting some decent sleep finally and not talking on the phone for long periods of time did me wonders! And becoming religious about vocal warm ups.

Joe it is great to see you on the boards--hope all is going well.

Thanks!
Grace

I took voice (singing) lessons for a long time and learned a couple tricks.

As for foods, it varies a lot by person, but in general dairy is not good for the voice. Tons of water, of course. Tea is wonderful - one of my teachers compared drinking tea to an athlete using warm compresses on their muscles. It's the exact same principle - you want to warm up the muscle and make it pliable. Herbal teas are preferable, of course, as caffeine can be dehydrating, but caffeinated tea is much better than coffee. Soda is a definite no.

Then, posture! There is nothing for the voice like good posture - both in speaking and singing. If you don't stand up straight, your diaphram gets compressed, and you may tend to lead with your chin and sing from the throat. Envision yourself being pulled up by a string. Your neck should be straight, never leaned forward, and your spine should be in alignment. It's tempting to only get into good posture when you are preparing to sing, but it's a much better idea to try to maintain posture at all times. I find it helpful to scoot the seat in my car up so I'm forced to sit up straight.

Wiggling your jaw helps - it is easy to get your jaw locked up and then you are constricting your voice. This is more in singing, but it's important to remember. Try wiggling your jaw while you're singing and you may notice a big change.

Do squats or otherwise engage the lower body while you sing. If you're having trouble hitting that high note, try this trick. You most likely to have the range to hit the note, but aren't being free enough with your voice.

Use your hands. If you have your arms crossed in front of you, you are constricting your body. If you don't know what to do with your hands, put them on your hips or use them to gesture.

The looser your body is, the better. Breathing techniques can be very helpful. Walk around the room and do different things as you sing to loosen up.

Anticipate the note. Hear the note you want to hit. If you don't think you can hit it, you won't. Having confidence that you can glide over it will stop you from clenching your muscles at the last moment.

Warmups are a must, of course. Humming, lip trills, or reading aloud and enunciating are very helpful. Scales are always good too. Start off your exercises with the lowest notes you can hit. They tend to put less of a strain on your voice but extend your range in the high notes, as well. Work slowly up to the high stuff, and never force a note.

I have learned that for me,to avoid foods and drinks that you would avoid when you have colds(milk,ice cream and super cold things) the only cold thing I can drink to improve my voice is cold water(which is weird since its one of the don'ts.) and I have also found it easy to write it down in songs but for some it may be a diary or poem.Still talk and socialize but you are not talking as much!