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How to maintain your vocal health
By OnTopic | May 20, 2010
Incorporating healthy speech in your singing
Your speaking voice directly affects your singing By taking good care of your voice when speaking, you are improving your vocal health. You can improve your speaking habits by: When you’re at parties, clubs, or sporting events and want to be heard, speak at full volume without screaming. Anytime you speak, use a reasonable volume, not a loud one. Watch your articulation while speaking in order to prevent tension – speak with no tension in the jaw or tongue. Applying your knowledge of breathing while talking on the phone and avoid talking on the phone until your voice hurts due to lack of breath support.
Getting the skinny on weight
Though it may not be your personal issue, a body that is too lean may have trouble finding the stamina to sing and sustain the higher pitches. To improve your stamina, make sure you’re giving your body the nourishment it needs. There are singers that don’t eat until late in the day, but the body needs nourishment to get started. Try to find a routine that enables you to get food in your body early in the day, so you aren’t snacking well into the night when your body finally feels hungry.
Keeping yourself hydrated
Your body is 50% to 65% water. Your lungs depend on water to keep the tissue moving easily. Muscle tissue contains up to 75% water. So keeping your body well hydrated helps your singing voice work better.
Some people get bored just drinking water. However, other liquids can help you balance your hydration levels as long as you remember that sugar content in drinks won’t you’re your waistline and caffeine in beverages can dry you out. Because caffeine is diuretic, which means that it makes your body get rid of water, you can’t rely on that morning cup of coffee to keep your voice in good working order.
Getting plenty of shut-eye
When you don’t get enough sleep, your throat tissue has no time to heal. Depriving yourself of sleep only makes your voice feel sluggish. You want to recoup and regenerate during the night. Try getting more sleep for a few nights and see if it makes a difference in your singing.
Proper Nourishment is Critical
You need to maintain a balanced diet. By following the basic nutritional guidelines, you will eat balanced amounts of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, dairy products, and meat. Within this balanced diet you find proper amounts of protein, carbohydrates and fats. Because singing often requires extra energy, you may want to add some extra protein to your diet to enhance your ability to last through long rehearsals.
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 item to keep on hand is a bottle of saline nasal spray which is a solution of 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. You can dislodge any germs from the back of your mouth when you gargle with a half a cup of warm water and a few teaspoons of salt. 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 this info was helpful to you. To learn to sing like a star and discover more about maintaining the best posssible vocal health, I recommend checking out the Bristow Voice Method from Per Bristow.
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