Incorporating healthy speech in your singing

Your speaking voice directly affects your singing By taking good care of your voice while speaking, you ensure better vocal health. You can improve your speaking habits by: Using full volume when you need to be heard (at sports events, parties, or clubs), but not screaming. Anytime you speak, use a reasonable volume, not a loud one. Speak with no tension, for example in the tongue or jaw – pay attention to articulation to prevent tension. Use your knowledge of breathing and apply it while using the telephone. Avoid talking until your voice hurts from lack of breath.

Getting the skinny on weight

Though it might not be an issue for you, being too lean can cause problems regarding stamina when singing and trying to sustain 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. To prevent snacking late at night, get in the habit of eating earlier in the day.

Keep Yourself Properly Hydrated

Your body is 50% to 65% water. The lungs need water to keep tissues moving easily. Muscle tissue contains up to 75% water. This means that your singing voice works better when your body is hydrated properly.

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. Since caffeine is a diuretic it makes your body shed any excess water which means that cup of coffee in the morning isn’t going to help your voice.

Get 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.

Be Sure You’re Well Nourished

You need to maintain a balanced diet. Following guidelines of basic nutrition means getting a balanced amount of whole grains, fruits and vegetables, meats and dairy products. Within this balanced diet you find proper amounts of protein, carbohydrates and fats. You may find that singing requires more energy, which means adding more protein to your diet to enhance your body’s ability to sustain you through long rehearsals.

Preventing a Sore Throat or Infection

Keeping a few basic remedies on hand can make a huge difference for the times you feel a bit of a tickly coming on. My favorite is a bottle of nasal saline spray, which is just salt and water. By spraying the salt water up your nose, you can wash out germs that are lingering waiting to attack your immune system.

Or try gargling with warm salt water. Adding a few teaspoons of salt to a half cup of warm water and then gargling helps wash away any germs that can lodge in the back of your mouth. Simply mix about a half cup of warm water with a few teaspoons of salt and gargle, washing away germs that are lodged in the back of your mouth. If you have frequent infections around your tonsils, you may find that saltwater is one of your best friends. If you want to stop canker sores in their tracks, just swish the saltwater around in your mouth.

I hope this info was helpful to you. To learn how to sing like a star and discover more about maintaining the best posssible vocal health, I recommend checking out The Singing Zone vocal training program from Per Bristow.