How can you take care of your voice and make sure you are in great vocal health, ready for that performance or audition?  Here’s a top ten list of some rough things to try and avoid or at least be conscious of around singing out time.

1. Whispering may seems like an easy thing, but actually is harsh on your vocal chords.  We tend to do it late at night on the phone without realizing the stress it can cause our voices.

2. Yelling in anger or at games and concerts (it’s all yelling).  The worst kind is when it is in crowds because you can’t hear yourself so you “over yell “trying to make an audible impact in a crowd.  This is one of the worst things you can do since this tends to come right from the throat without support and really taxes your voice.  You may find yourself hoarse after a big concert, that is why.

3.  Talking in clubs or restaurants over loud music is the worst.  I know it is hard to avoid, but I’m telling you if you are singing the next day then watch yourself in these loud places.  It can really throw you completely off vocally for a few days.  Try and get close to people’s ears and consciously speak normally or take long conversations outside.

4. Smoking, cigarettes or anything else… is harsh to your lungs and vocal chords.  If you are a rock singer it may add a cool quality, but at the expense of cancer risks and bad smelling hair and clothes.  It also can help to lower and “huskify” your voice.  You know what smoke does to your lungs just remember the smoke has to pass through your vocal chords to get to your lungs.

5. The vocal fry is the groveling sound you make when you sit and roll on your vocal chords.  It is pretty harsh on them, so try not to do it too much.

6. Singing or speaking on a soar or hoarse voice is a killer to recovery. If you are soar or horse then your chords are swollen. You wouldn’t walk on a swollen ankle, try not to sing on swollen chords.  It will just prolong the problem if not make it worse.  Wait for the voice to heal before returning back to singing.

7. Straining when singing, uh-uh.  Singing should feel great, healthy, and natural.  Don’t strain with sound or range.  Your voice will suffer from it.  The more you strain, the more you will have to strain because you will throw the voice off balance causing swelling which will prolong your path to healthy good technique.

8.  Singing from your throat to get your emotional point across. Put emotions down into your body with support and into your mind for the character, stay away from your vocal chords, (no grunting out of anger).   You hear actors do it all the time, they get really angry and emote right from their throat, this is a no no when singing.  Your same intention of emotion has to be there, but the emotion needs to take a trip down deep in your body and be expressed from your abdominal muscles, not your throat.

9. Coughing and clearing your throat is like slapping your vocal chords together.  Obviously unavoidable sometimes, but if you can choose good cough drops (with glycerin) that is the preferred choice.  You are trying to prevent your chords from becoming swollen and getting hoarse.   Sometimes the more we cough and clear our throats to longer we prolong the cycle of need for it.  Try and break it whether or not it feels natural, by swallowing as an alternative.

10.  Singing on a painful voice.  I know it’s hard to be patient when we’ve been out of singing commission for a while.  But if you have had a soar voice don’t sing at all until it is completely pain free.  You can sing with a runny nose and normal cold it is when it has gone into your throat that you need to rest and wait.  There is no such thing as singing through the pain for progress to occur.

written by:  Ariella Vaccarino, creator of Voice Lessons To Go, and author of, Vocalize!

www.voicelessonstogo.com