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Essentials in
Singing Skills
Take Care Of Your Voice! (Part 1)
David Epstein, MD, discusses vocal health.
Updated: 10/1/2002 10:21:00 AM
by David Epstein MD, Wilmington, Del., Chapter
I recently attended a symposium on Care of the Professional Voice, given by Robert T. Sataloff, MD, DMA, an Ear-Nose-and-Throat surgeon from Philadelphia who is also a singer and an expert on the medical care of singers and other people who use their voices professionally. Much of the discussion was pretty technical. But he also gave us several “pearls” about how to prevent physical damage to the vocal apparatus, and how to prolong a singer’s career, whether professional or amateur. I want to pass on to you some tips to keep your singing voice healthy.
This issue, I will give you Dr. Sataloff’s suggestions for avoiding vocal injury during performances and rehearsals.
- Avoid over-singing. If you sing too loudly, you can cause irritation or bleeding on the vocal cords, which will make you hoarse and give you pain. Over a long period of time, over-singing can give you vocal nodules. Over-singing can occur while trying to out-sing other chorus members, or while your quartet is practicing over other noise in the room, or trying to sing over other pick-up quartets at an afterglow.
- Record yourself before and after your performance or rehearsal. Then compare the tapes. If you sound more hoarse after singing, there is something about your technique that should be fixed.
- Use good posture. Good posture assists you with proper support. Without proper support, you have to abuse the muscles in and around your larynx to make sound, which leads to the same problems as over-singing. Dr. Sataloff pointed out that most people don’t think of a sprained ankle as a voice complaint, but the ankle pain will lead to poor vocal support! Be careful of over-exuberance with stage presence moves; if you are off balance, your support is impaired. Stand with your weight slightly forward on the balls of your feet, with your knees slightly flexed.
- Try to avoid other people’s cigarette smoke before singing, as it will irritate your vocal cords and make you hoarse.
- Don’t drink alcoholic beverages before or during singing. Alcohol dilates the blood vessels, and makes you susceptible to injury.
- Don’t eat or drink unfamiliar foods right before singing. Many people have mild unrecognized food allergies. A little swelling in the vocal cords can lead to hoarseness, and make injury more likely.
- Be careful if you are flying to a contest or performance; airplanes are terrible for singers. Cabin air is very dry and can irritate the mucous membranes. So keep drinking juice or clear soda. The cabins are very noisy, so don’t try to sing or have a long conversation on the plane. A nice snooze is a good idea.
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