Vocal hygiene, or how to grow a good voice?

Some vocalists are gifted with a beautiful voice from birth and in order to turn a rough diamond into a real diamond, they need to try just a little. But what about those people who want to become really good vocalists, but the nature of their voice is not so strong?

So how to grow your voice? Let’s pay attention to three main points: listening to good music, professional singing and the vocalist’s daily routine.

Good music

What you put in your headphones is completely reflected in your voice, did you know that? In fact, if you listen to good vocalists who have a “meaty”, as they say, correctly shaped voice, then your voice will be formed exactly the same. In this way, you can not only create a new voice, but also correct an already formed one.

Please think about it the next time you add to your playlist! This is very important for every musician, of course, if he is interested in what he does.

Singing for vocalists is like warming up for athletes!

No athlete will begin training or competing without warming up. The vocalist should do the same in relation to the singing. After all, chanting not only prepares the vocal apparatus for hard work, but also develops singing skills! While chanting, they do breathing exercises, and without proper breathing while singing, you can’t do anything!

Regular good chanting allows you to expand your range, improve intonation, make your voice sound more even when singing, improve your articulation and spelling skills, and much more. There are different exercises for each skill, as you probably already know. Start every vocal lesson with a chant!

Vocal hygiene and vocalist’s working regime

In the vocal dictionary, the concept of “vocal hygiene” has the following meaning: the vocalist’s compliance with certain rules of behavior that ensure the preservation of the health of the vocal apparatus.

In simpler terms, this means that you can’t sing for long periods of time without taking a break at notes that are very high for your vocal range. You have to watch the load you put on your voice. Excessive loads are NOT ALLOWED!

The vocal apparatus is negatively affected by sudden temperature changes (after a bath in the cold, do not sing!). It is also very important to devote enough time to sleep. Get enough sleep! And under strict regime…

As for nutrition, it is advisable not to consume food and drinks that irritate the mucous membrane of the throat, for example: spicy, overly salty, too cold or hot. There is no need to sing immediately after you have eaten, this will only interfere with natural breathing, but you should not sing on an empty stomach either. The best option: sing 1-2 hours after eating.