Vocal Care: It’s All About What Works For You

Photo by Etty Fidele on Unsplash

Hey there!

I got an email asking me to talk about vocal care, and what I’ve learned over the years that has been really helpful in keeping my voice (and my students’ voices) in good shape.

I’ve learned one very important factor: there is no one way to take care of your voice.

You have to experiment and find out what works for you. Here’s what works for me.

Hope this helps!

David

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  1. I tried Luo Han Guo when I got sick. Not sure how much it helped, but it might be good at clearing congestion not related to being full-on sick. I’m still testing it. Thanks for the video David.

  2. My Chinese wife turned me onto “nin jiom pei pa koa” products, I’ve found the cough syrup especially effective. I also like Jakeman’s Throat & Chest soothing menthol sweets, but you REALLY have to like licorice, anise, eucalyptus etc. type flavors.

  3. As a singer, I do vocal warm ups for about 10 minutes or so. Hot green tea and tepid water are my staples for doing any kind of vocal work. I try to stay away from caffeine, as it is a diuretic and will dry you out (and as DHL17 points out, you want to stay hydrated). If I overdo it, a nice gargle with warm salt water (light saline solution, less than a Philly pretzel) is very soothing. If I have a vinegar based salad dressing, that kills a variety of things in my throat as well. Experiment and find what works best for you. As a book I read on hitting a baseball once said, what might be meat for Mickey Mantle or Willie Mays might be poison for you.

  4. Chocolate tightens my voice for several hours. Finer & honey (separately or together) will rough up my throat in a way that lasts for days. The thing that works for me? Greasy food! It doesn’t have to be a lot – a single slice of salami, a handful of Fritos. That’s it. 🙂