Maintaining Your Vocal Skills

If you aren’t taking steps to protect and enhance your vocal capability there’s a good chance that these tips can ensure you perform at the highest level you’re capable of. Your first wise career move could’ve been to start reading this article!

What you drink is important - Water and warm tea

What you drink impacts heavily on the state and readiness of your voice. Water being one of the primary component building blocks of our bodies (around 60%) is necessary to staying hydrated and keeping your throat in healthy shape. Ideally if you’re male, you should be having about 3 litres of fluids a day or 2.2 if you are female. Cutting out fizzy drinks that are full of sugar is another great step you can take towards vocal health and durability, it should also be a relatively pain free and easy adjustment to make, especially considering the availability of water in comparison.


Lower your voice!

Any shouting or even talking at a volume that is uncomfortable or causing a strain on your vocal cords is likely to lead to hoarseness and fragility in the spoken voice. In your warm-ups that involve dynamics it’s important to acknowledge the sections that test your limits don’t last too long and cause a problem with the rest of your range and dictation. Staying in the range you find most useful allows you to warm up and become accustomed to that ability.


You are what you eat

Eat regularly and healthily, as stated above - stay hydrated as this can really affect vocal folds. However, avoiding food and drink containing caffeine or alcohol helps you retain optimum performance and health in general.


No smoking

Simply put, smoking is bad for your voice; it’s also bad in many other ways for your health. If you make a living from your voice or hope to, quitting smoking is one of the most encouraging steps you can take to ensure your livelihood is in good shape for the foreseeable future. If you are that rarity that requires tobacco to give a certain effect to your performances, then it is your responsibility to regulate how much you have and to bear in mind the risks involved.


Voice therapists and lessons

Professional advice can be invaluable, whether you’re trying to add something to your repertoire that clients will respect or your technique has some flaws that need buffing out. Although you should do your research and really consider what you’re paying for, a good teacher could prove invaluable in gaining ground on the competition and improving yourself.


Medication and throat sweets

If you’re using any medication, especially if it’s long term then knowing if there are any side effects that can harm or alter your voice. Any implications from medication should always be considered and weighed against your ability to perform; obviously if you need them then there’s no question that you’ll need to strike a balance in your health and vocals.


Common sense

Aside from these points, use your brain! Lasting damage is not hard to inflict, especially when being careless and not thinking about how your actions will impact your vocal cords and general health. Whether your career is in singing, voice over recording and translation or even if your voice just needs extra attention, following as many of these tips as possible will set you well on your way.