These suggestions for the care of the professional voice are accumulated from various vocologists and researchers from the field of otolaryngology and speech pathology.

You can promote optimal vocal fold health by:

• Drinking plenty of water. Remember, “Sing wet, pee pale”. If your urine is yellow-ish, you are dehydrated. The deeper the yellow, the more dehydrated you are. The clearer the urine, the more hydrated you are.
• Speak at your natural pitch. Try saying “mm-hmm”. Next, say it a few times in a row, then finally, say “mm-hmm-mahhhhhhhhhh”. Your most natural speaking pitch is the one you use to say “mm-hmm”.
• Support your speaking voice the way you do your singing voice. Do you have questions about breath support? Contact us.
• Warming up and cooling down. Most people have their own favorite warm-ups to use. Make sure you use these to warm up your voice before a rehearsal or performance, and cool your voice down with them as well.
• Avoid dairy products before a performance. Dairy products will increase the thickness of your mucous, including throat mucous.
• Humidify your bedroom during cold, dry winter months. This will help alleviate a dry, irritated upper and lower respiratory system.
• Know the potential side effects of your medications. For a list of the most commonly prescribed medications, go to www.ncvs.org/ncvs/info/vocol/rx.html.

Avoid these behaviors:

• Use of tobacco, marijuana or any other recreational drugs.
• Don’t drink alcohol the day before or the day of a performance.
• Don’t drink coffee before a performance.
• Cheerleading
• Don’t shout or scream at sporting events. (Confession: We allow well supported whoops when a particularly excellent team wins the Superbowl!)
• Avoid loud clubs and bars.
• Avoid conversations on a bus or airplane.
• Don’t vocalize sneezes or yawns. This doesn’t mean you should stifle them either, just keep your voice turned off.
• Don’t sing outdoors.
• Don’t clear your throat continually.
• Don’t sing if it hurts to swallow.
• Don’t try to talk over a cold or laryngitis.
• Don’t “over sing”. Remember, if you are hoarse, damage to the vocal fold tissue has already happened. It is not normal to be hoarse after singing!
• When singing in a choir, remember to sing so that just the people around you can here you. If you are a section leader, don’t try to sing louder than the whole section. The people around you will help to carry the section too.
• Don’t whisper. This requires significant vocal effort. Just speak at low volumes, instead.
• Don’t talk a lot on a performance day.
• Don’t scream, cry or cough harshly. If you would like tips on how to avoid harsh coughing, contact us.
• When lifting weights, make sure you exhale on the lift. Never hold your breath!