The Care and Feeding of Your Voice
By Stacey Lichter, N2Arts Correspondent
How to Take Care of Your Internal Instrument
 

eople who are not in the industry may find it pretentious, but I often refer to my voice as my instrument.  The difference between my instrument and, say, a Stradivarius, is where it’s located, but both require the same amount of care.  I tell people, “You wouldn’t leave a grand piano out in the rain, so why would you take less care with your voice?” The bottom line is, most people who are not working professional singers have little idea what it takes to keep a voice in shape. 

For instance, one’s lifestyle has to change, sometimes drastically, in order to go to the proper lengths to protect this most valuable asset.  There are many things that affect this delicate instrument, some of which are obvious, such as staying away from people who have colds, and some of which require a bit more effort, such as not yelling over the ambient noise in your favorite club. 

Other things which affect the voice are activities that involve water, such as spending several hours in a hot tub at night.  The cold air on the parts of your body that are not immersed in the water provides a sharp contrast to the hot water you are sitting in, which is an ideal environment for viruses to sneak in.  Then there is the inhalation of spa chemicals, and the fluctuations in body temperature as you get in and out to cool yourself off.  Don’t forget about speaking over the noise of the jets, and being exposed to the viruses of the other people in the spa with you.  As good as it feels on the tired muscles of your body, really are not doing the ones in your throat any favors.  Swimming is very good exercise for singers, but they must be careful not to contract swimmer’s ear, as it affects the way one hears one’s own voice, and can also lead to ear infections.

Travel is a necessary evil for the professional singer (how else can we get to our gigs and auditions?) and so precautions on the airplane must be taken as well.  Keep yourself hydrated, and don’t speak too loudly over the roar of the jet engine.  If someone on the plane has a cold, you are being exposed to that virus due to the way air is re-circulated in the cabin, so be sure to have Echinacea with you to ward it off.  Throat lozenges, those that do not have menthol, are good for keeping your throat moist.  Mentholatum (known as menthol) is a drying substance and keeping those vocal folds moist and un-irritated is the primary goal here.

A word on cigarette smoke - if you smoke, stop.  If you are around others who smoke, and it is somehow inappropriate to ask them to stop, find a way to remove yourself from the situation for breaks of fresh air.  Again, people wouldn’t blow smoke down a tenor saxophone, so there’s no reason to blow it down a tenor either.

Singers are greatly affected by changes in the weather (as many instruments are) and one of the body’s defense mechanisms is excess mucus production, which as we know, results in throat clearing, coughing, and at worst, raspy vocal production.  If you have excess mucus production in the spring, you may have allergies to certain pollens or molds (or dust from spring cleaning!) which proliferate in warmer temperatures.  There are medications which control excess mucus production, but if you are allergic to something, it’s best to find out what it is so you can lessen your exposure to it.

Some folks are sensitive to changes in the weather which may cause a post-nasal drip. There is nothing to do for this except treat it symptomatically, but it’s especially important to see your doctor if your secretions turn yellow or green, as this is an indicator of infection which may need to be treated with antibiotics.

If this sounds like a lot of hard unnecessary effort, congratulations - singing is only a hobby for you, and it won’t matter if you can’t sing for three weeks from a bad case of bronchitis.  But if you depend on your voice for money (or you plan to), start taking care of it properly - or you could find yourself on the hunt for a new career.

Stacey Lichter is a professional opera singer and soprano. She resides in San Diego, California and teaches voice to children, teens, and adults. She can be reached by email at lichter@cox.net.