Taking care of your voice Part 1: The basics
Your voice is a powerful tool, some even call it an instrument, and like an actual instrument, it needs to be taken care of. There is a multitude of ways to protect this instrument, however, we will just cover some of the basics. Here are some steps you can take to ensure your voice remained healthy.
Warm up: Like exercising it is important to get your body read for a more intense workout warming helps prepare you to sing. There are several exercises from breathing exercises to ascending and descending a scale are good warm up ideas. Also, warming up will help you sing to your full potential and with repeated and consistent voice training you can increase your range of comfortability and accuracy as it relates to singing.
Avoid straining: Screaming and trying to reach pitches that are out of your vocal range are both things that can do your voice harm. Relaxing and proper breath control are a huge part of this. If you are stressed or nervous your vocal cords tend to tighten restricting your ability to comfortably sing. Having proper breath control and the right amount of air will help also as it is much easier to reach and hold certain pitches when you have enough air.
Taking breaks when needed: If you are sick, injured, or fatigued it may be best to take a break from singing until you’ve recovered. Singing in this state could lead to damage to the vocal cords. If this happens the overall quality of your voice could change. Singing while you’re in an undesirable state should be avoided If this is the case take the proper steps to speed up recovery and minimize risk.
Your voice is precious so take the steps required to protect it.