Debbie’s Top Ten Tips to Healthy Singing
1. Little and Often – You are better to practise vocal exercises 15 mins. every day, rather than one hour just before your lesson. You build stamina and you don’t tire the voice out all at once.
2. Give yourself time – Whether you are a fast learner or slow, give yourself time to feel comfortable to learn a piece without the pressure of time. Your Kinetic (muscle) memory coming from a place of calm will learn a piece better and faster if you aren’t trying to rush the information in.
3. Save Your Voice – Many people go out to clubs or loud events and wonder why they have no voice the day after. I say, enjoy the event, by listening more and talking less. You are going to never beat an amplified sound when it comes to volume, so why try? You can always mouth the words and no one will know the difference.
4. Sleep Well – Now the time for a good night’s rest can vary for everyone, but somewhere in the range of 8 hours is good and isn’t too much. Plus, try to go to bed at the same time and get up at the same time.
5. Eat Well – Healthy diet, healthy body, healthy voice – just stands to reason!
6. Drink Water – Now this doesn’t mean drinking truck loads, but do try to get at least one glass in a day.
7. Eat an Apple – Best think you can do just before that big performance or audition is eat a slice of apple, rather than guzzle tons of water. The apple will give you the energy and rehydration, if you put enough water in your body earlier, so all you need is a little top up of an apple.
8. Listen More – when you come down with an illness before that big event, best thing you can do for your prep work is to listen or go through the piece(s) in your head. Your kinetic (physical) memory is strong with a piece you know well and it will be just like you had been practising it.
9. Be Kind – Rome wasn’t built in a day, so be kind with yourself and remember that you are singing because it brings pleasure, so if you aren’t able to achieve what you hoped for today, come back to it tomorrow, rather than allow yourself to get frustrated and ruin your singing experience.
10. Have an Outside Ear – Taking singing lessons is important because we can’t hear ourselves when we are singing, so having that outside ear that we trust can help us to know what works better to bring the piece across the way we hope for.