Dear Students,
Happy New Year to all! Vocal health has been on my mind for two reasons: firstly, we are in the midst of flu/cold season and secondly, I like making New Year's Resolutions. This year, please join me in making one of your resolutions to support holistic vocal health.
According to the World Health Organization, “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being”. This concept, also known as biopsychosocial health, is a useful lense through which to consider vocal health. In my experience as a singer and a voice teacher, balanced attention to each of these domains produces the most consistent results. Here are just a few ways in which you might support biopsychosocial singer heath:
Physical vocal health requires sleep, hydration, and progressive conditioning of muscles.
· Trade “last-minute” hydration for a hydrated baseline: chugging a bunch of water before you have to sing or while you sing won’t hydrate your vocal folds - it takes time for the body to absorb water and generate hydration within the vocal folds. Sipping water before a performance may soothe your pharynx (the tissues at the back of the throat) and will hydrate you for tomorrow, but swallowed wat
er never touches your vocal folds. Instead, create a baseline habit of good hydration – water (not coffee, tea, sports drinks, or soda) – (~15.5 cups of fluids a day for men; ~11.5 cups of fluids a day for women)
“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being…”
~ World Health Organization
· Go to bed early before a performance and sleep in. Know your optimal sleep length and aim for it. Utilize common strategies for good sleep, such as getting sunshine during the day, avoiding screen time before bed, and sleeping in a cool, dark room.
· Sing regularly, warmup and cooldown to keep your voice in shape. When practicing, avoid pushing past the point of vocal fatigue in your practice to “get it right”- recognize diminishing returns and take a break!
Mental/emotional vocal well being requires consistency, adequate processing time, self-appreciation, and self-efficacy.
· Instead of memorizing music last minute, give yourself a “week away” memorization deadline. Spend time intentionally practicing memorization.
· Appreciate how your voice changes day to day, week to week, and year to year. Often your voice needs time to adjust to new ideas, and other times things just suddenly click. Don’t read too much into periods of stagnation or sudden growth.
· Practice honest appreciation for your voice. Record yourself and spend time noticing the positive. Cultivate enjoyment of the act/ sensation of making music. Recognize your mistakes without judgement, and contextualize those mistakes with a narrative that recognizes the inherent value of your voice.
· Spend time self-assessing and problem solving, to build confidence in your own self-efficacy. Cultivate trust towards your own ear and sensations and develop vocabulary to identify and describe what you feel and hear. Be a scientist/detective in your own growth – conduct experiments to see what works/doesn’t work and engage critical thinking to problem solve and achieve your goals.
Social vocal wellbeing – authentic expression through music, a supportive environment, conscious collaboration.
· Don’t wait for your voice or repertoire to be “perfect” before you share it with the world. Remember that your audience wants to be pleased and will be biased in your favor!
· Cultivate the voice that you have, and share it with the world! Don’t try to make your voice fit into a box it wasn’t meant for. When you show up authentically, you will be a stronger part of your community and you will encourage others to do the same.
· It’s easy to fall into the trap of comparing yourself to other singers. Practice observing other singers with appreciation. Allow yourself to be inspired by their talent. Tell them how much you admire them.
· Sing with other people – science shows it is good for you! Choirs, community theater, community singing circles, karaoke, open mics are examples of low pressure ways to start singing with others.
· Develop a network of singer friends – people who you can make music with, but more importantly who can relate to your own goals and aspirations. You can share song ideas, problem solve technical issues, commiserate over frustrations, and encourage each other to pursue opportunities.
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