5 Secrets for Singers: How to Improve Performance + Vocal Health

5 Secrets for Singers: How to Improve Performance + Vocal Health

To improve your singing voice and maintain vocal health, you’ll want to practice the right vocal technique, warm up your voice before singing, stay hydrated and rest your vocal cords when needed. Additionally, practice good posture and use proper breathing techniques to support your voice.

Here are the 5 topics of discussion in today’s blog below:

• Vocal Care + Maintenance
• Posture and Breathing
• Warming Up, Cooling Down and Vocal Conditioning
• Vocal Massage, Laryngeal Manipulative Therapy (LMT), and Bodywork
• Biomechanical Vocal Technique to Improve Vocal Strength and Health

For those of you looking to improve your vocal performance and vocal health, here are my suggested resources: 

• Free: Better Voice Challenge – click here to learn more
• Singer’s Gift Vocal Warmups – click here to learn more
• Vocal Freedom Circle. Learn the Cole Vocal Method – click here to learn more

Let’s dive in: 

1. Vocal Care + Maintenance

Vocal care and maintenance are a routine part of keeping your voice healthy, improving performance, and longevity.

Routine vocal maintenance includes:  

• Daily vocal technique practice to strengthen your voice and keep it healthy
• Vocal therapy to help restore your voice when it needs more help and care
• Gargle daily with a toxin-free mouthwash or plain water
• Steam daily to improve vocal fold hydration
• Hydration. Stay hydrated with drinking water, coconut water, electrolytes, fresh squeeze green juices, broths, herbal teas etc. 

In addition, be sure to monitor your speaking voice to speak correctly without accumulating tension and damage. The speaking voice alone can ruin the singing voice. Developing good speaking voice skills and habits will protect your voice from misuse and ensuing vocal problems. 

To learn good speaking habits and get my vocal therapy and cool down exercises, click here to learn more about my Vocal Rescue Kit.

Take my Free Vocal Health Quiz, a short, simple quiz to assess your vocal health and learn my top tips and resources to keep your voice healthy.

2. Posture and Breathing

Posture plays an important part in establishing the correct support for the singing voice.

Improving posture also provides a clear path for the breath and accessing diaphragmatic breathing which is impaired by poor posture. 

Most people have a slightly slumped chest and a forward head. This causes issues for singers as it prevents them from breathing deeper into the diaphragm and causes a disconnection from the support of the chest and torso of the body in singing. 

Postural alignment affects the “vocal path” of the sound. Poor posture will thwart the vocal path and cause tensions to arise that affect overall vocal production.

Try this:  

• Stand evenly in the center of both feet
• Soften your knees so they are not locked
• Scarecrow: Head sitting on top of spine
• Tuck your pelvis slightly underneath you
• Pull up tall out of the waist
• Shoulders at rest (heavy): down and back
• Lengthen the cervical spine (neck)
• Lift the base of your skull up towards the ceiling
• The head is level + placed over your body (not in front of)
• The chin slightly tipped down to achieve a level head position and a long cervical spine

This alignment practiced during vocal technique helps to clear the “vocal path” for the voice improving the ease of vocal production. 

3. Warming Up, Cooling Down and Vocal Conditioning

The number one cause of vocal loss and shortened longevity is a lack of healthy vocal technique. The best way to have a voice that lasts a lifetime is to train with proper warm ups, cool downs and vocal conditioning. 

The voice is a sophisticated, complex instrument that is easy to misuse without the right approach and technique.

Try this: 

• Warm up your voice prior to performance. Warming up the singing voice is essential for improving vocal quality, reducing tension, and enhancing the range of the voice. It typically involves exercises like humming, lip trills, and throat opening techniques to reduce tension and prepare the vocal cords for performance.
• Cooling down is the practice of specific vocal techniques performed following performance to maintain vocal health. The cool downs inside our Cole Vocal Method reduce inflammation at the vocal folds and keep the singing voice healthy and strong.
  Vocal Conditioning is the practice of a series of exercises taught inside The Cole Vocal Method to reduce inflammation at the folds and keep the overall vocal tone and health of the voice intact. 

Every singing voice can be improved with the right vocal technique. Learn more about the Cole Vocal Method here. 

4. Vocal Massage, Laryngeal Manipulative Therapy (LMT), and Bodywork 

Vocal Massage, Laryngeal Manipulative Therapy (LMT). and Bodywork are all valuable modalities to help singers release and relieve tensions that affect their singing voices. 

Here’s a quick overview of each: 

Vocal Massage is the practice of massaging the muscles surrounding the vocal instrument including the neck, jaw, shoulders, and laryngeal muscles. Vocal massage is proven to reduce tension and improve vocal production, health and longevity. 

Laryngeal Manipulative Therapy (LMT) uses gentle external contacts to examine the voice box by assessing the state of muscle tension, joint movement, and general function of all the voice box mechanisms, and apply gentle mobilizing techniques to resolve tension and stresses and restore normal voice function. The assessment also involves evaluating and treating relevant postural issues and breathing mechanism dysfunctions which can have an important role in restoring good functionality for health and efficient voice use.

What conditions is LMT used for?
LMT is used primarily in the assessment and treatment of Primary Muscle Tension Dysphonia (MTD). MTD is one of the most common voice disorders arising from when muscles around the larynx tighten due to overuse or high stress and anxiety and limit the movement of the larynx, resulting in a range of symptoms, including;

• Hoarse voice
• Tightness and muscle aches in and around the throat
• Strained voice
• Sudden breaks of fading of the voice
• Tender neck
• Loss of vocal range in singers
• Feeling the need to clear the throat
• Feeling a lump in the throat.

If you struggle with vocal tension and are looking for a warmup set to decrease tension, start with our Singers Gift Warmup. These revolutionary warmups include our vocal self-massage techniques to open and free the voice before performance. 

Click here to learn more about the Singers Gift Vocal Warmups that include Cari’s vocal self-massage techniques. 

Click here to learn Cari’s Vocal Release Sequences taught inside The Better Voice Challenge. 

5. Biomechanical Vocal Technique to Improve Vocal Strength and Health

Training with a solid vocal technique that is based on vocal health will protect your voice from misuse and the wear and tear of singing that accompanies performance.

Just like an athlete would improve upon their natural gifts by training their physical strength and stamina in training, the CVM™ improves core vocal production while developing healthy vocal production improving longevity to hold up to the wear and tear of professional singing.

The Cole Vocal Method™ is a complete system of vocal technique that addresses the biomechanics and physical core muscles of the voice building the vocal path, the legato line, and overtone series developing a rich, resonant, and resilient singing voice. 

The CVM™ enhances the natural voice of the singer and doesn’t manipulate sound or take away style, but rather strengthens the natural voice improving the biomechanics of the physical instrument. 

To learn more about the Cole Vocal Method and how to get started click here.