5 Secrets of a Strong + Healthy Voice: The Biggest Causes of Vocal Issues and Their Solutions
This post helps you get started, but it’s only the beginning. What would it feel like to finally reach your vocal potential and feel an actual transformation in your voice in 8 weeks? Come join the thousands of singers who have already transformed their voice and vocal health with the Cole Vocal Method™. Set your voice free in only 20 minutes a day with these transformative vocal techniques found only here! Click here to find out more.
5 Secrets of a Strong + Healthy Voice: The Biggest Causes of Vocal Issues and Their Solutions
The biggest causes of vocal issues for singers has to do with disruptions in the layers that create a strong and healthy singing voice.
From a lack of strength, improper vocal technique to environmental and health factors, building a strong and healthy singing voice is within reach no matter where you are on your vocal journey,
So many times in session working with a singer, the key counterpart I would discover to unlocking the full potential of their voice, besides musicality or experience, in 99% of the cases it always came down to technical, biomechanical issues that were constricting the voice ——causing thinness, weakness or a lack of resonance and tone. Or issues with lifestyle or environmental issues that were causing problems. As a singer myself, I’ve also experienced many of these firsthand. And as one of the foremost vocal experts in the world, I’ve witnessed thousands of situations helping singers regain their health using the right techniques and a holistic approach addressing the whole singer.
Here are 5 of my Secrets of a Strong + Healthy Voice: The Biggest Causes of Vocal Issues and Their Solutions – a good start on to stepping into your full vocal potential!
1. Vocal technique: a strong and healthy developed singing voice
To build a strong and healthy voice you need a solid vocal technique that considers vocal health within it like my Cole Vocal Method.
Strain or improper technique is one of the biggest causes of vocal issues and can erode vocal health overtime where singers run into problems.
The best way to get started to developing a strong and healthy singing voice is finding the right vocal technique to establish a daily practice with. The majority of vocal techniques out there are more about manipulating sound than about addressing correct healthy singing techniques.
I call it “window dressing”. They use “sound” or “positions” to manipulate the sound of the voice to get the desired result. But this is not how you develop a strong and healthy singing technique. These kinds of techniques will have you tuck the stomach in to “support the voice” or send the sound to the mask to get out of the throat. But these techniques are only temporary because they only address the “surface of the sound” and don’t improve the mechanics of how you make sound.
Overtime this will lead to not only vocal problems but also the singer never develops the core foundation of the voice and they never step into their true potential.
For more information about developing a strong and health voice and the correct vocal technique that addresses the proper biomechanics of the singing voice start here with my Singers Gift Vocal Warmups. Learn more here.
Or save money and get the Singers Gift and the entire foundational Cole Vocal Method of over 70+ exercises in my Vocal Freedom Circle. Learn more here. Use the Coupon: VFCSPECIAL for extra savings.
2. Vocal support: a voice with power that is free from strain
To build a strong and healthy voice you need a solid vocal technique that considers vocal health within it like my Cole Vocal Method.
Lack of support in the singing voice (or incorrect support) is one of the causes of vocal issues that can cause issues like hoarseness, fatigue, loss of high notes or issues like nodules or polyps.
Most singers haven’t established the right support or balance of breath and muscles and end up pushing their voices which causes them to fall back into their throats ruining their voices.
Singing like this leads to vocal issues and loss of voice overtime. This can all be avoided with a strong and healthy vocal technique that addresses support so the voice can sing freely and not under extreme tension at the throat.
The first steps is to breathe diaphragmatically but also to use proper alignment with a high chest during inhalation and singing as well as a long neck while keeping the chin in a neutral and not lifted during singing.
- Keep your chest lifted during inhalation and exhalation.
- Breathe down into the ribcage breathing downward and sideways into the ribcage. The whole ribcage should swing outward to make room for the diaphragm to drop as you breathe more fully into the lower portion of the lungs for better breath control.
- Then as you sing don’t let the chest drop as you sing. Chest position in part determines diaphragm position. The minute the chest drops, even slightly the diaphragm rises and you lose air and breath support.
3. Core vocal strength
To build a strong and healthy voice you need to establish a strength in the core of your vocal instrument that can stand up to the demands of singing for a living.
Without building core vocal strength in the foundation of the voice, singers will fall back into their throats and run the risk of eventually ruining their voices. This is a huge part of singers losing their voices as they age or cumulatively losing their voices as time goes by that is completely avoidable when establishing core vocal strength.
The majority of vocal techniques out here do not build core strength but rather “window dress” using technqiues that only approach the surface of the sound. Overtime this will lead to not only vocal problems but also the singer never develops the core foundation of the voice and they never step into their true potential.
Core vocal strength is established by first stripping away the “compensatory” or “accessory” muscles that mask strength but keep from developing strength in the core of the voice.
For more information about developing core vocal strength start here with my Singers Gift Vocal Warmups. Learn more here.
Or save and get the entire foundational Cole Vocal Method of over 70+ exercises in my Vocal Freedom Circle. Learn more here. Use the Coupon: VFCSPECIAL for extra savings. Develop a strong and healthy singing voice now!
4. Lifestyle habits and choices that support vocal health
To build a strong and healthy voice you need to establish lifestyle habits and practices that support your vocal health so you can sing unencumbered by vocal issues.
Lifestyle habits and choices play a large role in singers keeping their voices healthy and performing at their peak.
Here are the top three lifestyle culprits:
- Dehydration. Dehydration is one of the top causes of vocal hoarseness, or deeper vocal problems.
- Lack of sleep. Lack of sleep is hard to hide in the voice—even with good technique.
- Laryngeal reflux.
Here are the top three lifestyle habits to cultivate a strong and healthy singing voice.
- Proper hydration: It’s more than drinking water (see my Ultimate Hydration Plan Part I and II for more information.)
- 7-8 hours of sleep a night. To improve sleep, create a dark and cool environment to sleep in and avoid screentime before bed. Naps are also helpful (but you have to re warm up your singing voice post nap)
- Clean diet that has a rich microbiome culture in your gut.
For more information about how to treat reflux or allergies naturally, consult my Vocal Resource Library where you will find natural remedies and methods to achieve vocal health and wellness. Use the Coupon: VFL10off for savings.
5. A clean and healthy environment
To build a strong and healthy voice you need to establish a clean and healthy environment that supports your vocal health and have a toolkit of the right natural remedies to bring your voice into balance when in difficult environments for healthy singing.
Environment plays a big role in whether a singer voice will perform well especially in circumstances that are preventing the singing voice from performing at its peak.
Here are the top three environmental culprits:
- Allergies
- Home or studio environment
- Lack of humidity
Here are the top three environmental remedies to cultivate a strong and healthy singing voice.
- Allergy free singing voice. You can heal from allergies using natural methods. Read about it inside my Vocal Resource Library where you will find natural remedies and methods to achieve vocal health and wellness. Use the Coupon: VFL10off for savings.
- A clean and clear home or studio environment will help improve your vocal health. Carpeting and a dusty environment can cause allergies and congestion for singers. Wood floors with throw rugs are healthier environments.
- 60% humidity is the ultimate environment for a singer. Celine Dion, during her shows in Las Vegas, had a giant humidifier inside the venue to keep her voice moist for performing. It was written into her contract–that’s how important humidity is to a singer. A dry environment will cause a dry voice which results in vocal problems, loss of range and difficulty with precision. You can also supplement with steaming your voice daily. Use a nebulizer or steam over a pot of hot water or cup of hot tea to keep your vocal cords moist.
JOIN ME EVERY WEDNESDAY AT 12 pm Eastern when I discuss the Blog of the week! Join me on YouTube (and Instagram, Facebook)– where I discuss the Blog of the Week followed by a short Q&A where you can ask me questions. Watch replays for the blog of the week on YouTube under “LIVES” to hear me discuss each topic
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Cole Vocal Method™ is taught inside The Vocal Freedom Circle. What would it feel like to finally reach your vocal potential and feel an actual transformation in your voice in 8 weeks? Come join the thousands of singers who have already transformed their voices with my Cole Vocal Method™. Set your voice free in only 20 minutes a day with these transformative vocal method of over my 70+ exercise system found only here! Click here to find out more.
Learn more about The Vocal Freedom Circle here.
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