5 Secrets to Increase Vocal Endurance and Sing Longer At Your Next Gig
This post helps you get started, but that’s only the beginning. What would it feel like to sing your heart out with a transformed voice performing to thousands of people by the end of the year? Come join the tens of thousands of singers who have already transformed their voices with my Singers Gift Warmups. Set your voice free in just 20 minutes a day with these revolutionary techniques found only here! Click here to find out how
Singing better high notes with confidence and consistency has everything to do with how you approach your singing voice on both a technical and a mindset level.
The tips in this blog will help to get you started. Applying these techniques will definitely help. But the number one thing that absolutely helped me reach my goals in my career as a singer was training my voice with a professional vocal technique method. I now teach this method I learned all those years ago that transformed my voice. You can find out more about it here: The Cole Vocal Method inside my Vocal Freedom Circle. Learn more here.
Also come to my Instagram Lives and join my Youtube Channel for my Mini-Voice Lessons that demonstrate my methods to help you improve your vocal performance tenfold!
Here are my 5 Secrets to Increase Vocal Endurance and Sing Longer At Your Next Gig:
1. Vocal stretches to decrease tension that lead to fatigue
Tension in the muscles surrounding your voice causes problems with endurance. The more tense your neck and jaw muscles are the easier it is to burn out your voice and experience early fatigue. Decreasing tension in the vocal muscles will improve endurance and help you perform better and last longer.
The vocal muscles to target are the jaw, tongue, neck, laryngeal muscles (throat), and abdomen. Longer muscles are always freer – so stretching works!
Try this:
- Stretch your neck muscles:
- Neck stretch 1:
- Let your head slump forward.
- Take a deep breath and fall further forward.
- Soften any tense muscles.
- Do this once a day to release neck tension.
- Neck stretch 2:
- Hold your right arm straight up to the ceiling.
- Place your ear on your arm.
- Grab your opposite ear with the hand of your raised arm.
- Let your head fall into your arm and gently pull the head to the right.
- Repeat with the other arm.
- Do this once a day to release neck tension.
- Stretch your body:
- Forward bend:
- In a standing position, let your head fall forward.
- Slowly let your head fall toward your knees.
- Relax your body over your legs and you slump forward.
- Breathe into your back to release tension.
- Slowing round upwards to a normal position (Note: **keep your knees soft and not locked to protect the lower back as you roll upwards).
- Do this once a day to release neck and back tension.
- Neck stretch 1:
2. Vocal massage helps with longevity
Massage is not a luxury for singers, it is a necessity to keep the voice free of tension and early fatigue.
Try this:
- Vocal massage 1:
- Place your thumb and forefingers at the top of your throat holding the throat gently.
- Begin a yawn and notice the throat slip downward.
- Gently massage the throat downward.
- This motion helps to relax and open the throat before singing.
- Vocal massage 2:
- Place your thumb and forefingers at the middle of your throat holding the throat gently.
- Gently move the throat back and forth side to side.
- The laryngeal muscles are all soft cartilage that should easily slide back and forth horizontally in the throat.
- Gently massage the throat back and forth to relax and gently stretch out the throat muscles to decrease tension pre-performance.
- This motion helps to relax and open the throat before singing.
- Go for a full body massage once a month. A regular monthly overall body massage will help to decrease tensions in the body and voice.
You will find these vocal massages inside my Singers Gift Vocal Warmups. These vocal massages are specifically designed to reduce tension in the singing voice and open your voice up for performance.
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3. Pace your practice - don't wear out your voice before your show
Before every performance, you tend to pile your practice sessions and rehearsals in the few weeks before the performance. This tends to wear your voice out leaving you tired on the day of your show.
Try this:
- Save your voice for the day of the show by spacing out your rehearsals so they are not all piled on top of each other.
- Start 3 weeks prior.
- Week 1: 2 rehearsals
- Week 2: 2 rehearsals
- Week 3: 1 rehearsal
- Start 3 weeks prior.
- Use Hearfones and tell the band you will “mark” the vocals and not sing loudly to save your voice for the performance.
- If your voice is tired, don’t sing at rehearsal. Have the band play to your vocal tracks.
For more insight into a routine for your voice pre-show get my Ultimate Performer Tools & Techniques Guidebook to help ace your performance here.
4. Use natural remedies to improve your vocal performance and help your immune system stay healthy pre-show
Use natural remedies to improve your vocal performance and help your immune system stay healthy pre-show.
Here is my short list of vocal remedies:
- Vocal Eze Throat Spray: My favorite throat spray on the market! Moisturizes and protects against respiratory bugs.
- Throat Coat Herbal Tea: My favorite organic herbal tea with Slippery Elm that soothes and coats the throat.
- Manuka Honey Drops: One of my favorite honey lozenges to bolster immunity and moisture your throat pre-show.
- Oscillococcinum Flu remedy: Often there is extra stress before a show and it’s easier to get sick. But why get the flu when you can beat it anytime? Best remedy on the market with no side effects.
- Global Healing B12 with Methalycobalyn (natural source of B12): Oftentimes before a show, we deplete our B Vitamins (stress vitamins), so taking extra B12 will help keep you mentally healthy and balanced. Global Healing uses natural plant sources for their supplements which are better absorbed by our bodies. This is the best B12 I’ve found on the market.
- Global Healing Zinc: Often before a show we are susceptible to getting sick. Supplementing with zinc will help your immune system fight off anything around you. Global Healing uses natural plant sources for their supplements which are better absorbed by our bodies. This Zinc formula contains organic guava leaves extract, which exist in these 3 forms to improve its bioavailability in our bodies to maximize absorption. Also has a rich source of antioxidants & vitamins like Vitamin C, B3, B6, and Iron.
For my full list of vocal remedies, get my Vocal Resource Library – 30 years of research into the best natural remedies for vocalists.
5. Warm up your voice correctly!
Warming up your singing voice with the right exercises that open up your vocal instrument for performance is proven to yield better results than just singing through your songs. You want to warm up your breathing with diaphragmatic breathing exercises, stretch the muscles surrounding your instrument, do a little vocal massage to open up your muscles followed by specific vocal exercises to warm up your voice and open your rang.
Get started with my Singers Gift Vocal Warmups here.
“I have most all of the best vocal practice programs out there. Cari’s “Singer’s Gift” is my go-to program every day – particularly before concerts. No other program gets my voice into its best shape so fast. In about 40 minutes, I have great power, dexterity, tone, and dynamic. I’ve used it hundreds of times, and I still love it! Thank you, Cari!” ~ Alyse Black
“Just wanted to let my fellow musicians know about these amazing warmups from Cari Cole. I have been religiously using the Singers Gift Vocal Warmups for the last few years, and they have made a huge difference in my vocal power and range. If you want to make a change in how you use your voice they come highly recommended!” ~ Kelly Brightwell
“I started the Singers Gift Warmups about a week ago, and holy shit… I didn’t realize how tense I was all these years! This is the first time I have really received that much of a positive response of the whole room giving applause and people were now like “Wow, where can I hear more of your stuff?!” ~ Brandon Russ
The tips in this blog will help to get you started. Applying these techniques will help. But the number one thing that absolutely helped me reach my goals in my career as a singer was training my voice with a professional vocal technique method. I now teach this method I learned all those years ago that transformed my voice. You can find out more about it here: The Cole Vocal Method inside my Vocal Freedom Circle. Learn more here.
Also come to my Instagram Lives and join my Youtube Channel for my Mini-Voice Lessons that demonstrate my methods to help you improve your vocal technique and performance.
Get started with the Cole Vocal Method here: Singers Gift Vocal Warmups
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Cari Cole is the CEO / Founder of caricole.com and CCVM: Label Without Walls. She is a Holistic Vocal Coach, Artist Development Expert, A&R Director, and Songwriter based in New York City helping artists for the past 38 years. She is a mentor for Women in Music and The Association of Independent Music Publishers.
Her latest venture, CCVM a label services company, provides artists with a seamless path from creation to completion. After 30+ years of observing the overwhelm and challenges that artists face, Cari pulled together the best top creative professionals and designed a new approach to supporting our artists.
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The information provided on Cari Cole's website is informational only and should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. Those seeking personal medical advice should consult with a licensed physician. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health provider regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on Cari Cole's website. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room immediately.