VOICE NOTES: A FOLK DIVA’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY Number 14
Winterize Your Voice!
Number 14, November 1, 2021
Winterize Your Voice For the Colder Months
With the onset of cooler weather (and the holidays), it’s time once again to talk about how to take care of our singing voices in the colder, drier air of the autumn and winter months.
If you’ve been reading my blog, you’ll know that I strongly advocate a few things for the proper care and feeding of the vocal cords at all times; and now, especially when the colder and drier air affects us these are voice-saving procedures to take. The first thing must be good sleep. When the body sleeps, the vocal cords truly rest. You can be up and about all day long without using your voice, and the vocal cords are still at attention, ready to vibrate together and contact when you decide to speak or sing. They don’t truly rest and recover from the strain of daily use until the body sleeps.
Secondly, we all know about proper hydration for the body, and this obviously effects the vocal cords. Drink liquids that warm the throat and provide good vitamin C for the health of the whole body. I like to drink warm cups of chicken broth or peppermint tea to warm the throat, but you can drink anything. Watch out for dairy products, however: they form a mild mucus-increasing effect that can cause congestion in the sinus and throat areas.
Lastly: when you warm up or practice, sing lightly, placing very little weight on the notes of your song or exercise. Pushing for volume or bigger tone will strain the vocal cords, and is never needed to create real resonance, which will naturally give you more volume if necessary, and of course, a better tone overall. Remember to stretch your upper body, shoulders, jaw and face, as you relax all of those areas to begin singing. Keep your face and jaw relaxed and available for your vowels, and sing lightly, with no strain or pushing.
So: keep rested, hydrated and sing easily and lightly. One additional caution: if you are outside in a colder environment and singing, be careful about exposing your throat and vocal cords to cold. Sing outside in the cold only if necessary. The cold and dry air will dry the vocal cords and potentially cause a cold-like reaction which could result in congestion or cough.
Here’s a great article from Berklee Online that outlines this advice – check it out and make plans to care for your singing voice this fall and winter!
See you next time for more on all things folk singing!
Blessings and love,
Susie
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Award-winning recording artist, Broadway singer, journalist, educator and critically-acclaimed powerhouse vocalist, Susie Glaze has been called “one of the most beautiful voices in bluegrass and folk music today” by Roz Larman of KPFK’s Folk Scene. LA Weekly voted her ensemble Best New Folk in their Best of LA Weekly for 2019, calling Susie “an incomparable vocalist.” “A flat out superb vocalist… Glaze delivers warm, amber-toned vocals that explore the psychic depth of a lyric with deft acuity and technical perfection.” As an educator, Susie has lectured at USC Thornton School of Music and Cal State Northridge on “Balladry to Bluegrass,” illuminating the historical path of ancient folk forms in the United Kingdom to the United States via immigration into the mountains of Appalachia. Susie has taught workshops since 2018 at California music camps RiverTunes and Vocáli Voice Camp. She is a current specialist in performance and historian on the work of American folk music icon, Jean Ritchie. Susie now offers private voice coaching online via the Zoom platform. www.susieglaze.com
VOICE NOTES: A FOLK DIVA’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY Number 14
Winterize Your Voice!