Did you know?
• incorrect singing can ruin your voice!
• breathing is very important for quality of sound
•posture while singing affects your breathing and correct use of the diaphragm, all affecting your
overall sound...

Vocal health
It is very important to look after your voice; you have worked to so hard to get it to where it is, so you may
as well look after it! First rule in vocal health is:
If it hurts, don’t sing!! As simple as this may sound singers get caught up in the moment and don’t listen to
their bodies when they are tired and should rest vocally.
There are times when you can sing with a cold and time when you should absolutely rest your voice.
When an occasional cold comes on, you can rely on breath support and body awareness to get you though
without a lot of fatigue or doing permanent damage.

You can usually sing over a cold if you have nasal congestion, but no throat symptoms.  You might sound a
little nasal, but in general, congesting can be sung over.   The best thing for your singing voice is moisture. 
Drink plenty of water to keep your vocal tract mucus thin.  Inhaling steam seems to be helpful for the same
reason.  Cough lollies keep you from coughing to the point of hoarseness, but the sugar and menthol in them
can dry you out.  Caffeine, alcohol and smoking should be avoided because these all dry your voice and body. 
Most of all - listen to your body and try to rest it as much as you can!
Avoid throat clearing. I know it’s hard to avoid throat clearing when you have a stubborn spot of thick mucus
rattling around when you are trying to sing.  But when you clear your throat, you not only
remove bothersome mucus, you can irritate your vocal cords.  This makes your body produce more mucus
to protect them.  It becomes a circular problem, so coughing and throat clearing should be avoided. 
If you must clear your throat, do it gently, and avoid habitual throat clearing.

Breathing

Breathing is a very important part of singing; in fact it is the air that flows out of your lungs that makes
our vocal cords vibrate. So if you are not breathing correctly for singing, then you may not be getting the
most out of your voice.

To have greater breath control we need recognise what happens in our body to produce air.  It would be
very helpful if you stand in front of a full length mirror where you can see your whole upper body; your
ribcage, chest and shoulders. 

Standing in front of the mirror, put your hands on either side of your rib cage, and take a deep breath in. 
What you will notice is that as you inhale you will feel and see you ribs expand and slightly rise. 
When you inhale, your diaphragm, which is a dome shaped muscle located just underneath your lungs,
lowers and flattens down, pulling on your lungs. This causes a suction effect. That is how we draw air in. 
When you inhale correctly for singing, your diaphragm flattens down and makes more air
space to be used for singing.  So that we can maximize our full lung potential, watch that you do not
allow your shoulders or your chest to rise.
This takes some practice and coordination, so be patient with yourself.

Performance Anxiety:
This has to be the hardest part of singing - nerves! But be sure that you are not the only one going though
it, every singer, no matter how many times they have sung in front of an audience, will get a little nervous.
Try not to work yourself up about singing, think about it rationally and focus on the positive.  Telling yourself
that you are going to “mess it up” will only increase your nerves and make thing harder on you.  Here are some
ideas to help you combat nervousness or even lesser symptoms that keep you from singing your best:
1) Be Prepared.
Adequate preparation can go along way towards offsetting nervous.  It can take several weeks to get a song
into your voice, mind and body to the point you do not have to constantly focus on the next line or phrase.
2) Sing for your family and friends.
Plan to perform several times, for a friendly audience, with well-prepared music in a comfortable environment. 
Give yourself the opportunity to feel positive about your performance. 
This will give you good singing experiences and you will find that your confidence grows.
3) Join a group lesson.
Group lessons give you the opportunity to meet with other singers, just like yourself and workshop your songs. 
Group lessons provide you with a supportive audience and some friendly feedback. 
This will also add to your singing experience and your confidence levels!
4) Breathe for relaxation.
The act of breathing helps get more oxygen to our brains and muscles to induce relaxation. 
Taking a few deep, relaxing breaths just before you get up to perform, can help relax you before you sing.
5) Know where to look.