Vocal Preparation

[Noah Martin]

I was curious about what people here do to help prepare for performance. I mean, other than warming up, are there any habits you have that help you feel ready? I've heard of people taking a teaspoon of honey or lemon juice, and I've also heard of these specialized vocal teas. I don't know how much this stuff actually physically helps you, but even placebos that psychologically prepare you are good, right?

[joshuakeel]

Lots of water. I'm a pretty big fan of the honey water thing as well. Actually, I sometimes have a teaspoon or so of Bragg's apple cider vinegar (or even lemon or lime juice) in a bottle of water with a couple of tablespoons of honey. Good stuff. It seems like the honey coats my throat.

[MandyKate]

Staying hydrated is a big one. I like tea with honey because I find it soothing, and the warmth from drinking it helps me to relax tension in my neck which might strain my vocal production. If I'm hoarse or my throat feels raw coming up to a performance, I dissolve two Halls extra strength menthol candies in a bottle of water. It tastes DISGUSTING, but has gotten me through a few too-long days of singing in a pinch.

[Marcus]

Warmup and water is always handy. And I often tend to mentally go through parts of the performance, visualizing good things. If my voice isn't in the best shape honeywater and some lozenges may help a bit, as well as keeping the throat warm with a scarf before the performance starts. If it's possible I like to try out the stage before the performance, sounchecking and trying out the space so I know where I can move.

If I'm feeling tired or low on energy I do something physical - like pushups - just before going on stage just to get the adrenalin going.

[Robert Lunte]

I was curious about what people here do to help prepare for performance. I mean, other than warming up, are there any habits you have that help you feel ready? I've heard of people taking a teaspoon of honey or lemon juice, and I've also heard of these specialized vocal teas. I don't know how much this stuff actually physically helps you, but even placebos that psychologically prepare you are good, right?

Hey Noah, great to see you here... kick butt head tones on your last lesson... we'll take it to the top in January.

[joshual]

maybe you gonna think i'm crazy, but before going on stage, i do some jumps and a few pushups. It wakes my body up and keep the ' blood pressure ' ( don't know if it's the exact terms ) at a good level.

And sure try to relax myself and visualize the first 2-3 songs to get in ' stage mode ' before the show.

[gno]

The Vocalzones are really great. They get rid of phlem and seem to make the chords strong for whatever reason. They are licorice based and licorice has long been known to be good for the voice. I liken them to talcum powder for a gymnist. Vocalzones are a great primer for the chords.

[GypsyDeltaBlues]

My favorite thing to do is to walk a couple of miles.

It's a great way to warm up all the muscles of the body and to relax the mind, and it seems to "clear things up" and help the voice flow better.

I would recommend doing your usual vocal warm up, drinking lots of water, taking a 2-3 mile walk, drinking more water, and then singing sometime shortly after that. I wouldn't ever rec ommend running or heavy sports as the plosiveness and huffing and puffing can be really hard on the voice.

Swimming can be great too, to warm up the body...but walking is my own personal preference.

I also like to eat one cinnamon donut earlier in the day. The combo of the cinnamon and the oil in the donut seems to lubricate the voice rather well! Don't eat more than one though...too much oil is no good!

[GypsyDeltaBlues]

My favorite thing to do is to walk a couple of miles.

It's a great way to warm up all the muscles of the body and to relax the mind, and it seems to "clear things up" and help the voice flow better.

I would recommend doing your usual vocal warm up, drinking lots of water, taking a 2-3 mile walk, drinking more water, and then singing sometime shortly after that. I wouldn't ever rec ommend running or heavy sports as the plosiveness and huffing and puffing can be really hard on the voice.

Swimming can be great too, to warm up the body...but walking is my own personal preference.

I also like to eat one cinnamon donut earlier in the day. The combination of the cinnamon

and the oil in the donut helps lubricate the voice.

Don't eat more than one though...too much oil will throw your voice off!

[Robert Lunte]

Prepare for what specifically? Your voice or your nerve? For your voice, I recommend warm mint tea. This is a good product for singers. www.singerstea.com.

[JaimeVendera]

When I am in training for a TV show, whether it's glass breaking and/or singing, I run a minimum of 60 minutes on the treadmill in the morning and aim for as minimum of 3.5 miles/500 calories, which isn't hard to do in 60 minutes. Since I am in training right now, I also listen do Voice RX Lip Bubbles and some VAM warm ups, as well as sing 4-5 songs, all while running on the treadmill. It will kick you arse! Yeah you might feel a bit out of breath, but you'll feel amazing because your lungs will open up and you'll feel this amazing power. I also listen to Vocal Mindset I & II at night when I got to sleep. I am a firm believer in the power of the mind and God. Plus I drink at least a gallon of water with X20 (singerswater.com) in it for vocal hydration and immune health reasons:)

I've been in this kind of training for the past week and besides pulling out a box of wine glasses and shattering one yesterday, I've also lost 11 pounds;)

Point is, you have to train like a champion to be a champion;)

[VideoHere]

i am a firm believer is visualization. sitting in a room completely alone, practising the song in my mind as if i was actually singing it..deeply, deeply visualizing & concentrating.

and yes, 1/2 gallon or more of h2o..has to be downed before i go to sleep every day.

prilosec every single day, a good diet.

[Rychemaiden]

Hey there Jaime! Incredible workout ? Wow..! Got a question or two though, I once asked Jeannie Deva about singing while running, i believe she didnt recommend it, but cant remember specifically why?? But I have also read (somehwere?) that the Backstreet boys OR Nysnc also did some sort of running and singing ? What I find problematic is that I cant control impact induced vibrato while running/walking fast. I recorded myself during running, pitch was affected by the pace induced vibrato. Was i doing something wrong breath wise? Thanks for any comments....