Daily Vocal Care
Simple, sustainable habits that help keep your voice healthy, responsive and ready to work.
Looking after your voice does not need to be complicated.
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Good vocal care is less about following a long list of rules and more about understanding your own voice—
what helps it work well, what makes it work harder than it needs to, and how to recognise when it may need
a little more care.
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Hydration, rest and general wellbeing all play their part,
but so does the way we use our voices every day.
Small consistent habits can make a real difference, particularly when vocal demands are high.
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And because there are plenty of myths surrounding vocal health, we'll separate a little fact from fiction
along the way too.
Your Voice Is Part of You
Your voice doesn't exist in isolation. How you feel, how you use it and
what you ask of your body can all affect how your voice responds.
Hydration
Rest & recovery
Everyday wellbeing
Your voice works much better
when your body is properly hydrated.Â
The trick is not to wait until you're about to sing and then down a bottle of water. Drink regularly throughout the day and give your body time to do the rest.
Sometimes your voice is simply tired because you're tired. A busy week, late nights, lots of talking, rehearsals and performances can all add up.Â
Give yourself — and your voice — time to recover when you can.Â
That doesn't necessarily mean
complete silence;
sometimes it just means not asking quite so much of it for a while.
Your voice will not feel exactly the same every day, because neither do you.Â
Illness, tiredness, stress, hormones, dry air or simply a particularly demanding day can all make a difference.
Get to know what is normal for your voice, notice when something changes and be prepared to adjust rather than pushing through no matter what. Â
Use Your Voice, Don't Fear It
Your voice is made to be used.
Looking after it doesn't mean treating it as though it might break. Singing, speaking, laughing and performing are all things your voice is designed to do.
What matters is how you use it, how much you're asking of it and
whether what you're doing feels comfortable and sustainable.Â
A full-on rehearsal or performance is naturally going to ask more of your voice than an ordinary day, so give it the preparation and recovery it needs.
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Get to know what comfortable, efficient voice use feels like for you.Â
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If something suddenly feels like hard work when it normally doesn't, listen to that.Â
It doesn't necessarily mean something is wrong —
but it may mean it's time to adjust what you're asking of your voice.
Give Your Voice a Helping Hand
Sometimes your voice just needs a little help to find its way.
This is where Semi-Occluded Vocal Tract exercises — thankfully shortened to SOVT exercises — can be incredibly useful. They involve partially narrowing or closing the mouth while making sound, which can help the voice work efficiently without asking too much of it.
You may already have done some without knowing their rather grand name! Â
Lip trills, tongue trills, hummings, NG, V and Z sounds, and
singing through a straw are all great examples of this.
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I use SOVT exercises regularly in my own teaching — for warming up, resetting a voice that feels as though it's working a little too hard, exploring range and
helping a singer find an easier, more balanced sound.
No equipment needed
Grab a straw
Add some bubbles
Some of the simplest SOVT exercises need nothing more than you.Â
Try a gentle lip trill, tongue trill, hum or
an NG, V or Z sound.Â
Keep the sound easy and comfortable and explore a few gentle slides rather than worrying about making anything impressive.
Singing through a strraw is a wonderfully simple way to explore an
easy balanced sound.Â
Start with a comfortable note, then try some gentle glides up and down.Â
You can explore more of your
range as the voice settles —
but there should be no pushing or forcing to reach a particular note.
Put the end of your straw just below the surface of some water and
make sound through it.Â
Aim for a steady stream of small easy bubbles rather than creating a jacuzzi!
Try comfortable notes and gentle glides, keeping everything relaxed and consistent.
Remember: these exercises should feel comfortable. If something hurts, feels persistently uncomfortable or your voice has changed significantly, stop and seek appropriate advice rather than trying to exercise your way through it.
A Little Myth Busting
There's a lot of advice out there about looking after your voice. Not all if it is quite a helpful as it sounds.
MYTH: "I'll drink loads of water just before I sing"
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Not quite! Staying hydrated matters, but drinking a bottle of water five minutes before you go on isn't a quick fix. Hydration is something to keep on top of through the day — so sip regularly rather than trying to play catch up at the last minute.
MYTH: "If my voice is tired, I should whisper"
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Not necessarily. Whispering isn't automatically vocal rest and can still ask quite a lot of your voice. If your voice is tired or hoarse, reducing how much you use it is generally more helpful than replacing all your talking with whispering.
MYTH: "Dairy is bad for singers"
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Not as a blanket rule. If you notice that a particular food or drink affects how your voice or throat feels, take that into account —
you know your own body.Â
But you don't need to banish dairy from your life simply because you're a singer.
MYTH: "Belting is bad for your voice"
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Belting itself isn't the villain. It's a vocal quality that require skill and appropriate technique.Â
As with any demanding vocal work, how you produce the sound, how intensely and
how often you use it, and how your own voice responds all matter. If it hurts, that's not something to push through.
When It's More Than an Off Day
We all have days when our voice doesn't feel quite like itself.
Often, a little rest, sensible vocal care and time are all that's needed.Â
But pain when using our voice, persistent hoarseness, repeated loss of voice, a noticeable change in your usual vocal range or sound, or a problem that simply isn't settling
isn' something to keep trying to sing through.
If your voice is telling you that something isn't right, listen to it. Â
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Step back from demanding vocal work and seek appropriate professional advice if you need it. Looking after your voice sometimes means knowing
when not to keep working on it.