Vocal Health
I’ve noticed a habit I’ve formed recently. Whenever anyone asks for vocal advice, I’ll think it through, give them a few options, try and make it as easy to understand as possible and then finish off by saying something like “but just google Dane Chalfin and do whatever he says”. I just love his style. Science-based, so logical and sobering, but without discrediting the fun and creativity of singing. Honestly, I don’t think there’s been enough logic in my experience of studying voice, because how else do you explain my mind being absolutely BLOWN by this tweet:
I know what the epiglottis does*. I absolutely know this, but up until I read this tweet, my brain was still saying things like “you can’t let any cheese touch your vocal cords, Megan – don’t eat the cheese”, despite never really having any problems when I did accidentally eat some cheese or chocolate or crisps before a performance (some people will notice a change in their voice after eating these foods – I just never did). The idea that warm honey and lemon is the ‘best thing for your voice’ was drilled into me so much when I was younger that I automatically make myself a cup when my voice feels a little tired, KNOWING that the acidity from the lemon HAS ALWAYS and WILL ALWAYS strip any moisture from my throat and I’ll be trying to suppress a tickly cough whilst trying to sing (again, not everyone will experience this).
Maybe this is a little psychoanalytic, but I think there’s a lot of insecurity about singing, based on the fact that, really, anyone can do it. You put someone who has a good, general feel for rhythm behind a drum set, and you can probably tell the difference between them and a drummer. But people go on national talent competition shows and get records deals off the back of “my gran thinks it sounds nice when I sing in the car” (not exactly, but you get what I mean – and I’m sure their gran’s not wrong). Singing is just so accessible – which is wonderful – so I think we’ve created these signifiers to prove that we’re more than someone with a nice voice. If you’re dedicating time to vocal health and caring for your voice and putting money towards that, that certainly signifies that you’re more serious about singing than the average person, and so you must be a real singer.
This is not me saying that vocal health isn’t a thing and you can do what you want and never experience any consequences. I’m just saying, I’ve been told by THE SAME PERSON in THE SAME DAY that eating a banana before you sing is the best thing you can do for your voice … and that eating a banana before you sing is the worst thing for your voice, so I just think we need to think logically and potentially simplify the concept of vocal health.
Because it’s been a bit over-complicated, and it’s been mystified. People literally market sprays and teas and lozenges as being some sort of magical remedy; which is fine, people can sell what they want and I’m sure they work for lots of people, but I think we’re inclined to use these things as a quick fix, rather than thinking why we want to use them and considering the options. If you’ve been feeling dehydrated recently, why opt for something that costs so much money over making sure you’re drinking enough water? And if more water isn’t doing it for you, perhaps the next step would be to consider the amount of salt in your diet (if problems keep persisting, the eventual step is to go to a doctor or physiotherapist – I’m not trying to say everything has a simple solution). I was never taught what the food I was encouraged to eat/drink or stay away from actually did to my body, I was just told ‘it’s good/bad for your throat’. When I think about it now, when we’re wanting to attain ‘good vocal health’, we’re trying to do at least one of three main things:
hydrate the body (because you can’t hydrate your throat without everything else being hydrated)
relax the muscles
support a healthy immune system
For the most part, vocal health isn’t that much different from general health and wellbeing. You don’t have to be a singer to enjoy a good night’s sleep and reap the benefits of a ginger tea. It’s helped me, and I would encourage anyone else to simplify their idea of vocal health. One of my old singing teachers would always tell me that singing is holistic and, every so often, I have an epiphany and realise another layer of what she meant by that. When she said you use the whole body to sing, she really meant it. Vocal health is physical health and vocal health is mental health. Everything has to align in a certain way to get the best results possible and I think it’s easier to do that when we stop thinking about what’s good for our throats and focus on what we need as individual people (am I getting a bit existential here or am I making sense?). Just like technique, your vocal health is personal to you. So, if anyone cares what my advice is; rather than rushing to buy ridiculously expensive ingredients as soon as you feel a tickle because someone on Facebook said it’s ‘the best thing’, take a second to think about what’s actually going on with your body – whether it’s a hydration issue, muscular, mental or immunity – and act accordingly, based on what you need.
*for anyone who isn’t sure, the epiglottis is a cute little flap of cartilage that closes over your windpipe when you swallow to stop things, that aren’t air, from getting into your lungs.
*Disclaimer: Dane Chalfin tweet used with permission – everything in the main text of this blog post is my own opinion and based on my personal experience.