Vocalists everywhere are always seeking to improve their technique -- I know I am. That's why I've had several different coaches throughout most of my life to teach me different styles, from pop performance to belle cantor to classical and musical theater training and jazz. The truth is that we will never fully perfect our craft, but we can always make it better than what it was yesterday, or even two minutes ago -- and always having room to improve seems to imply that there is always something new to learn and apply.
Here are the five most helpful pieces of advice that I've collected over the years that have helped to shape me into a better and stronger vocalist.
1. Warm Up.
There are a lot of misconstrued ideas about what a proper vocal warm up is and when to warm up. I think that naturally, our instincts as performers tend to lean more towards the perfectionistic side of things and when the nerves take over right before a performance -- in an attempt to ensure perfection -- we can go way overboard with our warm ups.
The biggest mistakes here are 1) that we tend to wear out our vocal cords before we even use them for what we're expected to and 2) that we wait until right before a performance to do a super intense warm up, which is never a good idea. Warm ups are like strength and resistance training, and very much like the performance piece itself, they require daily practice. If you are going to live like a professional vocalist, you must warm up every day. I don't just mean every day for the one week prior to performing. I mean every day for as long as you're singing, whether your upcoming performance or audition is in three months or three days. The trick is to always be ready.
One of my professors in college told me that I needed to make a point of warming up my vocal chords each morning before starting my day, starting smaller at maybe five minutes max, and building my strength up slowly to ten minutes. My vocal coach at the time advised me soon after that to never exceed a ten minute warm up, especially if I intended to use my voice for anything else that day -- even something as simple and as ordinary as talking.
So are warm ups important? Absolutely. Do them every day and push yourself -- go all in! Just don't overdo it, and save the big energy for the performance or audition you're preparing for!
2. Allow Yourself to Fail.
This was a phrase I first heard from one of the greatest classical instructors I ever had, and it has turned out to be perhaps the most valuable piece of criticism I have ever gotten. If you expect perfection every time you try something new, you will never be unhindered to achieve it. It's when you let go and stop placing unrealistic pressures on yourself that you can actually move towards the place you want to be. It's important to keep in mind that you are in the learning process for as long as you are trying to reach a goal. And the only way to get closer to that goal is if you continue to learn and then apply the things that you do learn. Doing this is going to require extreme humility because it's more than likely that you will experience many failures before you actually do succeed.
3. Never Strain.
Never. Ever. Strain. It does not matter on the song or the genre -- never do it. The whole reason we strain is because of a nervous effort to maintain control of our vocal performance, but rather than maintaining control of the song and the sound quality, the moment you start to strain is the moment you lose control of your performance. It's very hard to get a song back on track once you've begun straining, and it's a nasty habit to fall into that majorly damages your vocal cords.
4. Hydrate.
Just like warming up, you should hydrate every day. Medical professionals recommend about 64 ounces of water per day for healthy hydration, but if you're really lacking in your daily routine of water consumption, try to start with 32 ounces per day. That's only about two full water bottles. Try to hydrate weeks ahead of time to ensure that your cords are nice and healthy for your upcoming performance. Once you get into the daily routine of drinking healthy amounts of water, it'll become like second nature to you.
Make sure that you stay mindful of the water intake you're receiving from other liquids as well such as sports drinks and caffeine free teas. Beverages containing caffeine are better to stay away from at an excess. If you're an avid coffee drinker like I used to be, try to slowly ease your way down to one cup a day and make sure you have a cup of H2O before your cup of joe.
If you have a problem with clearing your throat due to allergies and dryness, keeping that water intake up should also help to lessen the problem. This is another important detail since clearing your throat is actually a bad habit that is very harmful to your cords.
5. Get Training From a Professional.
Vocal lessons are one of the most beneficial time investments for someone looking to strengthen their vocal ability. Having a coach who knows your voice and your goals is far more helpful than trying to figure it out on your own, and it also expedites the learning and growing processes. A coach will not only be helpful for quick pointers on a piece that he or she has heard you sing, but also for healthy habit building and bad habit breaking as well as gaining experience.
Find a coach that is highly recommended to you, sit down with him or her to discuss what areas you are looking to grow in, and get started! Make vocal lessons a weekly appointment, and remember to practice every day, because like with anything you do, you get out what you put in. Once you've begun this, you will find doors unlocked that you didn't know you could open before, and you'll be immediately encouraged once your instructor begins to see your growth, and your confidence level will rise!
So have fun and work hard, and with all this being said... go sing!
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