October 29, 2025 • 35 mins
Your vocal cords are muscles. And just like any other muscle, they need care, recovery, and smart habits to stay strong.
This deep dive into vocal health clears up what it really means to take care of your voice. You’ll learn how inflammation works, why fatigue isn't always a problem, and what to do to take care of your voice.
📍Mentioned Resource: check out our how to practice episode here: https://youtu.be/5_wvcqicHAM
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👉 Want to know exactly what your voice needs to improve? Get a vocal evaluation from our professional coaches here: https://lessons.voxtapestudios.com/vocal-evaluation
👉 Book a 1:1 session with Coach Lara: https://lessons.voxtapestudios.com/trial-lesson
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
how does acid reflux either one of these options
(00:02):
affect your voice then mucus
mucus irritation
you'll start to lose a lot of your top end
yes
I'm just picturing the people listening to this going
oh my god that's me hahaha
yeah
you can't sing for a very long time if you have LPR
a nice way to check for swelling
at the vocal fold level
it's not perfect hundred percent
but on a really small
(00:24):
you just take it and you slide up your whole range
and if you have a gap somewhere and it goes
why don't we s o v t over that a little bit
I Learned this when I had speech therapy
when I had my nodules yeah
doing that e sound over my whole range
(00:47):
and like doing it really slowly
like way way
way slower than what you were just doing
cause I would have that gap in the middle right
cause the the little bumps on my vocal folds
yeah would keep my vocal folds from like
actually phonating yeah
so I couldn't
I had like this gap in the middle of my range
and so I did this really small e sound for many
many many weeks
but it really worked to get my voice back
(01:17):
hey Vox Star
and welcome to from singer to artist
I'm Lara Chapman award winning singer and songwriter
turned viral vocal coach and the host of this show
at VoxTape Studios
we help singers from all over the world
level up their voices by teaching them
the three fundamental skills all singers need technique
awareness and artistry
whether you're looking to go pro
(01:38):
or just develop your voice for fun
my team and I are here to help
check the link in the description
to book your first session
or grab some of our other resources
Alrighty are you ready
let's get started
today we're going to talk about your vocal health
because at the end of the day
we gotta make sure your voice is healthy
so that you can sing forever
and with me I have Coach Kate and Coach Emily
(01:59):
hey hello
hello from our team if you're new to this channel
and you don't know who we are
we're all teachers at VoxTape Studios
anyways
thank you for talking with me about vocal health
because there's a lot that goes into it
there's a lot of misconceptions out there going around
too and I think we can all agree that your vocal health
(02:20):
is probably the most important thing that you have
because if you don't have a healthy voice
it's gonna be difficult to keep singing
yes definitely
yeah okay
yeah good
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks that
cause yeah
I'm always like hey
I wanna help you do all these crazy things
that you wanna do with your voice
but
or and
we're gonna make sure that you can do it sustainably
(02:41):
so that you're not blowing out your voice
cause if you know
I'm just keeping this real short
but if you know anything about me um
you've probably heard me talk about
having had vocal nodules before
I've actually had a vocal injury
and I have come back from the dead
and I wanna make sure that you don't die
in the first place hahaha
that's right yeah
(03:01):
it'll save you some medical bills yes
save yourself some money enroll in voice lessons
but anyways so okay
where to start because there's so much
I love that you already use the word sustainable
I think that that's a really great place to start
because health is a tricky word
I think in all aspects
(03:22):
but especially in this industry
and singing and teaching where we have this like
obsession with like
being healthy and doing everything like healthy healthy
healthy when really we just want to stay balanced
and we want to be able to sing comfortably
for as long as we can absolutely
not hours well
you maybe hours wise
but just longevity lifetime right
yeah yeah absolutely
how do you sing for your entire life
(03:43):
instead of having to take long breaks or
you know be in a show
cancel your tour
Adina Menzel took 10 years off after wicked
she was just that tired and I mean wow
she she earned that 10 years
yeah for sure
but like you know
like
you wanna be able to hop back into another show
if you wanna do it or hop
hop back on another tour you know
you wanna be able to do all those things and feel like
(04:04):
okay I'm taking care of my voice
but I will say it is kind of like a
it is a pretty hefty job to
if you're especially if you're doing professional shows
you're doing a lot of things
you need to take care of it as if you were like
brushing your teeth brushing your hair every day
it is a constant process of yeah
it's part of taking care of yourself
like you gotta touch your toes every day right
(04:25):
yeah you need to stretch your body
and you see this a lot like
these Broadway performers
that are doing eight shows a week
or pop singers that are on tour like
you know
the ones that are singing just for hours on end
night after night after night
they also talk about
how they don't speak during the day
because your speaking voice and your singing voice
they're the same thing like
(04:46):
it comes from the same thing
yeah the same place
so there's some people say like
you only have like
30 vocal dollars to spend in a day
and talking a lot also comes out of that um
out of that wallet too
right so you're still also spending money
and so these you know
if you're Alpha Bond
Broadway or similar types of roles
(05:08):
you also
need to be mindful of how you're using your voice
period not just when you're singing
but also in general too
actually my vocal injury
was not necessarily because of how I was singing
though that was definitely an aspect
and it wasn't great
but it was when I started talking every day
all day yeah
and I would just like
(05:29):
I would just you know
talk down here all the time
absolutely
and then a lot of demonstrating and voice lessons
and it just became too much
I was spending too many dollars
now
the way I was spending them probably also wasn't great
or definitely also wasn't great
room for improvement but yeah
the speaking was what pushed me over the edge
yeah right
so we need to be very mindful of that too
(05:49):
and then I think the biggest thing is like
these misconceptions
I think we need to address these real quick
like don't drink
um alcohol
don't drink coffee don't like
eat dairy products caffeine
dairy citrus
yeah all of these things
all of the above all of these things
okay so why
tell us why I know why
but tell everybody why it does not matter
(06:12):
your body is different than any other body
yes you are a different person
than the person sitting next to you
or across from you everybody's larynx is different
there is different as a fingerprint
so what you need
and what your body needs is gonna be different
than what everybody else's body needs
yeah 100%
and I think it's also important to know what these
(06:34):
these general things do for you
like if I drink some dairy
I'm gonna have a little extra mucus
but one time I was doing a gig
and I was singing this like
musical theater rock song
and I like chugged a latte right before
and I've never had distortion like that in my life
I had so much mucus I was like yeah wow like
and it was like clean and clear
(06:54):
and I was like awesome
it it didn't destroy my voice because I had a latte
right have a latte
it's okay have a latte
me but also no
like alcohol is probably gonna dehydrate you
so just drink a lot of water like you can
it's important for you to exist as a human being
if you're Alphabet 8 shows a week on Broadway
(07:14):
then you really gotta like
lock in lock in
lock in 24 7 right
but if you are singing a fair amount
but not like
high intensity all the time
then you gotta live your life
yeah you gotta live your life
and just know what's good for you
yeah I don't believe that not drinking coffee
(07:37):
if you love coffee is truly caring for yourself
because if it's gonna help you function and
and keep your mental and physical well being going
you can certainly have your cup of coffee
like um
one cup of coffee a day is not going it
coffee is a diuretic
and if you're not used to drinking coffee every day
like you two don't drink coffee
yeah I'll drink coffee
(07:58):
my body is used to a cup or two cups of coffee a day
so it doesn't dehydrate me as much as like
it might dehydrate the two of you
because you don't drink it every day
so a lot of times I'll get students coming in like um
at uh
in college who were like
I had like three cups of coffee today
I never drink coffee I was like
well no wonder you sound like this
like yeah
(08:18):
you're really dehydrated
because your body's not used to it
and then they're like oh
and I'm like yes
yeah yeah
so you can drink your coffee
it's gonna be OK and going back
do you remember Jasper eat
I think she was taking lessons with you
no Jasper the
the singer from Canada yes she
I remember in her first lesson
she was like I really love spicy food
(08:38):
do I have to stop eating spicy food hahaha
and I'm like no Jasper
you you don't have to stop eating spicy food
you can keep eating spicy food
and it's just important that you know
what you put in your body
how that if it
how it affects you like you were saying
and how you specifically react to it
yes not just the general public
(08:59):
but how you specifically react to it
and also understanding that nothing you eat or drink
touches your vocal folds yes
oh my gosh
so if you are dehydrated drinking water now is like
you're too late yeah
you're gonna feel more hydrated
in eight to 24 hours from now
hydrate for the day before
yes yes exactly
yup yup
so that's important to remember too
(09:20):
if you have a show coming up or whatever
a heavy voice day
make sure that you drink plenty of water the day before
I always load up that whole week and
but that's what works for me
like I start well
I try to drink this amount of water every day
I try but when I have something coming up
like I know
every day that week I'm really intentional
about how much water I'm drinking also
so my body doesn't feel like a little cookie
(09:43):
because I'm like
drinking so much chugging water all the time
yeah yeah
and oh
go ahead oh
I was gonna say some of my worst water days
are the days when I have really long teaching days
because I'm just talking talking
talking and I forget to drink water sorry
oh yeah
I got a giant water bottle for that reason
yeah but um
you gotta sleep you gotta sleep sleep
that's yes
(10:03):
like I mean
half your problems are gonna go away in your life
if you go to sleep yeah
it also help you learn your music
learn your words learn your monologues and everything
much faster if you sleep on it
absolutely like your brain
that's when your brain digests your food
your brain food for the day is while you're sleeping
so it's really important that you sleep
yeah yeah
(10:24):
sleeping and
I mean that's how your body's gonna heal itself
yeah if you're super
if you're fatigued what you do it with
any other part of your body is rested
yeah so you gotta rest
you kind of have to think about it
I feel like with voice health or in like
you know taking care of your voice
voice hygiene you have to think about it
like what are things that
if I eat or if I drink bother me
(10:46):
like I have a few things that like
inflame me cause I have a chronic illness
so I just I don't eat those
but like um
like soy is one of those things I don't take
I don't eat soy because it hurt
you know what I mean like
it make me hurt yeah
and so it's like one of those things where it's like
okay well
like if you think about it in a more like health way
like okay um
(11:08):
dairy gives me tummy ache
well hmm
I wonder if it's doing something to my voice
OK maybe I'm gonna avoid dairy or
let's test this out let's see
let me have dairy see how my voice feels
if it doesn't feel as good as
maybe it does on your best day
then maybe it's like a thing you need to avoid
you know what I mean but it's
it's always
I feel like it's always this one size fits all thing
like I had to teach uh
(11:28):
one of the guys I worked for at a university
emailed all of his singers and said
don't eat dairy before your recording session
and I was like
ah
these people are just saying these things
yeah and this man had like
a PhD and he was saying that
you know it's just like
it's like it's like what you don't need to say
(11:50):
not everything on the internet is true
yeah except for this video
yeah
everything you hear from us is 100% true
and will always be true for the rest of history
I've never lied on the internet yeah
neither has anyone else yeah exactly
oh my gosh yeah
uh acid reflux is something that we should
(12:11):
could maybe address to
what are your thoughts on acid reflux
so there are there are two kinds of acid reflux
that we want to break down
so there's Gerd
that's the more common kind that you're experiencing
or that you're likely to experience
yeah you'll feel that
yeah you'll feel that
then there's LPR laryngopharyngeal
which is that
(12:31):
those are all the things that we need to sing
I mean Gerd do we do as well
um and that is not as much the acid in your stomach
but it's the pepsin rising
uh there are
there's a holistic thing you know what I'm gonna say
are you gonna talk about a Reflux Gourmet
yes I recommend it to everyone who is like
my gird isn't working my gird stuff isn't working well
(12:53):
well this is like
really cheap to buy yeah yeah
try it and it's holistic
um I want
can I explain what LPR is though
yeah so LPR is laryngo pharyngeal reflux
fancy word pretty much
just means that you've got reflux that's coming up
and it's hitting your vocal folds
and causing inflammation causing mucus
like our bodies like
I gotta protect let's make some mucus right
(13:16):
and it can be caused by any of the foods
that might be a trigger so it's like it's
it's a choose your own adventure here
your body is choosing its adventure anyway
so the reflux comes up splashes on your vocal folds
you can't feel it
cause there are no nerve endings on your vocal folds
you cannot feel LPR but it is everywhere
it is so sneaky it's everywhere
(13:38):
I think most of my college students have a
a little version of LPR um
I have one specific student
who has a really intense case of LPR
it like
runs in his family oh um
and we've just we've been on the LPR grind for a while
um but it's
it's really hard
and it's really hard to diagnose because a lot of like
um you know
(13:59):
laryngologists like
don't work in like
the singing world so it's not as much of a problem
but it is very very common
yeah like it's yeah
and I didn't even know it existed until grad school
yes
so the same person told us
how does uh
acid reflux
either one of these options affect your voice
then mucus mucus irritation
you'll start to lose a lot of your top end
(14:20):
yes
I'm I'm
I'm just picturing the people listening to this going
oh my god that's me
yeah you can't sing for a very long time if you have um
LPR um
I'm trying to think of some of the other symptoms
yeah I feel like those are kind of the big ones
that's really the big ones
um a nice way to check for swelling
(14:42):
at the vocal fold level
it's not perfect hundred percent
but on a really small
you just take it and you slide up your whole range
and if you have a gap somewhere and it goes
why don't we s o v t over that a little bit
I Learned this when I had speech therapy
(15:05):
when I had my nodules yeah
doing that e sound over my whole range and like
doing it really slowly like way way
way slower than what you were just doing
cause I would have that gap in the middle right
cause the the little bumps
on my vocal folds yeah
would keep my vocal folds from like
actually phonating yeah
so I couldn't
I had like this gap in the middle of my range
and so I did this really small e sound
(15:27):
throughout my whole range
for many many
many weeks but it really worked to get my voice back
I like it a lot yeah
that's a cool I like that one
that's fun I've never tried that
I should try that with my
my LPR kids I mean yes yeah
you know they're
all the
college kids
are always doing something they shouldn't be doing
that's the point of being in college
yeah exactly yeah
(15:48):
I don't wanna know but have fun yeah
and so then vocally like
cause these are all things what we've discussed so far
that are not singing things right
they're like what do you ingest in your body
and how your body reacts to it
but like vocally
there's a lot of things that we need to address to
to make sure we can keep the voice quote unquote
(16:10):
healthy sustainable right
yeah definitely
and warm up warm up
alright let's warm up that
that should yeah
that one goes without saying
warm up your voice it doesn't need to be longer than 15
20 minutes
it's listen I
I could even say as long like two to three minutes
yeah because here's the thing
do something people
(16:30):
get up on stage I have friends in Brooklyn
they don't even warm up
they just get on stage and start singing
and then they're like oh man
sometimes the notes just like
don't wanna come out I'm like
well did you warm up
yeah hahaha
and they're like well no
and I was like
all you need to do is take a straw out of your coffee
and just hum for like
two or three minutes just
if that's the least you can do
please just do that yes
(16:51):
like like I always say to people who
like hate warming up
do it in a we do it in a circular motion
so like
hmm hmm
yes yes
don't worry about being on specific pitches
don't worry about the formality of it all
just go through your start in your speaking range
then go up to your comfortable head and bounce around
just use your voice before you use your voice
(17:11):
yeah yeah
like hit like
the highest or like the loudest note you're gonna do
the lowest note you're gonna do
make sure you've got all that
and like
if that's gonna be what
that's the amount of time you have
that's the amount of time you have
yeah you know
I do like a five minute warm up before
like a big show
mm hmm that's it
five minutes yeah
I like to do the whole thing
yeah you like to do a long one
yeah and
and some people prefer that
(17:32):
yeah it's totally up
to you and
but then we talked we talked about
on another episode when I did the wicked open call
mm hmm and I was working
oh yeah
with you for the wicked open call yeah
and I was like well
it's cold and I have to wait all morning
so I'm not gonna warm up waking up at yeah
the ass crack of dawn yeah
and I'm not gonna warm up then
and wake up not only the people I was staying with
(17:52):
but also then everyone in New York City yeah
you know and then like
what am I gonna go do it outside
no I'm not gonna do that
but I spent enough time like
talking a little bit to use my voice right
and then check in I checked in
I sang the song without a warm up
not slamming it but just kind of seeing like
what am I capable of without a warm up
figure it figured out what I needed to do
and went from there but it's
(18:14):
it's just figure out what works for your voice
you know but don't skip the warm up
yeah don't
don't do it touch your toe
like touch your toes sort of thing
I mean if you look at a sprinter even
like not just even a Marathon runner
but just a sprinter it's like a short little thing
but they don't like
just live their day
and then they go sprint like Usain Bolt like yeah
(18:35):
no he stretches and does like
he sprints a couple times before he sprint
yeah you know
like you just
I feel like sometimes singers forget
and I couldn't be included in this too
to treat my voice like it's part of my body 100%
you know like
it's just it's part of my body
so if I'm I'm gonna
(18:57):
if I'm gonna do ballet
I'm definitely gonna work my ankles a little bit
before I do that yeah
that's gonna help me do a better job in general
and it's I'm not gonna be as sore the next day
I feel like it
I wonder if that is because we don't see our voice
I you know what I mean
it's like there's no visual indicator
we don't warm up to talk yeah
that like
you like
(19:17):
feel like okay
I'm warm
like you can feel
like if I'm playing the saxophone
you can feel okay
my hands are warmed up I'm ready to go
yeah right
like you know
like my ombre is in place
like everything feels good
with singing it's just like yeah people
people will stand up and sprint and just yeah
it's crazy yeah
it's crazy um
I think it's interesting
because I've been doing these wedding band gigs
(19:38):
and I noticed that none of the singers warm up
it is crazy crazy to me
cause I'm like I'm like
I've got a straw on around my neck
yeah and I'm like hmm
like in between
I'll just push the mic away from me
and I'll just be like singing
just making sure everything is good
and these guys are just like yeah yeah
and these guys are just going raw into Whitney Houston
(20:00):
and I'm like
oh my god
could never be me but good for them
like you know what I mean
and the thing is like
if you didn't warm up
it still could probably sound great
yes but if you didn't warm up for every gig forever
yeah that forever is gonna be way shorter
yeah that forever is gonna be way shorter
it's well
and also when you're you know
(20:20):
in your late teens early 20s
you can get away with it
but eventually it catches up with you
yes you spray youngins you yeah
little spring chicken yeah
so okay
warm up and you mentioned like
you sometimes like to push away the
push away the mic do a little bit of strafonation
yeah the little vocal breaks
right love a vocal break yeah
(20:42):
a little nap a vocal nap
a vocal nap I always say put a cool down in your song
like if someone's like belting
belting belting
and they have a second to go
whatever yeah
you know like
put it in your song
give yourself a chance to just be like ah
OK back
yeah yeah yeah
that's a quick little reset
yeah cool down after cool down yeah
(21:02):
especially if you're running a Marathon
a vocal Marathon you know
just a little straw just keep walking after
yeah a little
yeah yeah yeah
cause you're not gonna stop running
right after you sprint mm hmm
you know what I mean yeah
and by the way
we have both warm UPS and cool downs on this channel
if you don't know what to do to warm up and cool down
go check that out OK
(21:23):
it's right there for you just check out our channel
another big thing um
and that was huge for me was releasing tension and like
not like I'm a muscle through kind of girl
like very bottom heavy
and so I just had a lot of tension
and a lot of weight in my voice
yeah so I guess if
if I were to generalize that even more
(21:44):
it's prioritizing what singing feels like
rather than what you sound like
and just making sure that whatever you do
obviously you're not gonna be 100% successful right
like sometimes you do something and you're like
that didn't feel good let me try that again
right like
that happens it still happens to me this day
to this day and I'm still working on that
but that's just
that comes with the territory of exploring right
(22:06):
of course but don't just continue to push through
thinking that it's going to get easier with repetition
yeah that
I always thought that I was like
well it feels hard now
but you know
everybody says
practice and keep doing it and it's gonna get easier
alright I'm waiting for it to get easier
and it never got easier mm hmm
and so you know
don't just push through
(22:27):
pay attention to what singing feels like
make adjustments if it doesn't feel good
absolutely if it feels stuck in your throat
or a little tickle in your throat or
or just like you're working really hard
yeah yeah
make adjustments easy
yeah should
I don't like saying that but like
it should feel easy yeah
you shouldn't
it shouldn't be like the hardest thing you've ever done
(22:49):
no no
planking should be harder
I like to say like
can I say blinking I said planking
oh oh planking
I also heard blinking blinking blinking
I do that automatically yeah
blinking should be harder
no planking should be harder than
than singing a song yes yes
I will say though like um
(23:10):
I like to say are you training or are you straining
yes cause things can feel weird
yes and unlike unnatural
in a moment unfamiliar
but you kind of have to trust your body
and ask yourself is this hurting me
or does it feel like
I'm lifting some heavy weights right now
and I'm learning how to you know
(23:30):
I'm learning how to squat with like
a little bit more weight you know what I mean
heavy chest is gonna feel like heavy chest
and a high belt is gonna feel like a high belt
yeah yeah
and it's normal to feel fatigued at the end of that
mm hmm it's
if you go back a couple hours later
and you're still fatigued
that's when you wanna like
be like okay
that was a little too much
or if we go a whole day you wake up the next day
your voice is still tired
(23:51):
another indication
that you probably went a little too hard
and that was probably your max capacity
so you wanna pull it back a little bit
so let's talk about that real quick
if you don't mind uh
how long and
and this is gonna be different for every singer
yeah but
you know
let's say for people that are just starting out
how long should they be uh
practicing so that they're not overdoing it
(24:14):
well it depends on what we're doing
we want to talk about Lynn holding haha
um motor learning
motor learning well
if we're talking about
the most efficient amount of time
that you could practice in a day
it's gonna be 20 minutes that's it
after that you can certainly
you can certainly keep going if you want
but 20 minutes is gonna be the most beneficial
for your brain for your voice
(24:34):
for your body we can't practice hours on end
like in
in a like a piano player at yeah
in undergrad can't like
and as someone taking a piano class in undergrad
I could not practice for hours
on end and no doing that either
yeah but
you know 20 minutes is ideal
yeah and I know that feels kind of short
but in order for your brain to like
fully understand what's going on
(24:55):
and you can read this in um
Lynn holding Doctor Lynn Holding's book
it's called the musician oh
the musician's mind the musician's mind
I have it I can see it
yeah yeah
I see the cover with the with the brain and the
and the yeah
she did a whole research on how musicians learn
and how they get better and 20 minutes was like
the sweet spot so if you're like
(25:15):
should I be practicing for two hours
the answer is no
you should be practicing for about 20 minutes
after that
it's definitely helpful but
it's probably not gonna move the needle
much more than 20 minutes would have
and I think that's kind of comforting for singers
to know that they don't have to be practicing
yeah hours on end
like we have a lot of students that
they have a full time job
(25:35):
and they're like I don't
and maybe even kids too
oh yeah
I don't have the time for this
and I'm like it literally only takes 20 minutes
yeah 20 minutes
four to five times a week
yeah you've got that
you will and you're getting good sleep
you will learn yeah
you will learn your brain will regenerate
your body will get used to what am I asking
yeah you know what I mean
cause it is so much about like
(25:55):
getting your body and your muscles to like
link up together right
coordinate that mind I
I talk about the mind muscle connection
yeah all the time
just like letting things hit your nervous system
and your body understanding like
ah okay
I'm not in danger if I belt okay
yeah yeah right yeah
and that's what that
that felt weird and that's when you say
(26:16):
is it training or straining
yeah because our nervous system can be like
what the heck is this oh my god
I've never done this before
you know what I mean it's like okay
let's give it a second
does it feel weird or does it feel like bad
right yeah
you know what I mean I ask so many questions
me too me too
well I think I'm always like
how did that feel always tell me
I love I love we're talking about
(26:36):
tell me about your experience
yeah what was that experience like for you
um and I also
that's one I picked up from you
what was that experience what was that experience like
I like that yeah yeah
cause it it kind of capture
cause sometimes when I say how was that
they they give me their like
opinion instead of like their experience
right yeah yeah
that's why I'm like how did it feel
cause uh huh
like it
it it
might sound different than how it feels
(26:57):
yes absolutely
cause sometimes things sound like wow
that was crystal clear and they're like
that was the most painful thing I've ever done
yeah or it sounds super tight
and they're like easy
yeah yeah
like alright
what's going on yeah
there's something to coordinate there yeah
oh be intentional with your practice as well yeah
just singing for 20 minutes
(27:17):
if that's your goal great
but if you're trying if
you know
let's say you have one voice lesson with someone here
and we're like hey
sing in your head voice for 20 minutes
we'll probably give you something more specific
but let's say that's what we
what we do
then go
sing in your head voice for 20 minutes
and practice that and in that first stage of learning
you wanna be doing the same thing each time
(27:40):
let it get a little monotonous
when it starts getting boring and easy
huge win yeah yes
huge win I love it when they go oh
I kind of spaced out I was like perfect
I didn't want you to be thinking about it
yeah you know yeah
there are exercises where you use your brain
and there are exercises where like
just let your eyes glaze over
yeah and like
zone out and just like
let your body do its thing
(28:01):
mmm hmm I like to add movements to
to exercising
like when I'm singing a song or doing an exercise
just to help me get out of my head
and it releases so much tension
I like doing that that's kind of like my
my way of zoning out yes
just like
distracting myself from whatever it is I'm doing right
like shaking my head or whatever
and lately
I've been saying this to a lot of my students
(28:23):
but tension is often your body's Band Aid to something
it is not a solution that we want right
it's not the most helpful
but it's your body being like
oh I know how to help you get that
no we're just gonna pull
pull your tongue back yeah
and just we're gonna hold on
scream at the yeah
we're gonna squeeze as hard as we can
and then we're gonna like
(28:44):
blow the air through yeah perfect
you know um
so look at the root of what's going on
and that really helps
and there are lots of professionals
who can help you do that
if you don't feel confident in doing that yourself
and looking yeah
looking inward like that
yeah yeah definitely
I love it yeah
I think that covers the most important things for like
(29:05):
vocal health vocal sustainability yeah
is there anything else that you guys are like
they need to know this singers need to know this
I know some of you are watching this
practice is not just putting up your repertoire
and singing through it that is not what practice is
you're doing vocal exercises
you're adjusting spots that are tricky
you're actively like Emily was saying
(29:27):
using your brain
you're not just singing through everything
and said yeah
that sounded okay I
you know I'll have students be like yeah
I just put on
I went to a practice room and sang all my songs
I was like cool
did you warm up cool
did you practice anything
did you well no
I don't know what yes
you do you know how to do it
cause we do it every single week
yeah and if you don't know
there are a lot of great resources in the green room
(29:47):
to practice or to learn how to practice
cause practicing is an art
yeah I'll tell you when I know how to practice yeah
we need to like have a
like a whole episode on no practice
actually might be good yeah
that would be a great one
we'll do that next yeah
we are changing our schedule
yeah based on what comes up and what's important
(30:09):
no cause it is super important
cause at the end of the day
you have to practice to see progress
but yes only one hour a week is not enough
yeah to
to get better you do have to pull yourself like
you do need to practice yeah
well and with that
like know what your goal is as a singer
if this is your favorite hobby
and you don't like to practice
(30:30):
like try to get yourself to practice a couple times
if you're trying to gig get in
get in the practice room yeah yeah
get in the practice room yeah
like every job
comes with things that you don't really wanna do
including being a singer and being a performer
and if that is practicing for you
suck it up Buttercup
haha you just gotta
sometimes do the stuff that you don't wanna do
(30:52):
but you just have to
and also remember that you're singing
so you kind of do wanna do it
haha yes
you just have to remind yourself
that you actually wanna do it
I have one more thing about vocal health
so take all these awesome things that we said
and then when you go sing your song
just like
don't worry about it like
like don't squeeze and push through and like
you know go out of your way to hurt yourself
that's not what I'm saying
(31:12):
but when you become so obsessed with health
you lose the art 100% so be aware of what's going on
and that's why the practice is not just the songs right
the practice is the exercises we're building
it's all about building habits that work for you
yes
so that you don't have to think about the vocal health
(31:32):
while you're singing that's the purpose of it
yes when technique and artistry meet
that's when we get this sweet spot of like
almost like meditation yes
you are like on a higher plane of existence
you're existing as an artist
and it happens it does happen that
you know it happens all the time
yeah yeah
the purpose of technique is to service your artistry
(31:54):
mm hmm you know
period and I would put it on a T-shirt
yeah put it on a T-shirt
there you go merch coming soon
and then I also think like
cause sometimes a lot of singers are like
worried that they're gonna have like
a vocal injury or something like that
and yes I had one
but also
I was doing a lot of things that were not great
(32:15):
uh and I
I do think that
first of all vocal injuries are not like
the worst thing on the planet
it happens it happens to a lot of us
it happens at like yeah
it happens to most singers
yes and that's okay
it's just like a football player like yeah
the likelihood that they have an injury at some point
is pretty high um
(32:35):
but also know that it takes more than hitting one note
in an not optimal way
it takes more than that to have an injury
like don't be scared to try out things yeah
don't be scared to try out things
don't take yeah
it's it goes back to my other point
don't let the fear of yeah
the vocal health monster like yeah
(32:56):
make you hide and not use your voice
yeah it's just
we're just build those habits yeah
you have the opportunity to build
to build habits that help you
yeah I love it
and don't feel bad if you do have an injury
yes no
don't oh
my god if you have an injury
it's so this
it's common the voice culture is so odd about that
(33:17):
mm hmm so
and that's why I'm making it a point to share yes
I love it I love it
so if you've watched a lot of
of our videos you're probably like
girl we know yeah
but somebody for somebody
it's the first thing that they see
and I'm like it's okay if you've had that
there is a way back and
I'm now a better singer than I was before
I had that injury and I yeah
(33:37):
almost like
in an weird way I'm thankful it happened
because it made me realize what I needed to change
to actually get better I'm not saying I wish
of vocal injury anybody no
but it's like yeah
everybody knows an athlete who's torn their ACL
everybody knows someone who's torn their ACL
and we don't go and we don't sit around and go
they're so horrible at playing soccer no
(33:59):
they can have the best technique in the world
it's just something that you step on it wrong once
yep yeah
things happen yeah
things happen and you have to live your life
yeah yeah
and sometimes
it doesn't even come from singing or speaking
it comes from coughing yeah
sometimes you sneeze too hard
hahaha like yeah
anyways yeah
so sing have fun
don't worry about it too much
(34:21):
yeah but do check in with yourself to make sure you're
you're feeling good get in tune with your body
yeah and trust
trust your body yes
trust and honor what your body says to you
they're it's giving you the signals
yeah it's giving you the signals
I love it perfect
thank you ladies
thank you yeah
this was fun yeah
hahaha
we can talk about this for years
(34:42):
yeah hahaha
thank you everybody
for checking in if you're at all worried about anything
send us a message like just on
on Instagram for example
at Vox Tape Studios send us a message there
if you're worried about something
we're happy to help you can also do a vocal evaluation
if you're like I have this weird gap in my voice
and I don't know what I need to do to get around it
(35:02):
we can have a listen check out what's going on
give you some recommendations
we're here to help okay
if any if there's anything we can do for you
just let us know Alrighty
I love it thank you ladies
for joining we'll see you in the next one
thank you everybody
for tuning in we'll catch you in the next episode bye
how does acid reflux either one of these options
(00:02):
affect your voice then mucus
mucus irritation
you'll start to lose a lot of your top end
yes
I'm just picturing the people listening to this going
oh my god that's me hahaha
yeah
you can't sing for a very long time if you have LPR
a nice way to check for swelling
at the vocal fold level
it's not perfect hundred percent
but on a really small
(00:24):
you just take it and you slide up your whole range
and if you have a gap somewhere and it goes
why don't we s o v t over that a little bit
I Learned this when I had speech therapy
when I had my nodules yeah
doing that e sound over my whole range
(00:47):
and like doing it really slowly
like way way
way slower than what you were just doing
cause I would have that gap in the middle right
cause the the little bumps on my vocal folds
yeah would keep my vocal folds from like
actually phonating yeah
so I couldn't
I had like this gap in the middle of my range
and so I did this really small e sound for many
many many weeks
but it really worked to get my voice back
(01:17):
hey Vox Star
and welcome to from singer to artist
I'm Lara Chapman award winning singer and songwriter
turned viral vocal coach and the host of this show
at VoxTape Studios
we help singers from all over the world
level up their voices by teaching them
the three fundamental skills all singers need technique
awareness and artistry
whether you're looking to go pro
(01:38):
or just develop your voice for fun
my team and I are here to help
check the link in the description
to book your first session
or grab some of our other resources
Alrighty are you ready
let's get started
today we're going to talk about your vocal health
because at the end of the day
we gotta make sure your voice is healthy
so that you can sing forever
and with me I have Coach Kate and Coach Emily
(01:59):
hey hello
hello from our team if you're new to this channel
and you don't know who we are
we're all teachers at VoxTape Studios
anyways
thank you for talking with me about vocal health
because there's a lot that goes into it
there's a lot of misconceptions out there going around
too and I think we can all agree that your vocal health
(02:20):
is probably the most important thing that you have
because if you don't have a healthy voice
it's gonna be difficult to keep singing
yes definitely
yeah okay
yeah good
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks that
cause yeah
I'm always like hey
I wanna help you do all these crazy things
that you wanna do with your voice
but
or and
we're gonna make sure that you can do it sustainably
(02:41):
so that you're not blowing out your voice
cause if you know
I'm just keeping this real short
but if you know anything about me um
you've probably heard me talk about
having had vocal nodules before
I've actually had a vocal injury
and I have come back from the dead
and I wanna make sure that you don't die
in the first place hahaha
that's right yeah
(03:01):
it'll save you some medical bills yes
save yourself some money enroll in voice lessons
but anyways so okay
where to start because there's so much
I love that you already use the word sustainable
I think that that's a really great place to start
because health is a tricky word
I think in all aspects
(03:22):
but especially in this industry
and singing and teaching where we have this like
obsession with like
being healthy and doing everything like healthy healthy
healthy when really we just want to stay balanced
and we want to be able to sing comfortably
for as long as we can absolutely
not hours well
you maybe hours wise
but just longevity lifetime right
yeah yeah absolutely
how do you sing for your entire life
(03:43):
instead of having to take long breaks or
you know be in a show
cancel your tour
Adina Menzel took 10 years off after wicked
she was just that tired and I mean wow
she she earned that 10 years
yeah for sure
but like you know
like
you wanna be able to hop back into another show
if you wanna do it or hop
hop back on another tour you know
you wanna be able to do all those things and feel like
(04:04):
okay I'm taking care of my voice
but I will say it is kind of like a
it is a pretty hefty job to
if you're especially if you're doing professional shows
you're doing a lot of things
you need to take care of it as if you were like
brushing your teeth brushing your hair every day
it is a constant process of yeah
it's part of taking care of yourself
like you gotta touch your toes every day right
(04:25):
yeah you need to stretch your body
and you see this a lot like
these Broadway performers
that are doing eight shows a week
or pop singers that are on tour like
you know
the ones that are singing just for hours on end
night after night after night
they also talk about
how they don't speak during the day
because your speaking voice and your singing voice
they're the same thing like
(04:46):
it comes from the same thing
yeah the same place
so there's some people say like
you only have like
30 vocal dollars to spend in a day
and talking a lot also comes out of that um
out of that wallet too
right so you're still also spending money
and so these you know
if you're Alpha Bond
Broadway or similar types of roles
(05:08):
you also
need to be mindful of how you're using your voice
period not just when you're singing
but also in general too
actually my vocal injury
was not necessarily because of how I was singing
though that was definitely an aspect
and it wasn't great
but it was when I started talking every day
all day yeah
and I would just like
(05:29):
I would just you know
talk down here all the time
absolutely
and then a lot of demonstrating and voice lessons
and it just became too much
I was spending too many dollars
now
the way I was spending them probably also wasn't great
or definitely also wasn't great
room for improvement but yeah
the speaking was what pushed me over the edge
yeah right
so we need to be very mindful of that too
(05:49):
and then I think the biggest thing is like
these misconceptions
I think we need to address these real quick
like don't drink
um alcohol
don't drink coffee don't like
eat dairy products caffeine
dairy citrus
yeah all of these things
all of the above all of these things
okay so why
tell us why I know why
but tell everybody why it does not matter
(06:12):
your body is different than any other body
yes you are a different person
than the person sitting next to you
or across from you everybody's larynx is different
there is different as a fingerprint
so what you need
and what your body needs is gonna be different
than what everybody else's body needs
yeah 100%
and I think it's also important to know what these
(06:34):
these general things do for you
like if I drink some dairy
I'm gonna have a little extra mucus
but one time I was doing a gig
and I was singing this like
musical theater rock song
and I like chugged a latte right before
and I've never had distortion like that in my life
I had so much mucus I was like yeah wow like
and it was like clean and clear
(06:54):
and I was like awesome
it it didn't destroy my voice because I had a latte
right have a latte
it's okay have a latte
me but also no
like alcohol is probably gonna dehydrate you
so just drink a lot of water like you can
it's important for you to exist as a human being
if you're Alphabet 8 shows a week on Broadway
(07:14):
then you really gotta like
lock in lock in
lock in 24 7 right
but if you are singing a fair amount
but not like
high intensity all the time
then you gotta live your life
yeah you gotta live your life
and just know what's good for you
yeah I don't believe that not drinking coffee
(07:37):
if you love coffee is truly caring for yourself
because if it's gonna help you function and
and keep your mental and physical well being going
you can certainly have your cup of coffee
like um
one cup of coffee a day is not going it
coffee is a diuretic
and if you're not used to drinking coffee every day
like you two don't drink coffee
yeah I'll drink coffee
(07:58):
my body is used to a cup or two cups of coffee a day
so it doesn't dehydrate me as much as like
it might dehydrate the two of you
because you don't drink it every day
so a lot of times I'll get students coming in like um
at uh
in college who were like
I had like three cups of coffee today
I never drink coffee I was like
well no wonder you sound like this
like yeah
(08:18):
you're really dehydrated
because your body's not used to it
and then they're like oh
and I'm like yes
yeah yeah
so you can drink your coffee
it's gonna be OK and going back
do you remember Jasper eat
I think she was taking lessons with you
no Jasper the
the singer from Canada yes she
I remember in her first lesson
she was like I really love spicy food
(08:38):
do I have to stop eating spicy food hahaha
and I'm like no Jasper
you you don't have to stop eating spicy food
you can keep eating spicy food
and it's just important that you know
what you put in your body
how that if it
how it affects you like you were saying
and how you specifically react to it
yes not just the general public
(08:59):
but how you specifically react to it
and also understanding that nothing you eat or drink
touches your vocal folds yes
oh my gosh
so if you are dehydrated drinking water now is like
you're too late yeah
you're gonna feel more hydrated
in eight to 24 hours from now
hydrate for the day before
yes yes exactly
yup yup
so that's important to remember too
(09:20):
if you have a show coming up or whatever
a heavy voice day
make sure that you drink plenty of water the day before
I always load up that whole week and
but that's what works for me
like I start well
I try to drink this amount of water every day
I try but when I have something coming up
like I know
every day that week I'm really intentional
about how much water I'm drinking also
so my body doesn't feel like a little cookie
(09:43):
because I'm like
drinking so much chugging water all the time
yeah yeah
and oh
go ahead oh
I was gonna say some of my worst water days
are the days when I have really long teaching days
because I'm just talking talking
talking and I forget to drink water sorry
oh yeah
I got a giant water bottle for that reason
yeah but um
you gotta sleep you gotta sleep sleep
that's yes
(10:03):
like I mean
half your problems are gonna go away in your life
if you go to sleep yeah
it also help you learn your music
learn your words learn your monologues and everything
much faster if you sleep on it
absolutely like your brain
that's when your brain digests your food
your brain food for the day is while you're sleeping
so it's really important that you sleep
yeah yeah
(10:24):
sleeping and
I mean that's how your body's gonna heal itself
yeah if you're super
if you're fatigued what you do it with
any other part of your body is rested
yeah so you gotta rest
you kind of have to think about it
I feel like with voice health or in like
you know taking care of your voice
voice hygiene you have to think about it
like what are things that
if I eat or if I drink bother me
(10:46):
like I have a few things that like
inflame me cause I have a chronic illness
so I just I don't eat those
but like um
like soy is one of those things I don't take
I don't eat soy because it hurt
you know what I mean like
it make me hurt yeah
and so it's like one of those things where it's like
okay well
like if you think about it in a more like health way
like okay um
(11:08):
dairy gives me tummy ache
well hmm
I wonder if it's doing something to my voice
OK maybe I'm gonna avoid dairy or
let's test this out let's see
let me have dairy see how my voice feels
if it doesn't feel as good as
maybe it does on your best day
then maybe it's like a thing you need to avoid
you know what I mean but it's
it's always
I feel like it's always this one size fits all thing
like I had to teach uh
(11:28):
one of the guys I worked for at a university
emailed all of his singers and said
don't eat dairy before your recording session
and I was like
ah
these people are just saying these things
yeah and this man had like
a PhD and he was saying that
you know it's just like
it's like it's like what you don't need to say
(11:50):
not everything on the internet is true
yeah except for this video
yeah
everything you hear from us is 100% true
and will always be true for the rest of history
I've never lied on the internet yeah
neither has anyone else yeah exactly
oh my gosh yeah
uh acid reflux is something that we should
(12:11):
could maybe address to
what are your thoughts on acid reflux
so there are there are two kinds of acid reflux
that we want to break down
so there's Gerd
that's the more common kind that you're experiencing
or that you're likely to experience
yeah you'll feel that
yeah you'll feel that
then there's LPR laryngopharyngeal
which is that
(12:31):
those are all the things that we need to sing
I mean Gerd do we do as well
um and that is not as much the acid in your stomach
but it's the pepsin rising
uh there are
there's a holistic thing you know what I'm gonna say
are you gonna talk about a Reflux Gourmet
yes I recommend it to everyone who is like
my gird isn't working my gird stuff isn't working well
(12:53):
well this is like
really cheap to buy yeah yeah
try it and it's holistic
um I want
can I explain what LPR is though
yeah so LPR is laryngo pharyngeal reflux
fancy word pretty much
just means that you've got reflux that's coming up
and it's hitting your vocal folds
and causing inflammation causing mucus
like our bodies like
I gotta protect let's make some mucus right
(13:16):
and it can be caused by any of the foods
that might be a trigger so it's like it's
it's a choose your own adventure here
your body is choosing its adventure anyway
so the reflux comes up splashes on your vocal folds
you can't feel it
cause there are no nerve endings on your vocal folds
you cannot feel LPR but it is everywhere
it is so sneaky it's everywhere
(13:38):
I think most of my college students have a
a little version of LPR um
I have one specific student
who has a really intense case of LPR
it like
runs in his family oh um
and we've just we've been on the LPR grind for a while
um but it's
it's really hard
and it's really hard to diagnose because a lot of like
um you know
(13:59):
laryngologists like
don't work in like
the singing world so it's not as much of a problem
but it is very very common
yeah like it's yeah
and I didn't even know it existed until grad school
yes
so the same person told us
how does uh
acid reflux
either one of these options affect your voice
then mucus mucus irritation
you'll start to lose a lot of your top end
(14:20):
yes
I'm I'm
I'm just picturing the people listening to this going
oh my god that's me
yeah you can't sing for a very long time if you have um
LPR um
I'm trying to think of some of the other symptoms
yeah I feel like those are kind of the big ones
that's really the big ones
um a nice way to check for swelling
(14:42):
at the vocal fold level
it's not perfect hundred percent
but on a really small
you just take it and you slide up your whole range
and if you have a gap somewhere and it goes
why don't we s o v t over that a little bit
I Learned this when I had speech therapy
(15:05):
when I had my nodules yeah
doing that e sound over my whole range and like
doing it really slowly like way way
way slower than what you were just doing
cause I would have that gap in the middle right
cause the the little bumps
on my vocal folds yeah
would keep my vocal folds from like
actually phonating yeah
so I couldn't
I had like this gap in the middle of my range
and so I did this really small e sound
(15:27):
throughout my whole range
for many many
many weeks but it really worked to get my voice back
I like it a lot yeah
that's a cool I like that one
that's fun I've never tried that
I should try that with my
my LPR kids I mean yes yeah
you know they're
all the
college kids
are always doing something they shouldn't be doing
that's the point of being in college
yeah exactly yeah
(15:48):
I don't wanna know but have fun yeah
and so then vocally like
cause these are all things what we've discussed so far
that are not singing things right
they're like what do you ingest in your body
and how your body reacts to it
but like vocally
there's a lot of things that we need to address to
to make sure we can keep the voice quote unquote
(16:10):
healthy sustainable right
yeah definitely
and warm up warm up
alright let's warm up that
that should yeah
that one goes without saying
warm up your voice it doesn't need to be longer than 15
20 minutes
it's listen I
I could even say as long like two to three minutes
yeah because here's the thing
do something people
(16:30):
get up on stage I have friends in Brooklyn
they don't even warm up
they just get on stage and start singing
and then they're like oh man
sometimes the notes just like
don't wanna come out I'm like
well did you warm up
yeah hahaha
and they're like well no
and I was like
all you need to do is take a straw out of your coffee
and just hum for like
two or three minutes just
if that's the least you can do
please just do that yes
(16:51):
like like I always say to people who
like hate warming up
do it in a we do it in a circular motion
so like
hmm hmm
yes yes
don't worry about being on specific pitches
don't worry about the formality of it all
just go through your start in your speaking range
then go up to your comfortable head and bounce around
just use your voice before you use your voice
(17:11):
yeah yeah
like hit like
the highest or like the loudest note you're gonna do
the lowest note you're gonna do
make sure you've got all that
and like
if that's gonna be what
that's the amount of time you have
that's the amount of time you have
yeah you know
I do like a five minute warm up before
like a big show
mm hmm that's it
five minutes yeah
I like to do the whole thing
yeah you like to do a long one
yeah and
and some people prefer that
(17:32):
yeah it's totally up
to you and
but then we talked we talked about
on another episode when I did the wicked open call
mm hmm and I was working
oh yeah
with you for the wicked open call yeah
and I was like well
it's cold and I have to wait all morning
so I'm not gonna warm up waking up at yeah
the ass crack of dawn yeah
and I'm not gonna warm up then
and wake up not only the people I was staying with
(17:52):
but also then everyone in New York City yeah
you know and then like
what am I gonna go do it outside
no I'm not gonna do that
but I spent enough time like
talking a little bit to use my voice right
and then check in I checked in
I sang the song without a warm up
not slamming it but just kind of seeing like
what am I capable of without a warm up
figure it figured out what I needed to do
and went from there but it's
(18:14):
it's just figure out what works for your voice
you know but don't skip the warm up
yeah don't
don't do it touch your toe
like touch your toes sort of thing
I mean if you look at a sprinter even
like not just even a Marathon runner
but just a sprinter it's like a short little thing
but they don't like
just live their day
and then they go sprint like Usain Bolt like yeah
(18:35):
no he stretches and does like
he sprints a couple times before he sprint
yeah you know
like you just
I feel like sometimes singers forget
and I couldn't be included in this too
to treat my voice like it's part of my body 100%
you know like
it's just it's part of my body
so if I'm I'm gonna
(18:57):
if I'm gonna do ballet
I'm definitely gonna work my ankles a little bit
before I do that yeah
that's gonna help me do a better job in general
and it's I'm not gonna be as sore the next day
I feel like it
I wonder if that is because we don't see our voice
I you know what I mean
it's like there's no visual indicator
we don't warm up to talk yeah
that like
you like
(19:17):
feel like okay
I'm warm
like you can feel
like if I'm playing the saxophone
you can feel okay
my hands are warmed up I'm ready to go
yeah right
like you know
like my ombre is in place
like everything feels good
with singing it's just like yeah people
people will stand up and sprint and just yeah
it's crazy yeah
it's crazy um
I think it's interesting
because I've been doing these wedding band gigs
(19:38):
and I noticed that none of the singers warm up
it is crazy crazy to me
cause I'm like I'm like
I've got a straw on around my neck
yeah and I'm like hmm
like in between
I'll just push the mic away from me
and I'll just be like singing
just making sure everything is good
and these guys are just like yeah yeah
and these guys are just going raw into Whitney Houston
(20:00):
and I'm like
oh my god
could never be me but good for them
like you know what I mean
and the thing is like
if you didn't warm up
it still could probably sound great
yes but if you didn't warm up for every gig forever
yeah that forever is gonna be way shorter
yeah that forever is gonna be way shorter
it's well
and also when you're you know
(20:20):
in your late teens early 20s
you can get away with it
but eventually it catches up with you
yes you spray youngins you yeah
little spring chicken yeah
so okay
warm up and you mentioned like
you sometimes like to push away the
push away the mic do a little bit of strafonation
yeah the little vocal breaks
right love a vocal break yeah
(20:42):
a little nap a vocal nap
a vocal nap I always say put a cool down in your song
like if someone's like belting
belting belting
and they have a second to go
whatever yeah
you know like
put it in your song
give yourself a chance to just be like ah
OK back
yeah yeah yeah
that's a quick little reset
yeah cool down after cool down yeah
(21:02):
especially if you're running a Marathon
a vocal Marathon you know
just a little straw just keep walking after
yeah a little
yeah yeah yeah
cause you're not gonna stop running
right after you sprint mm hmm
you know what I mean yeah
and by the way
we have both warm UPS and cool downs on this channel
if you don't know what to do to warm up and cool down
go check that out OK
(21:23):
it's right there for you just check out our channel
another big thing um
and that was huge for me was releasing tension and like
not like I'm a muscle through kind of girl
like very bottom heavy
and so I just had a lot of tension
and a lot of weight in my voice
yeah so I guess if
if I were to generalize that even more
(21:44):
it's prioritizing what singing feels like
rather than what you sound like
and just making sure that whatever you do
obviously you're not gonna be 100% successful right
like sometimes you do something and you're like
that didn't feel good let me try that again
right like
that happens it still happens to me this day
to this day and I'm still working on that
but that's just
that comes with the territory of exploring right
(22:06):
of course but don't just continue to push through
thinking that it's going to get easier with repetition
yeah that
I always thought that I was like
well it feels hard now
but you know
everybody says
practice and keep doing it and it's gonna get easier
alright I'm waiting for it to get easier
and it never got easier mm hmm
and so you know
don't just push through
(22:27):
pay attention to what singing feels like
make adjustments if it doesn't feel good
absolutely if it feels stuck in your throat
or a little tickle in your throat or
or just like you're working really hard
yeah yeah
make adjustments easy
yeah should
I don't like saying that but like
it should feel easy yeah
you shouldn't
it shouldn't be like the hardest thing you've ever done
(22:49):
no no
planking should be harder
I like to say like
can I say blinking I said planking
oh oh planking
I also heard blinking blinking blinking
I do that automatically yeah
blinking should be harder
no planking should be harder than
than singing a song yes yes
I will say though like um
(23:10):
I like to say are you training or are you straining
yes cause things can feel weird
yes and unlike unnatural
in a moment unfamiliar
but you kind of have to trust your body
and ask yourself is this hurting me
or does it feel like
I'm lifting some heavy weights right now
and I'm learning how to you know
(23:30):
I'm learning how to squat with like
a little bit more weight you know what I mean
heavy chest is gonna feel like heavy chest
and a high belt is gonna feel like a high belt
yeah yeah
and it's normal to feel fatigued at the end of that
mm hmm it's
if you go back a couple hours later
and you're still fatigued
that's when you wanna like
be like okay
that was a little too much
or if we go a whole day you wake up the next day
your voice is still tired
(23:51):
another indication
that you probably went a little too hard
and that was probably your max capacity
so you wanna pull it back a little bit
so let's talk about that real quick
if you don't mind uh
how long and
and this is gonna be different for every singer
yeah but
you know
let's say for people that are just starting out
how long should they be uh
practicing so that they're not overdoing it
(24:14):
well it depends on what we're doing
we want to talk about Lynn holding haha
um motor learning
motor learning well
if we're talking about
the most efficient amount of time
that you could practice in a day
it's gonna be 20 minutes that's it
after that you can certainly
you can certainly keep going if you want
but 20 minutes is gonna be the most beneficial
for your brain for your voice
(24:34):
for your body we can't practice hours on end
like in
in a like a piano player at yeah
in undergrad can't like
and as someone taking a piano class in undergrad
I could not practice for hours
on end and no doing that either
yeah but
you know 20 minutes is ideal
yeah and I know that feels kind of short
but in order for your brain to like
fully understand what's going on
(24:55):
and you can read this in um
Lynn holding Doctor Lynn Holding's book
it's called the musician oh
the musician's mind the musician's mind
I have it I can see it
yeah yeah
I see the cover with the with the brain and the
and the yeah
she did a whole research on how musicians learn
and how they get better and 20 minutes was like
the sweet spot so if you're like
(25:15):
should I be practicing for two hours
the answer is no
you should be practicing for about 20 minutes
after that
it's definitely helpful but
it's probably not gonna move the needle
much more than 20 minutes would have
and I think that's kind of comforting for singers
to know that they don't have to be practicing
yeah hours on end
like we have a lot of students that
they have a full time job
(25:35):
and they're like I don't
and maybe even kids too
oh yeah
I don't have the time for this
and I'm like it literally only takes 20 minutes
yeah 20 minutes
four to five times a week
yeah you've got that
you will and you're getting good sleep
you will learn yeah
you will learn your brain will regenerate
your body will get used to what am I asking
yeah you know what I mean
cause it is so much about like
(25:55):
getting your body and your muscles to like
link up together right
coordinate that mind I
I talk about the mind muscle connection
yeah all the time
just like letting things hit your nervous system
and your body understanding like
ah okay
I'm not in danger if I belt okay
yeah yeah right yeah
and that's what that
that felt weird and that's when you say
(26:16):
is it training or straining
yeah because our nervous system can be like
what the heck is this oh my god
I've never done this before
you know what I mean it's like okay
let's give it a second
does it feel weird or does it feel like bad
right yeah
you know what I mean I ask so many questions
me too me too
well I think I'm always like
how did that feel always tell me
I love I love we're talking about
(26:36):
tell me about your experience
yeah what was that experience like for you
um and I also
that's one I picked up from you
what was that experience what was that experience like
I like that yeah yeah
cause it it kind of capture
cause sometimes when I say how was that
they they give me their like
opinion instead of like their experience
right yeah yeah
that's why I'm like how did it feel
cause uh huh
like it
it it
might sound different than how it feels
(26:57):
yes absolutely
cause sometimes things sound like wow
that was crystal clear and they're like
that was the most painful thing I've ever done
yeah or it sounds super tight
and they're like easy
yeah yeah
like alright
what's going on yeah
there's something to coordinate there yeah
oh be intentional with your practice as well yeah
just singing for 20 minutes
(27:17):
if that's your goal great
but if you're trying if
you know
let's say you have one voice lesson with someone here
and we're like hey
sing in your head voice for 20 minutes
we'll probably give you something more specific
but let's say that's what we
what we do
then go
sing in your head voice for 20 minutes
and practice that and in that first stage of learning
you wanna be doing the same thing each time
(27:40):
let it get a little monotonous
when it starts getting boring and easy
huge win yeah yes
huge win I love it when they go oh
I kind of spaced out I was like perfect
I didn't want you to be thinking about it
yeah you know yeah
there are exercises where you use your brain
and there are exercises where like
just let your eyes glaze over
yeah and like
zone out and just like
let your body do its thing
(28:01):
mmm hmm I like to add movements to
to exercising
like when I'm singing a song or doing an exercise
just to help me get out of my head
and it releases so much tension
I like doing that that's kind of like my
my way of zoning out yes
just like
distracting myself from whatever it is I'm doing right
like shaking my head or whatever
and lately
I've been saying this to a lot of my students
(28:23):
but tension is often your body's Band Aid to something
it is not a solution that we want right
it's not the most helpful
but it's your body being like
oh I know how to help you get that
no we're just gonna pull
pull your tongue back yeah
and just we're gonna hold on
scream at the yeah
we're gonna squeeze as hard as we can
and then we're gonna like
(28:44):
blow the air through yeah perfect
you know um
so look at the root of what's going on
and that really helps
and there are lots of professionals
who can help you do that
if you don't feel confident in doing that yourself
and looking yeah
looking inward like that
yeah yeah definitely
I love it yeah
I think that covers the most important things for like
(29:05):
vocal health vocal sustainability yeah
is there anything else that you guys are like
they need to know this singers need to know this
I know some of you are watching this
practice is not just putting up your repertoire
and singing through it that is not what practice is
you're doing vocal exercises
you're adjusting spots that are tricky
you're actively like Emily was saying
(29:27):
using your brain
you're not just singing through everything
and said yeah
that sounded okay I
you know I'll have students be like yeah
I just put on
I went to a practice room and sang all my songs
I was like cool
did you warm up cool
did you practice anything
did you well no
I don't know what yes
you do you know how to do it
cause we do it every single week
yeah and if you don't know
there are a lot of great resources in the green room
(29:47):
to practice or to learn how to practice
cause practicing is an art
yeah I'll tell you when I know how to practice yeah
we need to like have a
like a whole episode on no practice
actually might be good yeah
that would be a great one
we'll do that next yeah
we are changing our schedule
yeah based on what comes up and what's important
(30:09):
no cause it is super important
cause at the end of the day
you have to practice to see progress
but yes only one hour a week is not enough
yeah to
to get better you do have to pull yourself like
you do need to practice yeah
well and with that
like know what your goal is as a singer
if this is your favorite hobby
and you don't like to practice
(30:30):
like try to get yourself to practice a couple times
if you're trying to gig get in
get in the practice room yeah yeah
get in the practice room yeah
like every job
comes with things that you don't really wanna do
including being a singer and being a performer
and if that is practicing for you
suck it up Buttercup
haha you just gotta
sometimes do the stuff that you don't wanna do
(30:52):
but you just have to
and also remember that you're singing
so you kind of do wanna do it
haha yes
you just have to remind yourself
that you actually wanna do it
I have one more thing about vocal health
so take all these awesome things that we said
and then when you go sing your song
just like
don't worry about it like
like don't squeeze and push through and like
you know go out of your way to hurt yourself
that's not what I'm saying
(31:12):
but when you become so obsessed with health
you lose the art 100% so be aware of what's going on
and that's why the practice is not just the songs right
the practice is the exercises we're building
it's all about building habits that work for you
yes
so that you don't have to think about the vocal health
(31:32):
while you're singing that's the purpose of it
yes when technique and artistry meet
that's when we get this sweet spot of like
almost like meditation yes
you are like on a higher plane of existence
you're existing as an artist
and it happens it does happen that
you know it happens all the time
yeah yeah
the purpose of technique is to service your artistry
(31:54):
mm hmm you know
period and I would put it on a T-shirt
yeah put it on a T-shirt
there you go merch coming soon
and then I also think like
cause sometimes a lot of singers are like
worried that they're gonna have like
a vocal injury or something like that
and yes I had one
but also
I was doing a lot of things that were not great
(32:15):
uh and I
I do think that
first of all vocal injuries are not like
the worst thing on the planet
it happens it happens to a lot of us
it happens at like yeah
it happens to most singers
yes and that's okay
it's just like a football player like yeah
the likelihood that they have an injury at some point
is pretty high um
(32:35):
but also know that it takes more than hitting one note
in an not optimal way
it takes more than that to have an injury
like don't be scared to try out things yeah
don't be scared to try out things
don't take yeah
it's it goes back to my other point
don't let the fear of yeah
the vocal health monster like yeah
(32:56):
make you hide and not use your voice
yeah it's just
we're just build those habits yeah
you have the opportunity to build
to build habits that help you
yeah I love it
and don't feel bad if you do have an injury
yes no
don't oh
my god if you have an injury
it's so this
it's common the voice culture is so odd about that
(33:17):
mm hmm so
and that's why I'm making it a point to share yes
I love it I love it
so if you've watched a lot of
of our videos you're probably like
girl we know yeah
but somebody for somebody
it's the first thing that they see
and I'm like it's okay if you've had that
there is a way back and
I'm now a better singer than I was before
I had that injury and I yeah
(33:37):
almost like
in an weird way I'm thankful it happened
because it made me realize what I needed to change
to actually get better I'm not saying I wish
of vocal injury anybody no
but it's like yeah
everybody knows an athlete who's torn their ACL
everybody knows someone who's torn their ACL
and we don't go and we don't sit around and go
they're so horrible at playing soccer no
(33:59):
they can have the best technique in the world
it's just something that you step on it wrong once
yep yeah
things happen yeah
things happen and you have to live your life
yeah yeah
and sometimes
it doesn't even come from singing or speaking
it comes from coughing yeah
sometimes you sneeze too hard
hahaha like yeah
anyways yeah
so sing have fun
don't worry about it too much
(34:21):
yeah but do check in with yourself to make sure you're
you're feeling good get in tune with your body
yeah and trust
trust your body yes
trust and honor what your body says to you
they're it's giving you the signals
yeah it's giving you the signals
I love it perfect
thank you ladies
thank you yeah
this was fun yeah
hahaha
we can talk about this for years
(34:42):
yeah hahaha
thank you everybody
for checking in if you're at all worried about anything
send us a message like just on
on Instagram for example
at Vox Tape Studios send us a message there
if you're worried about something
we're happy to help you can also do a vocal evaluation
if you're like I have this weird gap in my voice
and I don't know what I need to do to get around it
(35:02):
we can have a listen check out what's going on
give you some recommendations
we're here to help okay
if any if there's anything we can do for you
just let us know Alrighty
I love it thank you ladies
for joining we'll see you in the next one
thank you everybody
for tuning in we'll catch you in the next episode bye
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