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Many people will tell you that there is a one-size-fits-all way to take care of your voice as a singer, which is only true to a point.

As singers, our body is our instrument, and every body is different! Your body is different from mine, which is different from my husband’s, which is different from his friend’s… you get the point. And since each body is different, the care of each body looks a little different.

The same goes for voices!

We’ll cover it more in-depth in this post, but you need to be aware of how your own body reacts to different foods, different medications, and different types of exercise in order to know exactly how to take care of your voice as a singer.

However, there are several “best practices” and principles that you can use to guide your care for your voice – read on to learn!

Take care of your voice by staying hydrated

If I could give you one – and only one – piece of advice, it would be this: the best thing you can do for your voice is stay hydrated.

There are so many reasons for this, not the least of which is the effect of whole-body health on the singing voice. Dehydration effects your entire body, which in turn effects the voice. According to the NHS article on dehydration, symptoms of dehydration can have a direct effect on the voice, like a dry mouth or increased thirst, or indirectly effect the voice. like fatigue, lightheadedness, and confusion. It can also cause your mucus-producing glands to work overtime, causing an excess of mucus – but more on that later.

So how do singers stay hydrated and care for their voices? There are two components to this:

1. Hydrate
   Water, water, and more water is the best way to hydrate your body. Experts say to aim to drink about half your body weight in ounces every day. If you find yourself in a pinch and need to bounce back after an illness (involuntarily losing liquids is the most common culprit of severe dehydration), or just have a hard time drinking enough water for lack of taste, electrolyte mixes like this one can help with that.
   One of my favorite “drinking enough water” tricks is getting a tumbler – with a straw – that I love. If you’re a Stanley Cup kind of person, more power to you, but I like these knockoffs from amazon (so much cheaper!).
2. Avoid dehydrating consumables
   Did you know that some drinks can actually dehydrate you? Substances considered diuretics promote fluid loss through increased urination. As much as some of you might not like this next part, there are 2 things that are incredibly common that are considered diuretics: caffeine and alcohol.
   There is some conflicting information on how much they will dehydrate you, but a good rule of thumb to follow is drinking ounce for ounce the same amount of water as either coffee or alcohol if you are not wanting to avoid them all together.

Take care of your voice by warming up

The voice is a muscle.

Rather, the voice is a series of muscles that work together to produce sound! And that’s not just the muscles we use to produce sound, but our whole body is our instrument when we sing.

As with any other set of muscles, going into a heavy exercise without warming up those muscles can lead to strain, quicker fatigue, or even injury.

So when a singer asks how to take care of their voice, I always point the singer to my go-to vocal warmups for beginners. (important note: these aren’t just for beginners; they’re a great way for singers of all levels to begin their warmup routine!)

Take care of your voice by avoiding mucus-producing food and drinks

Remember that mucus production I mentioned earlier? Well, here we are.

We’ve all experienced it: trying to sing with a big glob of mucus stopping up our vocal chords. Gross, I know, but a universal experience. Too thick or too much mucus can really make singing well, and healthfully, difficult.

However, everyone’s body does react differently to different foods and drinks. For many people, dairy can cause an increase in mucus production, which is why so many people tout avoiding dairy when asked how to take care of your voice. However, this isn’t the case for everyone!

This is the part where I can’t give a one-size-fits-all answer to how to take care of your voice. You can see a good list of potential mucus-producing foods in this article, but you really need to get to know your own body to know what foods you need to avoid.

Take care of your voice by avoiding inflammatory food and drinks

In a similar vein, food and drink that causes inflammation (swelling) can make it difficult to sing, sometimes leading to injury. There can be crossover from mucus-producing foods, like dairy, and remember – not every body reacts the same way to every food. Some common culprits:

• Dairy
• High sugar content food and drinks
• Refined carbohydrates (white bread, pastries, etc)
• Fried food
• Red & Processed Meats
• MSG
• Trans fats

How to take care of your voice as a singer when you’re sick

Second to “how to take care of your voice,” the followup question is almost always “how should I take care of my voice when I’m sick?” or how to get my voice back quickly from a cold.

Colds, flues, and the like are never fun, but they are especially annoying when you have a job to do and the illness is preventing you from doing it – like singing. So here are some tips on how to get your voice back quickly from a cold or flu:

1. Do all the “every-day” stuff
   Be militant (not joking) about everything in this post above, especially hydration. If the usual rule is half your body weight in ounces, aim for closer to three quarters to all your body weight in ounces, and you can boost your retention with electrolytes.
   On the topic of hydration – be aware of what medications you are taking. Medicines with antihistamines or decongestants in them can work against hydration – the point of them is to dry us up! So if you’re taking any medicines designed to dry up mucus, make extra sure to take in some additional fluids.
2. Add good tea
   Tea is an excellent way to help your voice recover quickly. Some people swear by throat coat tea, but I personally have been using Good Earth Sweet and Spicy tea for over 10 years with great success. It has all sorts of good stuff in it like ginger and cinnamon to help boost your immunity as well.
   Pro-tip: add some honey to whatever tea you want as well for some extra soothing and immunity-boosting power!
3. Don’t use mentholated cough drops
   Menthol and other numbing agents work so well because they numb whatever pain you have in your throat. The downside of this is that they numb your vocal mechanism as well (especially the surrounding muscles). When your voice is numb, it is incredibly easy to over-sing, strain, and injure your voice without even realizing it. Opt for herbal cough drops like these instead.
4. Rest
   This applies to both your voice and your body – rest is essential for recovery. Taking a few days off from work, singing, whatever, won’t kill you, but over-doing it most of the time delays recovery and can injure your voice! So take that day, do vocal rest, give your body what it needs to get your voice back quickly and healthily.

That’s how you take care of your voice as a singer, even when you’re sick!

At least, this is a great starting point. Like I mentioned above, be sure to learn what your body and your voice needs specifically, to really care for your voice well and keep it healthy.

If you have any questions, my inbox is, of course, always open.