How to Take Care of Your Vocal Chords

A singer’s greatest asset would definitely have to be his/her voice. This is why you have to do everything that you can to keep your voice from sounding like a rusty chainsaw. All singers should prioritize learning how to take good care of their vocal chords. There are a ton of singers out there who make the mistake of not taking good care of their voices which somewhat limits the longevity of their vocal chords. Having your vocal chords damaged can end up ruining your greatest asset – your singing voice. Well it is about time for you to stop abusing your vocal chords and start taking care of them.

Protecting Your Chords

Just like every other part of our body, our vocal chords can only take so much abuse before they finally give in. You might notice that some of the world’s most famous singers still possess powerful voices despite having been in the music industry for decades. Here are some important tips that you should follow to help you keep your vocal chords protected:

·         Warm Up – it is important for you to always warm up your vocal chords before you go out and do any sort of vocal performance. Just like a professional athlete tends to warm up before the start of a game, singers must warm up before they start using their vocal chords. Many singers have ended up injuring their vocal chords by not being able to warm up before a performance. Trying to force yourself to hit high notes without warming up will only cause your vocal chords to become strained.

·         Get Enough Rest – you need to give your body an adequate amount of rest if you wish to maintain your voice’s consistency. Be sure to take some time out so you can give your voice a little breather after each session. This means that you should avoid constantly clearing your throat and yelling loudly.

·         Drink Plenty of Water – water is perhaps the most important substance ever created. Your body will simply not be able to function properly unless you drink plenty of water every day. Since your vocal chords are instruments, they must be kept hydrated at all times. Try to drink at least 8 glasses of water each day to keep your vocal chords properly hydrated.

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   Do Not Smoke – sure you might have seen plenty of singers smoke some cigarettes and still maintain their singing voices, but we all know that it will not last for long. Not smoking at all is one of the best ways to make sure that your vocal chords stay protected. Smoking can severely affect your vocal chords as the smoke will go through your voice and make it sound all raspy.

·         Do Not Consume Too Much Dairy Products – it’s no secret that milk does a body good, but drinking too much milk can cause your vocal chords to become damaged. Dairy products will not only clog your vocal passage, but it can also make your voice sound muffled by putting in some excess mucus in your mouth. 

How to Become a Famous Singer

Many of today’s musicians have a variety of resources that they can all use to help market themselves to others. Back then you needed to have a connection with someone who worked in the music industry if you wanted to give yourself a chance of getting some exposure. Nowadays things are a whole lot easier thanks to the power of the Internet, particularly that of social media. If you are planning on taking your singing career to the next level then perhaps it is time for you to start considering how you can effectively market yourself as a performer.

No Need for Managers

It is mainly because of the Internet that conventional promoters and managers are no longer needed as much as they used to be back in the day. If you want to become a world famous singer and follow in the footsteps of other singing legends such as Celine Dion, Nat King Cole, and others then here are a few tips that might be worth following.

·         Classify Your Music – doing this will allow you to market your music to the right niches and let you network with other musicians. For instance, if you wish to classify your music as being “folk”, then you can try to get in touch with some of the folk radio stations in your area as well as local folk clubs and other folk musicians.

·         Make Some Websites – remember that the Internet is an ever growing landscape which is why you will want to create more than just one site for your music. Be sure to fill your personal site with your bio, contact information, and your music as well. You should also try to take advantage of social media sites such as Twitter, MySpace, and Facebook to further advertise yourself as a singer.

·         Network Locally – you should try to network as much as you possibly can on the local scale. Most musicians start off their careers by doing some local gigs first. You see, before you can start thinking about promoting yourself on a global scale, you need to be able to get the attention of a local audience first. You may have to start off by performing in small venues at first, but the important thing is that you get to win over some local fans. Once you get the love and attention of a local fan base, they will then start to spread your music around to others.

·         Maintain Some Contacts – you should try to maintain a good database of your contacts so that your fans will be able to keep in touch with you. You should do this in gigs and on your own website. Give your fans a mailing list during your gigs so that they will get all of the info on any upcoming shows that you might have in the future.

·         Record a Sample Demo – if you have access to a local recording studio then you should start recording some of your songs and release them as a sample demo. Once you do this you can then try to give them to some local radio stations and ask them to play your song for you. This is the best way to reach an even wider audience and if they like your song, then they’ll obviously want you to come up with more.