Help, I’ve lost my voice! I woke up with no voice on Monday this week and so I thought it would be fitting to write a post about how to fix a lost voice, especially when you are a singer or a singing teacher or just someone who loves to sing. Losing your voice as a singer, whether you are doing it professionally or just as a hobby, can be quite stressful!
My Experience Losing My Voice As A Singer
Luckily, I have not experienced losing my voice that often as I know how to look after my voice and it’s limits. The last time I lost my voice was when I was 21 and touring seven shows a week! (See this Reel with some throwback photos!) Although this time is not from touring and singing strain, I have been quite stressed with getting my studio up and running (did you see the update here?) and I’m sure that this is why my voice has gone. As we all know, extended stress is never a good thing so here are things that I do and recommend doing when losing your voice.
You Might Also Like: How Often Should I Practice
What I Do To Get My Singing Voice Back?
- I steam, steam, steam. I boil the kettle, pour the hot water into a pot, let it sit for a minute and then I put a towel over my head and the pot, and I breathe the moist air in. I try to breathe as deep as I can into my throat. You can also use a humidifier to keep the air throughout your home or office moist. The hot water in a pot is old school but it works.
- I rest with little-to-no speaking, as much as possible.
- I drink copious amounts of water & lemon and honey warm drinks to prevent dehydration and no alcohol and less caffeine..
Drinking warm water helps relieve pain and inflammation, and honey is a natural antibacterial and anti-inflammatory substance. By fighting inflammation, it may help reduce pain and discomfort in the throat. Honey can also act as a cough suppressant which in my eyes is magic!
- I suck on honey flavoured halls to Moisten my throat. It keeps that annoying little throat tickle at bay.
- I don’t take things like decongestants, as they can dry things out and dehydrate your vocal cords.
- I avoid whispering. (We talk about how whispering is just as bad on your vocal cords as shouting in this post)
- I do sing through my singing straw as this actually rebuilds and heals your voice and helps you recover faster. Straw phonation is a fantastic way to heal!
What is straw phonation you might ask?
Singing through a straw is a powerful “semi-occluded vocal tract” exercise, which means that as you vocalize, the air coming out of your mouth is partially blocked. This creates a resistance in the vocal tract, which sends energy back to the vocal folds and helps them vibrate more efficiently.
If you don’t have your singing straws as yet, use our Singit code : SINGIT10 and save 10%. You can purchase them here!
Laryngitis is not contagious but we are living in some interesting times so it’s good to stay on the safe side and be careful.
I hope you all have a beautiful rest of the week & as always, Happy Singing
Mia!
