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question for singers...

SomethingCreativeSomethingCreative Posts: 3,371
edited August 2008 in Musicians and Gearheads
my band is starting to play longer sets now (we're doing 2, hour and a half long, sets this weekend) and our lead singer is starting to worry about taking care of his voice a little better. He's never done lead vocals in a band until now and no one else in the band has either. So since none of have any experience with it, I'm looking for some tips on taking care of your voice.


*he doesn't smoke at all and drinks rarely.

THANKS!
"Well, I think this band is incapable of sucking."
-my dad after hearing Not for You for the first time on SNL .
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • Red BurritoRed Burrito Posts: 476
    Get plenty of rest.
    Talk very little prior to the shows.
    Drink herbel tea with lemon and honey.
    Drink plenty of water, stay hydrated
    Definitely do vocal warm ups prior to singing.
    the sorrow grows bigger, when the sorrow's denied
  • xtremehardy388xtremehardy388 Posts: 2,759
    Drinking honey/gargling salt water/ are good to do before AND AFTER a show. I personally like chicken soup before a show. I drink a little bit of red wine before/during a show. I add two teaspoons of salt. It's a little gross tasting but I'm usually nervous as hell and sweat out the alcohol. I don't get drunk or anything but it coats my throat.

    As long as he's not like screaming at crazy people during the day, he should be okay. Give the voice a break after shows. Don't drink milk before a show..I've heard this is bad. You said he's not a smoker which is very good(though I've heard differing opinions in terms of singing style)
    Grand Rapids '04, Detroit '06
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  • FinsburyParkCarrotsFinsburyParkCarrots Posts: 12,223
    Vocal warmups.

    Hot water (NOT tea or honey).
  • eyedclaareyedclaar Posts: 6,980
    Make sure he paces himself on stage. I used to get so excited I would blow my voice after 10 songs. Relaxing (I drink a bit) and warming up help me a lot.
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  • lucylespianlucylespian Posts: 2,403
    Don't have a lte night the night before. Late nights are the worst things for voices, as bad as cigs and overuse, if not worse.
    Also, MJ is really bad for causing dry throats.
    Music is not a competetion.
  • ianvomsaalianvomsaal Posts: 1,224
    - Agreed, room temperature water is best.
    - Agreed, stay hydrated.
    - Agreed, get plenty of rest the night before.
    - Agreed, vocal warm ups are recommended.
    - Agreed, give your voice a rest the day before the gig.
    - Pay attention to what you eat (no dairy, because of the increased mucus).
    - Eat a while before singing to give your food some time to settle.
    - Use your microphone & monitors properly - you shouldn't need to scream to
    be heard - make sure your monitors are loud enough so you can hear yourself
    and don't end up screaming (you're singing) - sometimes in-ear monitors help.
    - Finally, make sure songs are in the correct key for your singer (straining is bad).

    Tea with lemon and honey? Is this what you've been told? That's actually not great.
    You don't want to drink anything that will dry out your throat or mouth (lemon & honey
    tend to dry you out, which is good when you're all mucus(y) and sick, but not all that
    good for your throat when you're singing). A friend of mine (on tour right now) chews
    sugarless gum "while she sings" to keep her throat hydrated - seems to work well.

    Don't drink MILK or anything acidic before a show (soda, oj, lemonade, alcohol, etc).
    Personally, the only tea I'd recommend is one of those "throat coat" tea's (found in
    most heath food stores): http://www.good-earth.com/traditional-medicinals-throat-coat-tea.html
    Don't smoke, and stay out of rooms where there are smokers (especially before a gig).
    People have a tendency to drink cold water to fast, then end up choking and coughing,
    then have a bad night (think about what your throat feels like after you've been really
    coughing). Also, hot water can burn your throat if you drink it to fast (easy to do), so
    again hot water can be a bad idea, especially if you have a tendency to gulp water.

    Hope this helps - Cheers . . .

    - Ian
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  • xtremehardy388xtremehardy388 Posts: 2,759
    After going without honey and then using honey, I've noticed my voice tends to sound better. Maybe I just have freaky throat muscles..
    Grand Rapids '04, Detroit '06
    JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
    "Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
  • GardenpartyGardenparty Posts: 1,910
    ianvomsaal wrote:
    -

    Don't drink MILK or anything acidic before a show (soda, oj, lemonade, alcohol, etc).

    Don't smoke, and stay out of rooms where there are smokers (especially before a gig).


    - Ian

    Whoah, whoah, I thought we were talking about rock and roll here?

    But yeah, despite the fact that the above two aren't practiced as often as they should be, generally it's wise.

    Also, being amazingly gifted as a singer or just having a great voice to begin with goes a long long long way. Makes me very jealous as well
    “I know this song so well, I can smoke a cigarette, have a drink, brush my teeth, take a shit, and mow the lawn while singing it. But I'll only be doing a couple of those things during this version.”
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