Choices for voices: How to keep your voice in great shape for performance

Mandy News offers up five tips to keep your voice in perfect condition:

Drink plenty of water
Water keeps the body hydrated and vocal cords lubricated. You should also be avoiding caffeine. Although it comes in the form of a liquid, caffeine acts as a drying agent. Dry vocal cords can tighten, which can hinder your range.


Don’t smoke
Smoking irritates and dries out the throat and vocal cords. And, of course, as we all know, it also causes cancer. Try to stay away from smoky environments and smoke machines in particular.

Avoid overusing your voice
Rest it when you get the chance and try to avoid singing along to your favourite tunes at full blast. If your throat begins to feel tired or hoarse then you should stop using it. Oh, and if you need to shout, then it might be worth contemplating using amplification, be this through a loudhailer or PA systems.

Rest
If you are sick, then you need to rest, plain and simple. Your voice will not forgive you just because you need to go out to the shops. Stay in bed, rest your voice and get someone else to help.  

Humidify
Use a humidifier at home. Dry environments are not good for your vocal cords and using a humidifier to put moisture in the air is one way to help with this, especially in winter when the use of heaters is more frequent.