KEEP YOUR VOICE HEALTHY

Whether youre a professional or an amateur singer, its important to stay fit and healthy. To maintain proper breathing ensuring that you have full use of your lungs, regular exercise should be part of your day. Walking and swimming are particularly good for performers because they dont add unwanted stress to your muscles. There is less chance of injury when you swim or walk, which is important if your aim is to perform professionally. Time out from singing could mean a loss of income. Maintaining a good, balanced diet will help to keep your body fit on the inside. Make sure you eat plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits. Singers should try to avoid eating too much dairy food as it often builds up phlegm which can adversely affect your vocal chords and sinuses. A number of professional singers gargle with and swallow pineapple juice. It can be a natural way of cleaning the gunk off your vocal chords before a performance.

TAKE SINGING LESSONS
Choose a good singing teacher to help motivate you and keep you practicing on a regular basis. Its very important that your singing teacher is qualified and experienced. Word-of-mouth is usually the best way to find the right teacher or you can contact the Music Teachers Association in your local area for some sound advice. A good singing teacher can help you to get rid of bad singing habits and give you individually tailored vocal and breathing exercises. I recommend that you book in for a half hour or one hour lesson once a week. Regular lessons and regular practice can do wonders. Many professional entertainers that I know continue to have singing lessons. Some even take their teacher with them on tour!

DON'T STRAIN YOUR VOICE!

Always warm up before you start singing your songs. I recommend some relaxing breathing exercises then gentle humming first. Dont sing too loudly at first. Give your muscles time to prepare. If you feel that something is too high then sing it an octave lower. You will need to have a set of exercises that develop different aspects of your voice and musicality they should include major, minor and chromatic scales and arpeggios in a variety of pitches using different vowel and consonant sounds. Remember that the vowel sounds you use in singing can be quite different from the way you speak. They can also vary considerably from one music style to another, including Country, Rock, Jazz, Musicals and Classical. Keep in mind that the key you are singing in may be too high or low. If so, ask your teacher to transpose the music into a key that suits your individual voice. With the advent of computers and midi backings, its easy to change keys these days.