Vocal Rest for Singers

As a singer, sometimes you just need to give your voice a break-- be quiet and go on vocal rest! A couple of weeks ago I had a really awful sinus infection.. my ears were clogged, my nose was stuffy and I had a really uncomfortable itch in my throat that made me sound hoarse when I spoke. I tried to sing a couple of times and it wasn't pretty. So how did it go away? Well, I cancelled all of my sessions that week and refrained from practicing any songs. I also limited my talking and went on vocal rest. Within 5 days of taking medication and literally not singing, I walked into my gig on Sunday and sang effortlessly and beautifully. It felt so amazing to have my real voice back!

According to the NYU Voice Center, vocal rest is a time of introspection and delegation. Vocal rest gives your voice time to heal, settle and relax. When your voice is fatigued or if you're trying to overcome an illness, the fastest way to let your voice heal is to refrain from using it. Believe it or not we use our voices for just about everything... when we cough, sneeze, clear our throats, hum and even whisper. During vocal rest, try to limit or even avoid doing all of these things to expedite your recovery. 

If you have a really busy performance schedule that requires you to sing almost on a nightly basis, try not to speak the entire day leading up to your call time. As it gets later in the day, closer to when you have to go on stage, gently start to warm up your voice (starting at the middle of your range, slowly working your way upwards and downwards) and take two shots of honey. Honey will lubricate your voice and will give your cords an awesome coating to help facilitate the production of sound with a lot more ease. If you're not at 100% during your gig, amp up your monitor mix or sing your song in a lower key. Always listen to your body when your voice is trying to tell you something. If it hurts, stop and take a couple of days off so that you can rest. 

Giving your voice the respect that it deserves is an amazing investment in your future as a vocal professional. If you can incorporate small bouts of vocal rest during your practice and performance schedules, then you will be able to accomplish the following things:

• The avoidance of more severe vocal problems that may require longer periods of vocal rest, therapy and even surgery.
• Stronger vocal muscles. Strength in muscles comes from stress AND recovery, and adequate recovery time is just as important as your training. 
• A longer lasting vocal career!

I hope this helps and if you have any questions, please let me know. Also, I would like to know if you have any vocal rest tips of your own!?