What's the best way to stop getting a sore throat when I sing a lot?

Question

I mean, I'm not a great singer, but I enjoy it, and sometimes I want to sing for a long time, and I've found that my throat gets sore after a while- is there a way to build stamina for the throat, or do I have to accept what I was born with?

Answer 1

Easy answer. Find a good voice teacher and learn how to sing properly. That's the bottom line. Everyone is different and only a good voice teacher that can see and hear you will be able to correct whatever you are doing wrong.

Young singers, i.e., those that are still new to using a correct technique, shouldn't sing more than about 30-60 minutes a day until they figure out how to do things properly. So, untrained voices usually feel the impact after about 30-60 minutes of uninterrupted vocalization. You didn't say what constitutes "a long time", but if more than 60 minutes you're pretty normal.

If you still have a sore throat after learning to sing properly, you should look into physiological problems, allergies, atmosphere (humidity, altitude), diet, etc. Pet hair, pollen, dry weather, acidic foods, carbonated beverages, medicines, alcohol, calloused vocal chords, and spicy things can irritate or dehydrate the vocal chords making things even worse.

Also, you shouldn't be thinking about stamina for the throat. You need stamina for the diaphragmatic muscles that are necessary to properly support the voice. Your neck, or actually from the tip of your nose to just below the collar bone, should stay as relaxed as possible in order to avoid strain.

Answer 2

Warm up before you sing.

Your voice needs to be stretched like the muscles in your body do before you go running.

Start with some gentle humming on a comfortable note. Then siren up and down to the very top of your range and the very bottom. All gently humming.

Then sing scales down from a note start with 'oo' do 10 or so moving the starting note up all the time.

Then do the same with an 'oh' sound, then 'a', 'e' and other vowel noises. You can use consonants to place the sound, so rather than 'oo' you can do 'nooo' (this should rhyme with 'due' not 'no')

Then gently sing some songs which you know in a comfortable part of the voice.

If you warm up for about half an hour before you sing you should find your voice survives any long period of singing more easily.

But don't push your voice when you do sing, belting high notes or producing raw sounds that hurt the throat can have a long lasting effect.

Answer 3

The thing is without proper training you aint USING what you were born with.

Get some training from a vocal coach if you can. Otherwise...

Warm up your voice gently.

Sing scales. Gently vibrate your voice on each note.

Imagine that your voice is an elevator/lift and you are riding it up to the 32nd floor and then all the way down to the basement... humm the trip up and down on one breath.

Try to sound all of the notes in your range clerly and easily. Place your hand on your abdomen (lower belly) to feel that you are breathing from down there rather than just from the top of your lungs.

Practice breathing exercises daily.

Keep hydrated (water, water and more water)... no sugary or caffeine or carbonated (fizzy) drinks... and make sure it is at room temperature or slightly warmer.

Make sure that you get enough sleep.

Avoid alcohol and caffeine - both are bad for the voice!

Avoid smoking (obviously) and smoky rooms

Eat plenty of high water content foods - fruits and vegetables. Avoid Dairy products as they are mucus producing - and all that phlegm is bad for your voice - it sticks to the vocal folds and gums up the throat.

AVOID throat lozenges.... They sooth and anaesthetise... so that when you sing you don't realise that you've pushed your voice too hard... so when the anaesthetic effect wears off your throat hurts even more!
It is better to have a drink that is one teaspoon of honey (organic Manuka honey if you can find it is best, if not any honey that has not been pasterised), a teaspoon of lemon juice and a couple of slices of fresh ginger mixed on hot (not boiling) water.

Answer 4

I actually know what the hell I'm talkin about here!

I like karaoke.

I practice on songs like It's My Life, Lithium, Don't Look Back in anger and Helter Skelter.

You can virtually give yourself a hernia of the throat with those but the more you do them, the stronger your voice gets. It also
allows you to control the amount of breathe you use when you sing. It also increases the lung capacity and is a fantastic workout for them if you smoke. Look, I'm tellin you boyo the miners must have known something!

When you come to sing quieter songs it makes it a little easier too!

I do have to take breaks though and like most things if you really do push too hard you can come a cropper!

Little and often is probably the key. It also depends a lot on your voice range and the types of songs you sing. Try to find songs you feel comfortable with.

It took me ages to be able to get anywhere near the high notes on Give a little respect but I am getting there slowly.

I still don't fancy singing it in public tho cos it sounds a bit gay.

The one thing you do find tho is that the more you sing, the closer to the pitch you get. I think this is because the cords mold into the right shape.

Do you have iTunes (free dowload from Apple) cos they have hundreds of backing tracks.

Happy singin.

Answer 5

I sing a lot too!...when u get a sore throat don't sing for the rest of the day and do some simple breathing exercises...I find the best thing to have when you have a sore throat is honey and lemon mixed in hot water...tastes great and calms the throat!

Answer 6

Its not about what you eat or drink before/ after, obviously drink alot of water at all times.... but its about learning to support your voice using your diaphram(sp i know)!
you need more air going through the vocal chords because you are putting them understrain to make a high/ loud note, pushing air through with your diaphram will make for a much nicer sound, and will give your vocal chords more of a break.

The best way of building up stamina is by goin to lessons (even if u only go to three) do stomach exercises that build up the strength of your core also. An easy technique which will improve you diaphram is saying "HA HA HA"(really really loundly) with your hands on you stomach, see where your stomach moves? thats your diaphram..... keep you hand there and everytime you sing, imagine it is pushing out in all directions from inside the body. This should help you alot.

good luck x

Answer 7

Tea with honey is a pretty old one but it works pretty well. It is also important to stay hydrated, and stay away from really spicy foods and Tabasco sauce, whether it tastes spicy or not to you. One thing in particular that helped was doing more athletic things that involved the lungs (running, biking, swimming)- this helped my endurance a lot. Be sure to practice more, just find the amount of time that works for you and stay constant in practicing. You should try working with a vocal coach and singing in a choir, the latter helps a lot, too.

There's an old Pakistani remedy for the sore throat, a spoon of honey with a little pepper sprinkled on top, that also works. It tastes bad, but it goes to your throat and works really well.

Answer 8

I have been the lead vocalist of my own band and sang with many others, I have great vocal stamina, enough to do 4 1 hour sets within 5 hours, all rock and roll. The secret is sing from your diaphram, and sing the easiest songs first and work up to the loudest ones at the end of each set. Drink water between verses if you have to, but stay hydrated. Just don't blow your vocal chords out in the first hour. Sing all day long, hum, push your self to higher and lower notes each day. Good luck!

Answer 9

If you want to build endurance, practice for short periods of time each day. Even plain, ordinary vocal exercises will help. Before you sing, be sure your throat is warm - tea or coffee helps some people. Always be sure you are well-hydrated when you think you're going to be singing a lot; singing expells a LOT of moisture with the air you use.

Answer 10

If you use your voice properly you shouldn't get a sore throat, dryness is common though make sure you drink plenty of water, (not alcohol) - have you considered getting vocal training? It doesn't need to be expensive but if you learn to use your voice properly you are less likely to strain your vocal cords etc also you should learn to sing for a long time without getting a sore throat.