Is it true that smoking makes your singing voice better?

Question

Ive heard singers like Norah Jones and Mariah Carey admit that they've smoked to make their voice better..obviously over time you can get throat cancer or some other kind of cancer..but at the moment does it make it better?

They said it gives it this kind of touch to your voice..like Cat Power

Answer 1

Smoking changes the internal tissue lining of your trachea. At first the epithelial cells have cilia (little hairs that move mucus), but after smoking the cilia can degenerate as an effect of the chemicals in cigarettes making it difficult to sing or talk depending on the length of time you've been smoking.

Answer 2

There shouldn't be any lasting effects at all, and I doubt that simply being around it would affect you unless the room was filled with the smoke. The only effect would have been from any you directly inhaled, which can leave your throat scratchy for a few hours. Inhaling smoke of any kind can be tough on the voice, of course, but it goes away in short order unless you smoke regularly. Since this is not something you plan to do, let your worries about harming your voice go up in smoke.

Answer 3

OMG, smoking is horrible for singers...it is a horrible habit for anyone! When you smoke it alters and irritates your vocal folds. Some people are really effected by it and develop raspy deep voices...as a singer this is risky if you are known for your voice. You may not achieve the same quality and pitch range. Joni Mitchell's voice has been thrashed from smoking. She used to sing so beautifully. Now she sounds hoarse, raspy and has pitch breaks. Does that answer your question?

Answer 4

It's very possible to learn to sing well. You just need to know the right methods. Learn here https://tr.im/cQ0fu

Singing teachers will cost money and can be expensive so they're not for everyone. Singing can be learned so it's not an "either you have it or you don't" kind of thing.

Whether you sound like crap or you're decent, I recommend this singing course. It's one of the best methods to learn to sing well in a short amount of time. It's all about using efficient techniques that work.

Answer 5

Smoking limits range and power. Some smoking singers get by on the music and the lyrics.

Answer 6

No....it DOES cause the domino effect that eventually turns on the cancer gene ( if Alpha One enzymes are present ) and/or leads into esophogeal cancer as well......or better said, it increases your development risk for either medical condition.

Your voice is your instrument, tuned by God; either it's right or not. Can't really adjust it's overall sound, but you CAN fine tune it to certain limited degrees.

Answer 7

Smoking makes you sing like Kim Cairnes. She sang Betty Davis Eye's back in the 80's. It makes you sound like you have a frog in your throat. Some people like that type of singing, but it irritates my ears.

Answer 8

Yeah, I know this guy who smokes heavily and is a top singer. You cannot tell him apart from Burle Ives.

It gives him a raspy sound people like.

Answer 9

I doubt smoking makes the voice sound better any more than not changing my guitar strings makes my guitar sound better. It amounts to the same thing, except I can change my strings, can they change their voice back?

Answer 10

Well, smoking does lend raspiness to your voice, so I guess if you want a more hard-edged sound, it would make your singing better