My throat hurts after I sing and I want to stop it. how do I do so?

Question

I have been singing my entire life and continue to do so now. I am in the advanced choir and in musical productions. I don't like feeling that my throat is sore everytime I get out of a class. I know I need to work on my breathing but I don't know how?

Answer 1

It never ceases to amaze and distress me that people always advise others to ingest honey -- and they're usually the same people to say, "But never, ever drink milk!" If you spill honey and milk on the floor, which one can you clean up faster? The milk, of course -- the honey will be a sticky mess.

Anyway, to the meat of the matter.

I'm not sure if by "sore" you mean your throat is sore as in feeling like it's infected, or just that your throat muscles ache. If it's that scratchy "sore throat" feeling, you're pushing and straining, and are likely not hydrated enough. If it's achy muscles, it's a combination of trying to push from the throat instead of from the diaphragm, and not relaxing your jaw enough. My advice is to talk to your choir director -- he/she can probably offer you some help to correct the problem.

Remember, the jaw muscles must not be clenched or held rigidly. If you feel any tension ANYWHERE in your neck -- front, sides, or back -- you're not relaxed enough. The only things that should really feel engaged are your lips and tongue -- and even those should never feel overtly rigid or contorted.

Finally, drink water. And I mean a lot of water -- at LEAST two liters per day. Yes, you'll go to the bathroom every half hour, but you'll nonetheless be properly hydrated. Your vocal cords are like any muscles in your body -- they need a lot of water to be supple and resilient. And if you drink coffee or cola soft drinks, give them up -- completely. Caffeine is quite bad for singers, because it helps to dry things out. I've been caffeine-free for nearly four years and have never felt better in my 45 years.

Answer 2

All the above are great advice, if you haven t potentially got other "medical" issues associated with it. More than likely, if you have had no symptoms in the past and been singing a while, it s not due to a change in your singing, but a change in your physical self.

I think the best advice given above is to "start" with your Ear Nose & Throat doctor. Let s eliminate any physical problems first to prevent you from damaging anything in your throat. There are many long term, ongoing infections and inflammation related issues that can leave your throat in this condition. Believe it or not, your nose cavity can mature over the years and send a small drainage into the back of your throat which interacts with your vocal chords causing inflammation, etc.

The first question you should ask yourself is: Do you have any noticeable mucus that accumulates there? Do you find yourself clearing your throat and or swallowing a lot? If the answer is yes, then you definitely need to visit the ENT specialist.

If you get a clean bill of health from your ENT, then by all means, move into a category where you take note of "how" you sing. Sounds like you ve been singing long enough to do the proper checks to see if you are singing from your diaphragm, and if you re over-straining your voice.

Also, make sure you haven t changed positions in the choir and might now be singing "outside" your comfortable range. This happens a lot with seasoned singers who want to take it to the next level, but their throat doesn t.

And last, the advice about warming up and waming down is GREAT advice. People who sing all the time should consider their bodies like an athlete does. They warm up, stretch and prepare themselves BEFORE they sing. Secondly, always warm down, that s a great way to give your throat a chance to adjust.

Also, remember that most professional singers refuse to eat or drink ANYTHING prior to a performance. There s a reason for that. During eating and digestion, your system is over-producing saliva to help with the early digestive process, and this can be what s obstructing your singing. The rule of thumb says 4 hours, even though some will argue 2 or 3. My advice is, find out what works best for you.

Hope this helps, and from a professional KJ, keep on doing God s work... :)

Answer 3

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Answer 4

Throat Hurts

Answer 5

To A Prevent Soar Throat:

WARM UP FIRST!! This is a MUST!! But do it right. Also, do breathing exercises. Breath from your stomach using your diaphragm to push out the air. NEVER sing from your chest or nose no matter how good it may sound. Stay hydrated. Drink WATER not soda, juice, etc.

To Get Rid of A Soar Throat:

Drink some hot tea with honey to coat your throat. Add lemon if you want. Also, you can suck on a peppermint. That always helps me. If it gets serious you should see a doctor. Hope this helps!

Answer 6

It's a common problem, but an important problem. You've worked your voice out, and then just stopped suddenly, and the rush of blood to your vocal chords are jammed up and causing the pain. After you finish practice, you should continue to sing lightly and hum for about 10 minutes to easy the voice back to a resting position. Thinking like humming softly and vocal slides can relax the voice and let it cool down slower, releasing all the blood that had been attracted there during the rehearsal. This will also make your voice feel much better for the next rehearsal.

Answer 7

Please, please, PLEASE talk to your choir director about this (or a voice teacher, if you have one or know one)!!! Solving this problem is not a matter of drinking something or sucking on a candy -- you want to prevent it from happening in the first place, right??? This is obviously a problem with your singing technique - you are straining or pushing in the throat probably. You shouldn't feel ANY sensation at all in the throat when you sing properly, and you MUST learn how to breathe to support the sound. Even though you say that you are in the advanced choir and have sung in musicals, it is possible that you have never learned to sing correctly and have developed bad habits, such as tensing muscles in the neck and shoulders. Please get some help from your teacher before you do damage to your voice! I would give you a lesson if I could, but there is nothing you can write that would give me as much information as hearing and seeing you sing, which is why your choir director or a voice teacher would be your best bet.

Answer 8

Become aware of how you're using yourself with your singing. Singing (as well as everyday activities) can bring out all sorts of nasty tension habits. Pulling your head back and down onto your neck, or "trying" to be too straight with it can cause problems. Notice your ribs..are they moving when you breathe? Do you try to stick your stomach out when inhaling (which is actually not a good habit because you just tense your stomach muscles, which disrupts airflow). Are you balanced over your feet without your knees locked? I know that this sounds very mundane, but if your body is tense, so will your throat and it causes damage. If you have to sing in your higher range, don't force it...just THINK about your head going towards the ceiling with the back of your mouth feeling like a domed cathedral. You may want to play around with this using long vowels such as "ah" or "eh."

In terms of the breath, if you feel that you run out of air, you have to inhibit the idea of tensing up. Instead, think of yourself going up towards the ceiling and widening out to the sides. When you have to inhale, just take a breathe and let the air naturally return. Musicians make breathing so complicated instead of it just letting it happen naturally. Also, please remember that your voice does need a chance to rest. If you're feeling tired, then stop. It's best to work on something later when your voice is well rested rather than pushing it and making it worse. Sipping some warm tea with a bit of honey might be good to help sooth it.

Answer 9

i have exactly the same problem, and i get throat infections really easily. Echinacea is a flower or herb, and you can find tablets in any health food store that sells vitamins or supplements. it really help prevent throat infections. or if not, but you may already know this if you are an advanced singer, try not to sing from your throat, but use your chest and diaphragm, for the note that you belt. then you can your head voice for the higher note and it won't hurt as much! just make sure you aren't straining your voice, or that could help you lose it altogether.

Answer 10

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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 11

This usually happens for me when I am not singing in the proper octave. If I sing to low or high, I don't carry myself properly. You might want to see if this might be an issue for you. It might sound wonderful, but you change how you use your vocals when it is an effort. I relieve the sore throat by drinking straight lemon juice, and following it by a throat coat tea.