Hi zoomie,
What an interesting question! I have always wished for a ?singing?
voice, but alas, I?m one of those people that needs a bucket to carry
a tune. The fact that you exercise and don?t smoke is a great start
towards improving your voice, but my research shows you need to omit
the coffee and pop! (They are staples of MY diet too!) I found no
mention of drinking lemon juice however! I also found that each singer
has their own optimal ?time of day? for singing -- apparently yours is
at night! You say you sing better at night, even when you are tired!
This is probably attributable to your enthusiasm for singing! When we
do things we like, our adrenaline levels rise, giving us added energy!
Here is the best advice I could find for improving your voice clarity.
Some of it is seemingly anecdotal, but apparently with value; the same
kinds of things, such as drinking lots of water, avoiding spicy foods,
etc., were found repeatedly, site to site.
A few excerpts from ?More than 50 Great Singing Tips? from Dwayne?s Singing Page:
Learn what YOUR voice is capable of
Stay away from dust
Don?t talk too much
Don?t sing out of your range
Stay our of air conditioning two hours before a performance
Avoid dairy products
And, my favorite ?Don't allow people to come at your vocal cords with
sharp instruments?
http://notsosynonymous.tripod.com/sing/tips.html
From the same site, ?Singing, the Full-body Exercise? recommends
singing from your diaphragm, sing from your feet, and lift with your
legs. According to this site, involving your entire body is the trick!
Breathing exercises, jogging, becoming flexible and remaining in good
health are a must!
http://notsosynonymous.tripod.com/sing/exercise.html
Check your hearing! From Invisible World site, : ?The eminent French
ear, nose and throat specialist Dr Alfred Tomatis, proved that "The
voice contains only what the ear hears."
http://www.invisibleworld.com.au/pages/singfaqs.htm
Singing for a Living site recommends ? Exercise improves singing by
way of increasing your cardiovascular strength and breath stamina, by
stimulating your endorphins (natural opiates released by exercise) and
by strengthening your overall muscle tone. It can help you sing
higher, clearer, with less strain, and more energy and emotion?
Working out every day that you sing is another tip from this site, as
well as drinking an additional 2 glasses of water a day, to stay well
hydrated. Swimming is considered a great exercise for singers, but
NOT weight lifting, cheerleading, or high-impact aerobics!
http://www.singingforaliving.com/pro_secrets/body_inst.html
From Basics of Voice Culture: ?The voice has to be trained according
to the style and type of singing one chooses, e.g. classical, light,
folk, pop, semi-classical, etc. This is because each type of music
demands a different style of voice production?
http://www.ragascape.com/Ragascapes/31.html
You must develop your larynx muscles, according to the Grandi Tenori
site. ?Contemporary teaching tends to base its foundations on
breathing, and providing enough air to support a sound, and it is
indeed common for singers to refer to 'support', or advocating a
particular method of breathing. Others talk of 'placing' the voice and
instructing students to position body parts in order to achieve a
sound. What they do not realise is that there is another aspect of
singing that is more important, more influential on the sound, and
more ignored (not always deliberately), which relates to the muscles
and movements in the larynx. The methods mentioned above affect the
complex structure of the larynx in only a superficial way, hence
neglecting their proper development. It is the foundations and
fundamental principles that are wrong in today's teaching, and this is
resulting in the true potential of singers not being realised.?
http://www.grandi-tenori.com/articles/articles_dancona_singerstoday.htm
The Lowered larynx Technique
http://www.grandi-tenori.com/articles/articles_lowered_larynx.htm
The Cari Cole Voice Studio recommends NO antihistamines (Too drying),
no carbonated beverages, spicy foods, chocolate or peppermint, among
others. (Scroll to almost halfway down the page). Recommended are LOTS
of water, extra fruits, especially watermelon, and veggies. ?Steam 15
minutes a day with the essential oils of lavender and eucalyptus or
make a pot of Throat Coat tea and steam with that. Essential oils can
be purchased at any Aveda store. Visit their website for a store
locator at www.aveda.com ? This site also recommends Sunrider balm,
found at www.sunrider.com
http://www.vocalmag.com/vLearn4_03newsletter.htm#home
Cari Cole relaxation techniques:
http://www.vocalmag.com/vLearnBreath.htm
Practice singing at least every other day, and NEVER push a note, says
this singing web site.
http://www.allsands.com/Misc1/singingtechniqu_uvx_gn.htm
Keep your shoulders and neck relaxed when singing, practice singing
with a microphone, and don?t sing when you are sick, says the BBCi.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/onemusicdata/fameacademy/tips/noflash/sing.shtml
Voice Warm Up exercises:
http://www.guydearden.co.uk/voice/voicewarm1.html
Apparently each singer has a best time of day for singing! ?For
vocalists, I recommend finding the time of day you sing best and
booking your session for that time.?
http://www.performermag.com/zengineering.shtml
Breath management and economic vowels are the ?secret? according to
this site, Singers-UK.
http://www.singers-uk.org/resonance_and_articulation_for_the_vocalist.htm
Exhalation is important, according to this Dummies site: ?To explore
exhalation, blow a feather around the room. If you have a spotless
house, you'll have to use an imaginary feather.
1. Try to blow the feather really high up in the air and use a long
stream of breath to get it to go up.
2. Try not to collapse your chest as you blow the feather.
3. While chasing the feather with your breath, notice what moves in
your body as you exhale. You should feel that your abdomen has slowly
returned to normal and that your chest has stayed in the same position
the whole time.
4. At the end of the exhalation, you should feel the need to
immediately inhale again?
http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-2013.html
Singing on an empty stomach can be uncomfortable! (Warning, this site
has music, and may load slowly if you have dial-up internet!) This
site recommends being more than a singer, become a musician too!
http://www.users.bigpond.com/vocalstar/page5.html
http://www.users.bigpond.com/vocalstar/page6.html
Sing in front of a mirror! This helps you become aware of your posture
and movement.
http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-2015.html
Don?t whisper! According to Sing to Me, it is harder on the vocal
cords than speaking.
http://www.singtome.com/tips.html
Poor self-esteem, poor articulation, and lack of discipline and
flexibility are bad for your vocal quality!
http://www.bgsm.edu/voice/common_problems.html
From Vocal Wisdom: ?Old Italian School of singing was based on, a
combination of the mind, body and emotions. Intentional stimulation of
the emotional personality would elicit ideal physical responses in the
act of singing. At first hearing this seems like an extremely old
fashioned idea. But after experiencing the results it cannot be
ignored. For example, the old adage of "smelling a rose" was intended
to stimulate the emotional personality into a state of pleasure, with
the corresponding physical characteristics of a not-too-full
inhalation, lifted cheeks and pleasant expression opening the facial
resonators, comfortably high and buoyant chest, and an open pharyngeal
chamber, including a stretched soft palate and slightly lowered
larynx. All of these physical characteristics being positive ones in
the singing act. This allows the singer to be well prepared to start
the phrase cleanly and easily while holding in the mind a very clear
concept of the vowel and pitch to be sung.?
http://www.vocalwisdom.com/fundamentalsofsinging.htm
This book ?How to Sing?, by Lilli Lehman may interest you. The price
is right, and it can be found at Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0486275019/ref=ase_dwaynessingingpa/104-6556915-1834305?v=glance&s=books
Sonwriter.com has a vocal workout intended to improve the quality of the voice:
http://www.songwriter.com/susan/workout.html#bottom
Voice Training CD $25 USD/15 Pounds
http://www.guydearden.co.uk/index.shtml
More Resources:
Chennai Online
http://www.chennaionline.com/columns/variety/variety206.asp
Speech Level Singing
http://musicians.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.deborahellen.com%2Fspeech.html
Singing Voice Forum
http://www.network54.com/Hide/Forum/108991?it=3
An online singing course, $12 USD
http://search.universalclass.com/i/search/3518.htm
Voice Teacher
http://www.voiceteacher.com/mathis.html
Are our voices truly better in the shower?
http://physics.uwstout.edu/deptpages/physqz/singing.htm
http://www.jimloy.com/science/shower.htm
Singing with a cold
http://www.voicelesson.com/html/lessons/free_lessons_06.htm
Technique
http://www.voicelesson.com/html/faq/faq_02.htm
Vocal Maintenance
http://www.gremlinuk.com/gremlin/newgremlinsite/online_singing_lessons_music_tuition.htm
About ?Perfect Pitch?
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a910208.html
Why is the recorded voice different than the live voice?
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mrecordvoice.html
I hope you find this answer helpful. If any part of this answer is
unclear, or if I have duplicated information you already have, please
request an Answer Clarification, before rating. This will enable me to
assist you further, if possible.
Regards,
crabcakes-ga
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