1. Technique is King
Maintaining great technique is without question the basis for a healthy voice. Good technique prevents injury and enables performers to sing at the top of their game every time. “With proper training, the singer/actor learns to release excess tensions in the body and throat muscles,” says Rodgers. “This means that the vocal mechanism is sitting in a muscular environment that will allow it to function at its best. Proper vocal technique means that the singer/actor has learned to use ‘diaphragmatic breath support’ in singing. This moves the effort of support to the abdominal muscles and away from the muscles that are closest to the throat. Proper vocal technique means that the singer/actor has trained the vocal folds to respond to pitch changes and that the singer/actor can maximize the gifts that nature has provided.”
“Improper technique can lead to vocal injuries, which can be annoying and limiting at best and career-ending at worst,” says DeVore. “Most common vocal injuries (nodules, polyps, bruising, swelling) are caused at least in part by the vocal cords slamming together too hard when we speak, sing, shout, scream, wail, keen, sob and so forth. There are ways to do all of those things healthily, which ensures that a performer will have a flexible voice to last through his or her career.” Continue reading
The Beat-Play Experiment 