This post is part of the “Practical Advice for Worship Leaders” theme. Check out the other articles in this series.
Sunday is Game Day (Image copyright Altanta Falcons)
Sunday is game day not only for the NFL, but for every worship team musician out there. Singing as a part of worship leading is a very physical activity. Singers are vocal athletes.
Here’s some simple tips that will help you sing at your best and stay injury free on game day.
1. Drink lots of water. Stay hydrated. Keep the vocal chamber and vocal chords lubricated.
2. Exercise. Take 10-20 minutes on the day you sing to stretch and exercise. Get your blood and oxygen flowing.
If you’re serious about getting better as a singer, make the commitment to get in shape. Aerobic exercise increases your lung capacity, which improves breath control and tone.
3. Avoid dairy products. Milk, cheese, ice cream – no, no, no. These increase mucus. Not good.
4. Avoid caffeine. This I don’t do very well, but thought I’d pass it on anyway. Caffeine shortens the vocal chords and dries you out.
5. Warm up your voice before you sing. This is a must do. I usually vocalize in the car on my way to the church. There’s a lot of products you can sing with. I like the warm-up CD’s from Vocal Aerobics as well as The Daily Workout: Chris & Carol Beatty Vocal Coach.
6. Drink Throat Coat Tea This is one of my secret weapons. Really helps sooth and lubricate the vocal chords. A must have if your throat is getting sore or tired.
7. Ricolla (Lemon Mint) flavor. Another one of my secret weapons. These are very soothing on the vocal chords.
Do not use mints, Hall’s or those eucalyptus medicines. I also do not recommend throat sprays like Cloroseptic unless you have a severe sore throat.
8. Wear a scarf when it’s cold to keep the neck warm and relaxed.
9. Get good vocal coaching, or take singing lessons, to improve your range, pitch, tone and overall singing ability.
Here’s three coaches that I have worked with and highly recommend:
Leann Albrecht
http://leannalbrecht.com/category/team-training/
Chris and Carol Beatty
http://vocalcoach.com/
Kim Wood Sandusky
kimwoodsandusky.com
These tips have worked for me. I hope they are helpful to you.
