Voice Training Tip #2
"How you feel in practice is how you'll feel in performance." ---Marcie Zinn
Hello, it's a gorgeous summer in the Fraser Valley, BC, and I'm working anyway :-D Watch for Singers Yoga classes!
Email: singersyoga (at) gmail.com
One of my students asked me what she should and should not eat on days she performs. This is an excellent question, as what we ingest certainly does affect the voice. I can't even answer it all in one post. Here's the beginning of a series on foods and substances that impact the voice:
-Dairy creates mucous. For some people more than others. It can cause that phlegmy feeling on the vocal cords. Many classical singers in Europe don't eat dairy products at all. Try rice or soy milk products. Chocolate is counted as dairy. It can both muck up your voice and make you hyper. But really, does anyone care? :-D I save it for after the show.
-Peanut butter dries the mouth and throat. Its high in protein, and sucks the moisture right out of you. Again, how long the effect lingers depends on your system.
-Because the thoracic diaphragm presses directly on the stomach, spicy, greasy and heavy foods will cause, at best, discomfort. At worst, you'll burp, get heartburn or vomit more than usual from stage fright. It's always best to let at least an hour pass between eating and singing, but a plate of fries with ketchup won't digest as quickly as, for example, skinless chicken breast or tofu on rice.
-Some good things to eat on a singing day are fruits and veggies (without butter), cereal with non-dairy milk, pasta with a bit of olive oil and lean meat, cooked beans and legumes: lentils/chickpeas/mung/black beans, but without a heavy or spicy sauce.
-Carbonated drinks wreak heckerola on the voice. The carbon dioxide which forms the bubbles, dries your throat. I'm not moralizing, but alcohol is just as harmful. Save it for after the gig.
Bon appetit, and sing your heart out!
Copyright 2011 Reisa Stone. May not be reprinted without written permission
Hello, it's a gorgeous summer in the Fraser Valley, BC, and I'm working anyway :-D Watch for Singers Yoga classes!
Email: singersyoga (at) gmail.com
One of my students asked me what she should and should not eat on days she performs. This is an excellent question, as what we ingest certainly does affect the voice. I can't even answer it all in one post. Here's the beginning of a series on foods and substances that impact the voice:
-Dairy creates mucous. For some people more than others. It can cause that phlegmy feeling on the vocal cords. Many classical singers in Europe don't eat dairy products at all. Try rice or soy milk products. Chocolate is counted as dairy. It can both muck up your voice and make you hyper. But really, does anyone care? :-D I save it for after the show.
-Peanut butter dries the mouth and throat. Its high in protein, and sucks the moisture right out of you. Again, how long the effect lingers depends on your system.
-Because the thoracic diaphragm presses directly on the stomach, spicy, greasy and heavy foods will cause, at best, discomfort. At worst, you'll burp, get heartburn or vomit more than usual from stage fright. It's always best to let at least an hour pass between eating and singing, but a plate of fries with ketchup won't digest as quickly as, for example, skinless chicken breast or tofu on rice.
-Some good things to eat on a singing day are fruits and veggies (without butter), cereal with non-dairy milk, pasta with a bit of olive oil and lean meat, cooked beans and legumes: lentils/chickpeas/mung/black beans, but without a heavy or spicy sauce.
-Carbonated drinks wreak heckerola on the voice. The carbon dioxide which forms the bubbles, dries your throat. I'm not moralizing, but alcohol is just as harmful. Save it for after the gig.
Bon appetit, and sing your heart out!
Copyright 2011 Reisa Stone. May not be reprinted without written permission
posted by Raisa Stone at
10:21 PM
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