Emily C.: TNV, Ch. 13

The Naked Voice: Chapter 13

Emily Cottam

Chapter Summary: Being hydrated is absolutely necessary to maintaining a healthy voice because it helps lubricate the vocal cords. (Your pee should be clear!) A lot of vocal problems come not from singing itself, but from everyday speech that is pressed/exhausted from excessive yelling/screaming, whispering, coughing, etc. Environmental factors (cigarette smoke, etc.) also have an impact on the health of your voice. Smoking is bad. Just don’t do it. It’s important to maintain a healthy diet and exercise regimen to keep yourself healthy, because your instrument is your body. If doing resistance training, do so lightly so you don’t build the muscles that press the vocal cords together too hard. Aerobic exercise is great to help build lung strength and practice breath consistency. Today, physical appearance is becoming more and more valuable in opera than it was before since we live in such a visual media centered culture, but it’s important to love yourself no matter what others think. Losing weight can have an effect on breathing technique, so always be wary of extreme surgical procedures to help lose weight and adjust your technique accordingly. Know your body well enough to know whether or not you can sing through an illness; if you have strong technique, you should be able to, but if not, it’s best that you avoid singing so as not to hurt your voice. For mental health, try to be humble yet confident; as a performer, though it’s not recommended, it’s better to be an egomaniac than apologetic. “Singers must be confident enough to know who we are and that we have something important and significant to say. Then we need the skills and techniques to be able to share that unique message with beauty and freedom.” 

Key Concepts: It’s absolutely necessary that you maintain a healthy body and that you keep yourself in an environment that encourages healthy singing/speaking as often as possible. Although it’s important to keep in mind what is expected of you as a performer from your audiences/director/colleagues, you need to be confident enough to be true to yourself and trust your own instincts. 

Key Terms: hydration, nodules, polyps, mental healthy (confidence and humility)

Making Connections: I have found that hydration isn’t just something that people say--it really does work in my personal experience; a lot of vocal problems I had when I was in high school were fixed (not only with a change in technique), but with added hydration. I can also attest to the benefits singing has on mental health; because of the nature of performing, I have been forced to become more trusting of myself and learn to love who I am, rather than constantly pining for something I don’t have. I know I still struggle with this, but I have been getting better at recognizing what I like about myself rather than what I don’t like, and this has been applicable in both my daily life and my singing. This has made me a happier person than I used to be.