Emily F. SS 13

Emily F. SS 13: A singer's instrument is her whole body, so she needs to take care of it. Drinking water is the number one thing we can do to keep our vocal cords healthy. Being properly hydrated helps prevent vocal cord distress, like nodules. We also need to take care of our voices by avoiding smoke and other pollutants, and overuse of the speaking voice. Keeping our bodies healthy is important for singing. This means good diet and exercise. Understanding our bodies and their limitations is key to having good vocal health, so when we get sick, we need to know whether the singing we are doing is damaging or not. This is at least somewhat dependent on how good the technique used is. We as singers also should be aware of the lifestyle that singing requires and if it's something we can handle. 
Key concept: Healthy body and lifestyle= healthy voice. 
Key terms: hydration, nodules, polyps, vocal therapy
Making connections: I really don't have a testimony of proper hydration as it relates to my voice. I don't know that I've ever drunk enough water over a long enough time to feel a benefit to my voice, but it really seems like it doesn't matter. Whether I drink a lot or practically nothing my voice feels the same and I have the same problems. I need and want to learn about this more and exactly what is going on with hydration and my voice. The whole diet and exercise thing of course relates to me. I'm sure that if I weighed less and had more strength I would have more energy, which would help my singing. I know what I need to do, just don't know how to make it happen. I do think it's interesting that "different body types experience breathing differently, and when our body type changes, we must be aware of the differences."