Hot or cold? Milk or no?

[Derech2]

Posted: 7/27/05 at 2:17am

I've read and heard all sorts of things about what to drink to help your voice. I've worked under a musical director who is a professional voice teacher, and she always told me no milk before auditions or shows, because it creates excess mucus that can prohibit full singing. But I've read online that to add that little bit of mucus is a good thing. I'm afraid I've never really experimented, I just always went with no milk or heavy dairy before performances. Anyone done both and found one works better?

Same for hot and cold liquids. I've read that a hot drink can engorge your vocal cords so you're not singing fully naturally. I've also read that a hot beverage can be good for your throat and relax singing.

Opinions?

[LoudIrishGirl]

Posted: 7/27/05 at 2:30am

Dairy really overclogs your throat. If you need the little bit of mucus, then use Expectorate (I beleive it's called, it's a over the counter drug) that coats your throat with a THIN layer of mucus (take this if you are sick,too, 'cause it helps you cough up the heavy mucus).

I dunno about the hot and cold thing, though.

[toodramatic]

Posted: 7/27/05 at 4:54am

First off cold is not good ever, it tenses the muscles. WARM liquids shouldn't enflame your chords. Hot liquids might. I've always heard (and my experiance has been) that mucus in any quanity is a bad thing. I also know of singers who have had vocal problems (non-mucus) due to dairy consumption.

Inevitably trial and error is the only way to go. See what works and doesnt work yourself.

[Garland Grrrl]

Posted: 7/27/05 at 9:57am

My voice teacher, the great being known as Mark Planner, told me he had a student that always took ages to warm up when she came for her lesson. He just couldn't figure it out and one day noticed that she had a very red tongue and asked her about it. Seems that every day before her lesson, she went to the gym and would eat a Frozen Fruit bar as a way of freshening up before her lesson. She dropped the Froze Fruits and the very next week warmed up in record time. I would recommend room temperature water to you. Grapes or cherries are great to eat -- slightly acidic-- and that can cut some of the phlegm. I used to clear my throat a lot, and it was partly due to stress, so I have taken to using visualization to relax and open the throat and that helps quite a bit as well. My friends who are opera singers avoid salt and red wine (I guess it's the sulphates)

Updated On: 7/27/05 at 09:57 AM

[Aigoo]

Posted: 7/27/05 at 10:40am

As Garland Grrrl said, room temperature water or lukewarm water would be the best. It hydrates your throat instead of going over the top tensing them up or relaxing them too much. Other "hydrating" liquids as well. I've heard Gatorade or Propel works quite well if you can deal with the sugar...

But stay away from dairies.

[Corine2]

Posted: 7/27/05 at 11:28am

I prefer vanilla rice milk and vanilla soy milk.

[Prisoner 24601]

Posted: 7/27/05 at 9:03pm

There's a great tea called Throat Coat and it's available at many grocerie stores. It's great if you have a sore throat the day of a performance.

I was recently in a show and i had a very dry and somewhat sore throat from sleeping with my window open the night before, so I had a thermos of hot water that I had let cool for a bit so that it was warmer than room temperature but not piping hot. It worked really well. Cold water seems to make me more thirsty, especially if I haven't drank anything for a while.

It's better to take small sips of water ocassionaly to be constantly hydrated rather than chugging your waterbottle before you make your entrance.

Dairy doesn't seem like a good thing. Whenever I have mucus I end up trying to swallow too much on stage and it makes me look nervous.

[Mythus]

Posted: 7/27/05 at 9:08pm

Lukewarm pink lemonade. I swear by it. It really helps clear my throat out and loosen it up.

[Derech2]

Posted: 7/28/05 at 2:21am

Oh no. What's this about sleeping with your window open? Is that bad for your voice too? =P

[Prisoner 24601]

Posted: 7/28/05 at 9:43pm

Well, when I slept with my window open, I happened to be slightly congested, so I ended up sleeping with my mouth open the whole night and our town was going through a dry spell so you can imagine how my throat felt in the morning.

[My Fair Lady]

Posted: 7/28/05 at 9:56pm

I definitely agree with the no dairy or cold thing. Whenever I have cold water before a voice lesson, it always takes a while for me to warm up. And dairy makes me congested.

[poppy isabella]

Posted: 7/28/05 at 10:35pm

...dairy never ...extra cold and extra hot never ...room temperature water is perfect and drink it slow to always get the best hydration. For hot drinks, a kind of mildness is the idea too, not too hot. That throat coat tea someone mentioned is awesome, if dranken lukewarm. However, I think it tastes kind of weird, sort of licorice-y, but it's worked well for me and I have lots of students who drink it before almost every show.

Also, someone mentioned cherries and grapes. Oddly enough, often times raw apples are great too because they clear up the mucus (yum ) without being too acidic.

love meagan