4 Things To AVOID Drinking at ALL Costs Before Singing!

It can be really frustrating to spend months and months working on your performance only to have it spoilt at the last minute through drinking the wrong things.

I remember many years ago I used to drink a lot of alcohol and I was in a rock band we’d been rehearsing for months for our big gig.

I could hit all the high notes without a problem, I was confident I was going to knock it out the park…

So the night before I went out for a drink…

That’s right I thought I was invincible, a drink won’t affect me.

Well, the next day I woke up and my voice was dry did I start drinking water straight away to help rehydrate my poor little vocal folds (vocal cords)…

No, I had a cup of tea.

I thought my voice will be ok it’s never let me down before why would it start now…

So half an hour before the gig I started warming up my voice when you warm up your voice regularly which you should do of course you start to recognise how your voice should feel and when it’s ready for singing.

I did my half an hour warm up and my voice felt dry, I kept on coughing, I was well aware my voice was not ready for singing. Long story short that gig was bad I did not hit the high notes and several days afterwards my voice was hoarse and I needed to start again with a nice gentle warm up to bring my voice back to balance.

so lesson learnt I won’t be doing that again but what other drinks should you avoid before you do a gig or before you sing to make sure that your voice is at its best?

What You Shouldn’t Drink Before Singing

So before we take a look at a list of things you should and shouldn’t do it’s important to point out they were all different and we’ll all be affected by this list in different ways. So the best thing that you could go along with this list is to actually keep a diary make a note of what works and what doesn’t work for you. So that being said these are the things you definitely shouldn’t take you say even 24 hours 48 hours before singing.

I would say the best way to go about this is to eliminate everything that on the list to start with and then and then reintroduce one thing at a time and see what effect that has on your singing he will then by the end of going through that process have a list of the things that you can still drink and have a good performance and a things you must stay away from before Kayla take a look at list.

Number 1:

No caffeine that’s right so that means no tea no coffee no caffeinated drinks why because caffeine dries you out did you know one of the last things to be rehydrated is your vocal folds it takes up to 14 hours to rehydrate them so you really don’t want to be drinking any caffeine and drying out those poor old vocal Folds cos they’re the guys need to create sound.

Number 2:

Alcohol that’s right this is another great one for drying out your vocal Folds. you may find the alcohols great for giving you a bit of Dutch courage but also it numbs your awareness of your vocal Folds I personally damaged my vocal folds by being drunk and singing and not being aware of how much I was hurting my vocal Folds because I was totally drunk.

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Number 3:

Honey I’ve had students come to me saying it’s good to drink honey water is Suits the throat or that may be the case for some people but I have had students say that it makes her throat Tickle and I personally am one of the crew 2 when I drink honey agitate my throat makes me want to clear my throat this then in turn creates phlegm at the vocal Folds making me very phlegmy and that is not a nice way to sing so experiment with this one and see which camp you belong to either it’s gonna agitator throat or You Gonna feel like it’s helped and soothe your throat.

And Number 4:

And finally any spicy drinks like spicy cocktails. spices great for creating inflammation at the vocals and creating phlegm again one of the worst things that you can have if you want to try and sing so try and steal well away from any spicy drinks 24 to 48 hours before you sing again you’re going to have to work out just how long you have to leave spicy drinks before you can sing and the best way to work that out is by keeping a diary.

So in my experience there’s only one thing you can actually depend on drinking that never going to give you a problem and that thing is good old appendable honest water you’ll never have a problem drinking water after all it’s what we’re supposed to be drinking it might not be as much fun as the alcohol or the spicy cocktails but it’s going to make sure that you sing at your best.

The way I like to have my water is at room temperature not too hot so as to freak out my vocals on my voice box and not too cold either.I had students who like to add squash to their water I don’t like to add anything keep the water clean then there’s nothing to agitate your voice and your singing will thank you for it.

So the best thing that you could drink before you sing is simply water. You might be one of those lucky people that can get away with all of them. If you’re not then cut out all 4 for a month and then intrudice one at a time until you find the problem drink. You will then know what you can’t have if you are about to sing and want a great dependable voice. We all know there is nothing more anouing then having to clear your throat all the time!

So there you have it 4 things you really shouldn’t be drinking before you sing. let me know how you go with this list in the comments below and if you have a question that you would like me to answer then feel free to contact me.

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