Student HealthThe University of Tennessee at Martin
Department of Music
Vocal HealthAs singers, your voice is your instrument. As humans, it is your means of communication. It is the only voice you get, therefore it is imperative that you take care of it. But what does that mean? It means consciously avoiding those things that are detrimental to your voice and embracing those things that are beneficial. Below are two lists. One list contains items that, at best, can fatigue your voice and, at worst, create major vocal trauma. The other list is a list of things you should do to take care of your voice (both while healthy and while ill) to keep it working properly for as long as possible.
Vocal Health
Vocal Don’ts• Overuse• Not properly
warming up• Yelling• Screaming• Coughing• Clearing the
throat• Whispering
Vocal Do’s• Vocal Rest (Most important!)• Drink plenty of water• Exercise• Get plenty of sleep• Bundle up in cold weather• Use a humidifier• Gargle with warm salt water• Drink warm tea• See a doctor when you start to get sick• Wash your hands often
Vocal HealthHere is a links that you can follow for further guidelines
and assistance with vocal health:
The Texas Voice Center
Brass Health
• Noise induced hearing loss and hearing protection
• Musician's earplugs 1
• Musician's earplugs 2
Hearing Health
Brass Health
• Yoga
• Alexander Technique 1
• Alexander Technique 2
Body Usage
Brass Health
• Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
• Stephen MR Covey, The Speed of Trust
• Tommy Angelo, Elements of Poker
• James E. Loehr, Mental Toughness Training for Sports
Mental Health and Stress Management
Brass Health
• Wayne Dyer, You’ll See it When You Believe It
• Barry Green, Inner Game of Music
• Irmtraud Tarr-Kruger, Performance Power
Performance Health
Brass Health
• Fearless Performance Seminars
Other Resources
Hearing Health
• What is hearing health?
• Hearing Health Rap
Woodwind Health
• Michele Gingras. “Musicians’ Health.” Chapter 6 in More Clarinet Secrets: 100 Quick Tips for the Advanced Clarinetist.
• Larry Guy. Hand and Finger Development for Clarinetists.
Print Resources
Woodwind Health
• Practice and Performance Related Injuries
• Overuse Syndrome
• Musicians and Injuries
Online Resources
Woodwind Health
• Haely Kate, Owner of Martin Yoga and clinician on posture and breathing
Local Resources
Piano Health
• Movement Retraining is the Key to Recovery
Citations• Duke Voice Care Center (Most Comprehensive: Downloadable pdf)
http://www.dukehealth.org/repository/dukehealth/2010/12/22/13/57/10/0598/DVCC%20vocal%20health.pdf• Mia Olson (Professor, Berklee College of Music), Musician's Yoga: A Guide to
Practice, Performance, and Inspiration