If you have wondered why your voice sounds brilliant one day but bad the next then this week’s video is for you.
I’ll explain exactly why this happens and I’ve got three nifty little tips designed to help give your voice that extra pep-me-up just when you need it.
Nicola xx
Video Summary
Have you noticed that some days your voice sounds brilliant and does exactly what you want it to but other days it sounds not so good and it cracks or doesn’t reach your high notes quite as well or maybe just doesn’t sound quite as good?[spacer height=”20px”]
This happens to every single singer so you are definitely not alone. As singer’s our whole body is our instrument and therefore your voice will suffer if you are not feeling well, if you have a crappy diet, if you didnt get enough sleep. Even your general mood will effect your singing.[spacer height=”20px”]
As you improve however, the distance between how you sound on a good day and how you sound on a bad day will decrease and that’s the good news. For example, when I feel like I have sung badly the audience can’t tell because my overall performance level never drops below a certain standard… even on a bad day. Just keep going with your practice and you’ll get there too.[spacer height=”20px”]
But for now, if you cant wait for that gap between your good days and bad days to decrease, here are three tips to help give your voice a little pep me up just when it needs it:[spacer height=”20px”]
- Warm up properly – take a bit longer with this if you’re having an off day. Sometimes it takes me a good 20-30 mins of warm up exercises to start feeling good as opposed to my usual 5-10 mins on a good day.[spacer height=”20px”]
- Drink peppermint tea during your practice/ performance. It helps reduce phlegm, the warmth is all kinds of good for your throat and drinking more liquid is always a good idea to keep your vocals lubricated and your body hydrated.[spacer height=”20px”]
- Take the time to do some breathing and diaphragm muscle relaxing before you sing. I have my very own ‘Relaxation Ritual’ that I do every time before I sing to prepare my body and my mind for singing. It can be anything as simple as rolling your shoulders back, giving your neck a little stretch and doing a few deep breaths.
Remember relaxation is every singer’s best friend so if you are having an off day, don’t try to force things because you’ll only sound worse and potentially do yourself damage. Go and have a warm cup of tea, do a few relaxation exercises and then when your mind is clear, have another go.[spacer height=”20px”]
Now I’d love to hear from you: do you have a trick that you use to improve your voice when you’re having an off day?[spacer height=”20px”]
Please share your thoughts in the comments below.[spacer height=”20px”]
Nicola xx
Hi Nicola,
Thanks for your 3 tips, we will start incorporating them right away!
fb: EVO ‘n’ OVE fb: JohnandNita Lo Re
Thank you for video? One question: do you sometimes forget words or something on bad day? What advice about forgeting words, blocks?
🙂 Keep up with good work!
chears
I do forget my lyrics sometimes and because I sing jazz I just scat instead. This can actually add to the performance but as a general rule, you want to remember you lyrics just as you would expect your guitarist to remember the chords.
Respectfully, it’s a lot easier to remember words then what a g#dim chord is and have the Coordination to transition to it
That’s only because you haven’t yet learned the language of music. Once you learn the language fluently, its as easy as speaking.
Hi I have learn a lot today and I will try to put them into practice.
Hi Frank, I’m so glad. Have a lovely week!
Hi,
My question is: why does my voice only sound good when I’m hoarse? And it’s not only the sound, but when I’m hoarse I can reach notes and to things with my voice I can’t do when it isn’t. It’s depressing because I’m only hoarse a few times in a year. Please help me, how do I get that beautiful hoarse sound + all the things my voice can do without having to wait for a day I’m sleep deprived.
Hi thank u 4 your time n advice I’m still struggling with the pain on my throat when I finish sing n yawn ples help
I’m going to try these. I’m having issues lately with stepping up to the mic to sing and can’t get the notes out, almost like there’s a blockage of some sort. Then from out of nowhere, my voice comes back a couple of seconds later. I’m not having any sinus issues nor have I been sick, so I’m a bit concerned. Hopefully these warm up tips will help.
Hi Denny, are you warming up properly before hitting the stage??
hi just wanna ask what are the best vocal exercises to gain proper singing?
Very goof lesson
Great advice thank you
Hello Nivole
Thank you for your tips on vocal health. I have a lot of phlegm and mucus which interferes with my singing. I will definitely try vocal excercises ànd drinking peppermint tea.
Surely I will fallow your good advice. Thank you so much.I like singing , but my voice not clear.
how can i knw that i can sing well..??
Weird thing is… sometimes when I immediately start to sing without warming up my song sounds much better than after warmups… my voice gets tired when I do the warmups… why? Is it too long? (25min- goes very high)
Thanks.
I have my own or some people might have I take a deep breath relaxing my shoulders and I breath deep into my stomach and hold it for 7-10 seconds than I do that over like 4 times than I sing and I can hit the high notes without strain like the just come out I don my warmup 30 mins than take a break for 1hr than singe and I bee good
I have a concert coming up that I have to perform in. Over the past few weeks I have sang better then ever before and then one day my singing totally dropped. I couldn’t hit the notes properly and I overall just sound bad. I’ve tried warming up before I sing but nothing seems to be working. I would love some help because I really want to sound my best. Thank you!
It could be vocal fatigue or a reaction to stress. Your voice is a living breathing instrument so it can be effected by lifestyle.
HI Nicola,
I love your blog. Just wondering if sinus pressure can affect the ability to hit the highest notes in your register. In my case its B flat over middle C and I can tell right away whether I will be able to reach it because as I’m singing its effortless and my head resonate. However I am noticing that even the slightest pressure in the ear canal or forehead inhibits my ability to stretch the vocal cords to where I need them to be. Thoughts??
Inflammation generally is not good for singers however I’ve sung with blocked sinuses before and it hasn’t affected my range (although I’ve had to work harder to get those notes) but it does make my sound come out slightly nasal. Its more of a resonance thing rather than a vocal cord thing. Nasal rinsing and steaming helps a lot.
Hi Nicola,
I enjoy reading your tips and sound advice. Very nice of you to spend countless amount of your time sharing your experience with the rest of the world. As a jazz singer, I have experienced all of the above and can relate to the concerns of others. I find that also drinking ginger tea with honey or sucking on a piece of raw ginger clears the vocals quite nicely. Won’t hurt to give it a try.
Thank you so much for posting these tips. I am an inspiring musician. I write music but I haven’t preformed in public. Saturday I was at my cousins and they wanted advice on singing. That day my vocals were amazing I was hitting low notes and all of the high notes. I don’t know any warm ups to help my vocals. I am a male and I can hit some bass, all of baritone, tenor, and alto notes. Whistle tone wise I can go higher than 1 soprano out of the 20 I know *I can imagineeee a world like that lol* But, the next day I drank warm water/coffee and my vocals just gave out on high notes that I hit perfectly fine (and higher) the day before. Confusion. But thank you so much for these tips. I have one question though, what is your advice for someone who is to scared to perform in-front of people but wants to go on stage? What should I do to get over the fright so I can perform? Thank you so much for your time 😀
There is this kpop band im sure youve heard of aalready. BTS. one of the members apparently spent an entire day doing vocal exercises until his throat hurt. Thoughts on this?
Sounds like he’s a bit silly if he’s going out of his way to damage his voice. He needs to get some voice lessons!
Hi Nicola! thank you for these tips. Do you have a book you can recommend that can take these tips further? I’m doing some research on balancing the voice for uni and it will really be great help. Thank you
How come one day I will sound super good and the next I sound really and and I can’t hit those notes and there is like something blocking me from hitting those notes. What is going on with me?