Want to speed up your vocal growth? Then fix your daily habits! Use this list as a small reference for some of the most important factors that impact how quickly your voice can develop.
1. Quit over-singing!
Ironically, many singers slow their progress by practicing too much. The voice is produced by the coordinated action of various muscles, which absolutely need rest after prolonged use. I’ve seen singers make strides by simply singing less.
2. Don’t skip the exercises.
Vocal exercises are the most precise and efficient tools for leveling up your vocal skills. However, many singers skip these and go straight to song singing when they sit down to practice. Remember, song singing uses skills that you’ve already got, vocal exercises develop skills that you don’t currently possess.
3. Clean up your diet.
Brett Manning likes to say, “If you had a million dollar racehorse would you feed it McDonalds? No? Well how much more valuable are you than a horse!?” Feeding your body a healthy diet will provide innumerable benefits to your voice, from more balanced mucus levels, more endurance, better vocal agility and flexibility, better recovery, etc.
Is your singing voice strained, shaky, or just unreliable?
4. Protect your voice.
The way you use your voice in everyday life could easily ruin your vocal growth. Yelling at sporting events, excessive loud talking, or even grunting when weight lifting can fatigue your voice. Make sure you’re not wearing out your voice before you’ve even gotten to practice.
5. Sleep!
Prioritizing quality sleep is probably best thing you will ever do for your vocal growth. Time and time again, when a singer is having an exceptional voice day in a lesson with me it is because they slept well. The current recommendation of sleep for adults is 7 to 9 hours per night!
One Step at a Time
If trying to do all of these at once feels overwhelming, then try starting with just one. These factors are such game changers that implementing even one new routine will make a huge difference. You could do this!
Benny Meza is a Master Associate at Brett Manning Studios in Nashville, TN. He’s taught over 7,000 vocal lessons and has worked with clients from Warner Music, RCA, Universal Music Group, and many others.
Book a Skype or In-Person lesson with Benny today!