3 Ways to Remedy a Tired Throat | VoiceCouncil Magazine

4/11/16, 11:02 PM

April 6th, 2016 | by VoiceCouncil

3 Ways to Remedy a Tired Throat

You can return your voice back to home base, or a state of balance, after a stressful situation says
Ron Browning.
At one time or another, every singer has had to deal with the ramifications of a tired throat.
Singing at loud volumes, over-breathing, shallow breathing and an approaching illness can all
create tension.
Nothing affects the throat more than a poor emotional state of being! It triggers the intrinsic and
extrinsic larynx muscles to lock up, making singing only possible by brute force.
This can be exhausting.

Pumping New Life In

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3 Ways to Remedy a Tired Throat | VoiceCouncil Magazine

4/11/16, 11:02 PM

I have had to pump new life into many

singers who were out on tour just minutes
before show time and have done it
repeatedly.
The list includes Wynonna, Alison Krauss,
Keb Mo, Patti LaBelle, RaeLynn, Allen
Stone, Langhorne Slim and the Law, Alyna
Segarra and Hurray for the Riff Raff,
Meghan Linsey (The Voice), to name a few.
There are so many tried-and-true remedies for this condition but listed are a few that I
recommend to get quick results.
I do not guarantee that these will work for you. Avoid over doing them. If any of them seem to
be painful, I would avoid it and only work on it in the presence of your voice teacher or coach.
Doing vocal exercises should never cause pain!
Also, these are not meant as remedies for singers who sing with unhealthy technique.
If done correctly, they will return a good voice back to home base, or a state of balance, after a
stressful situation that puts pressure on the voice and throat.

1. Deep Tissue Massage

There is nothing better for a tired throat than a wonderful deep tissue massage, one that
targets the back, shoulders, neck, face, scalp, arms, torso and abdomen.
While youre at it, why not opt for a full body
massage! Be sure the massage includes the eye
sockets, the cheekbones, and all around the mouth,
especially going deep across the chin and the
bottom jaw line, under the bottom ribs, from the front
of the body to the back, so that the diaphragm gets
a good stretch.
After the massage, the singer should try to keep the
jaw loose and somewhat stretched vertically as if
saying blah-h-h-h. I call it the drool position. It
should feel as though you are ready to slobber down There is nothing better for a tired throat
the front of your shirt or blouse. Keep the lips
than a wonderful deep tissue massage,
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3 Ways to Remedy a Tired Throat | VoiceCouncil Magazine

closed, breathe through the nose, but feel the jaw in

the drool position. This will keep the voice from
folding up and getting stuck in the back of the throat,
which can wear a singer out completely.

4/11/16, 11:02 PM

one that targets the back, shoulders,

neck, face, scalp, arms, torso and
abdomen

Watch a YouTube video on how to massage the larynx and learn how to do it to yourself. With
a good massage, easy breathing and natural support will return, as well as incredible and
effortless resonance. Once the singer realizes the voice is fine, they will have more energy and
feel confidence return quickly.

2. Free Moaning and Singing Nonsense Syllables

Throats can easily become tired from over interpreting song material, adding too many special
effects and singing at volumes beyond moderately loud (lively conversational volume).
When uninspired or approaching an illness, or being forced to perform while ill, the singer
sometimes resorts to overdoing their techniques trying to compensate for a lack of energy.
This can be taxing on all the muscles involved in the singing process. There can be much
tension stored in the jaw, chin, tongue, and face in general, and also the entire breathing
structure.
Learning to do long sighs and moans at a
good, moderately loud volume can be
freeing for all those muscles. Roll around
on the bed or sofa and moan loudly to your
hearts content. Moan until you feel the
tension leave your body. Surrender to the
moan! Monitor the body for tension and
moan to set it free. Shaking while moaning
will also help. The singer can also drop all consonants and sing only on the vowels to free the
voice. Think of it as musical moaning. You might notice more crooner tone than youve ever
had before (good ol classical tone). This will give the articulators a rest and reconnect the
voice to the hard palate where projection is easy.
Another useful technique is to sing nonsense syllables instead of the lyrics. It does not need to
make sense and does not need to rhyme. You can use 2 or 3 syllables over and over as long
as the sound is produced easily. Jazz scatting will work as well, as long as the rhythms are
happy and playful and the syllables take place in the front of the mouth where good
conversation takes place.

3. Act Like a Silly, Bratty Child

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3 Ways to Remedy a Tired Throat | VoiceCouncil Magazine

4/11/16, 11:02 PM

A throat can easily become tired from worry and stress unrelated to the process of singing
bad news, bills, PMS, bad weather, or just a bad day in general. During these times, the singer
will attempt to doctor up the performance with interpretations that are overly emotional in
nature. This pseudo emotion causes the singer to use too many special effects and to sing at
volumes that do not serve the lyric. All becomes too much for the throat to handle.
This causes a breakdown in honest communication
between the singer and the listener, and so the
singer tries even harder, which causes all the
muscles surrounding the larynx to really get out of
control. There is simply too much action or focus in
the back of the throat at that point. The overly
emotional voice folds up like a paper wad and is
jammed onto the soft palate, which does not project
well unless the volume is forced.
The voice must be returned to Mother Natures
sounding board, the hard palate (think sounding
board of a grand piano). Therefore the singer has
to find a way to return the voice to the hard palate
as soon as possible.

Sing like a funny cartoon character, like

Bugs Bunny, or very young bratty child

Once the voice resonates from the hard palate, energy is restored to the voice and personality
of the singer as well. Being silly is a good way to remedy this. Sing like a funny cartoon
character, like Bugs Bunny, or very young bratty child. The key here is to make obnoxious
sounds. The sillier and the more obnoxious it is, the better it will be.
This will move the voice up and out of the throat to the front of the face. Resorting to this type
of voice will allow excellent and full resonance to return immediately. The voice will not feel
tired once it moves to the front with a moderately loud volume. Stay on the kids playground
and the voice will stay in the sweet spot where rhythm, pitch, and projection are easy.
Consonants will be alive and percussive. The personality will be true and present when the
voice is up front. Also, only a small amount of air is needed to make great sound there, so the
breathing will suddenly be calm and normalized. The upper register will then be easier to
access from this frontal placement.

My Reaction to This Week's Singing Competition Entry

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3 Ways to Remedy a Tired Throat | VoiceCouncil Magazine

4/11/16, 11:02 PM

Julien Sardon - Only the Very Best

You have a nice wide range to work with and some wonderful tone and
vibrato. A very excellent vocal instrument indeed! I would work on
smoothing out the vocal registers more. I feel this would be easy for you
by doing a few things: Go easier on the breath and support. Keep the torso, abs and back
more relaxed. Avoid reaching or scooping down into the low notes. Try not to prepare for them
so much. As you approach the upper register keep the body relaxed and use less and less air
the higher you go. Avoid opening the mouth more in an attempt to accommodate high notes.
Also, think of being beamed up into the high notes, rather than being so insistent that they be
there when you want them. Be lifted up. And over all, you can be much less emotional while
singing. Be more conversational, as if you are really talking to someone. Try singing the same
melody to an improvised grocery list to get the feel of connecting to the word with a more
intimate real life approach. Excellent voice though! Keep it up!
Ron Browning is internationally known as the Voice
Coach to the Stars. His clients include all levels of
singers from beginners to Grammy-winning celebrities in
all genres of music. Ron works with the major record
labels producing vocals and preparing artists for radio,
concert tours, and special television appearances. He is
a voting member of the Grammy Foundation and the
CMA Awards. Ron has been seen and heard on
Entertainment Tonight, The Voice, Oprah Network, and
BBCs Simply Classics, to name a few. He is a
successful songwriter, jazz pianist, painter, and is
currently writing a series of voice and performance
manuals, which will include interviews with many of his
students and celebrated clientele. His solo jazz piano CD, In a Sentimental Mood, is available
on iTunes and CD Baby.
Website

| CD Baby

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