When to Rest the Voice & When to Keep It Moving
So you’re not feeling amazing and you aren’t sure whether or not to sing? Not all illnesses are created equal! Sometimes, the best thing you can do for your voice is keep it moving, other times, it really needs some rest. Here’s a quick checklist to help you determine whether or not to sing when you’re under the weather.
Do you have a fever? If you have a fever, you definitely should NOT sing. Not only are you most likely contagious (meaning it’s the kind, responsible thing to do to stay home and not infect others), but your vocal tract is almost certainly inflamed. Singing on an inflamed voice is a lot like running on a sprained ankle - it’s not wise and won’t help you heal. Rest yourself and your voice until your fever subsides.
Is it just a cold or allergies? In this case, it may be best to sing a bit - not too much! You don’t want the voice to get too stiff, so keeping it moving safely and gently will help! Do some semi-occluded exercises like humming, lip trills, and/or voiced sh to bring some movement into the folds without overusing them. Use your best judgement, but try not to sing more than 20 or so minutes and avoid any material other than exercises.
Did you overuse or misuse your voice recently? If you’ve been learning new music and singing like crazy, in a tech week, or protesting the latest civil rights abuse case (been there!), your voice may feel like you shouldn’t speak or sing. In this case, you may be wrong! It can be very healing to do some therapeutic, restorative exercises. Try working through some spoken exercises (I have plenty if you need to make an appointment!), and then doing some inflammation reducing vocalizations. If you aren’t sure what these may include, ask your voice teacher! Again, you don’t necessarily want to rehearse your normal amount or any material, but keeping the voice moving and encouraging some lactic acid and inflammation to move out of the folds may be just the ticket to a happier, healthier voice.
Have you completely lost the ability to produce sound (spoken or sung)? In this case, you physically cannot make sound, so give your voice a break until at least some movement returns. If the problem persists, you may want to seek a doctor’s input, but otherwise, give yourself a day or two of total voice rest, then try some restorative work for a few days until the voice feels better.
Are you in the middle of a run or audition season? Here’s when avoiding singing becomes darn-near impossible. If you’re lucky enough to have an understudy when your fever breaks out, then definitely call out sick. Otherwise, here’s a game plan: Always cool the voice down after a performance, then get as much rest/sleep as possible. In the morning, do some therapeutic, restorative exercises for both your speaking and singing voice. Rest the voice until about an hour before curtain (or your audition), then do a full warm up, consisting primarily of therapeutic flexibility exercises. Finally, keep a steamer back stage and steam any time you aren’t on stage, then cool down again at the end of the show and minimize your time talking to people in the lobby post-show.
As a general rule, avoid strength training work on your voice when you don’t feel well, just as you would physical exercise. Always use your best judgement and follow the advice or your doctor and voice teacher when it comes to vocal health. As always, this blog is a guideline, not a hard-and-fast set of rules. The best thing for any illness is sleep and water, so keep that in mind! Use your voices wisely and safely my friends!