Preparing Your Voice for Music Recording

Video Transcript

"This next tip is for all the singers out there or people in the band who are concerned about what their singer is doing. When you're in the studio, as I mentioned many times before, the clock is ticking and you really don't get a chance to mess up. If you're a singer, you have to make sure that you are ready to perform when it's time to perform and that your voice is in top shape. You do not want to get up in front of the mike and approach it with a scratchy voice. You don't want to get up there and discover that you have a tickle in your voice. You don't want to have a stuffy nose. So there are several things you have to do before you go into the studio. The first thing is to make sure that prior to the recording, you aren't talking too loudly, you aren't shouting or doing anything else that's going to put a strain on your vocal chords. This also means, I'm sorry drinkers out there, but you cannot be getting drunk the night before you're recording because you're going to pay for it once you have to get up there and sing. You also don't want to be smoking, in general, but particularly for a recording. There are singers out there who will swear that smoking helps their voices. Maybe it's true but they are far and few between. You want to be getting plenty of fluids before the recording session and during it. Hot liquids are often very good. Taking a long, warm shower before the session is good and also bringing decongestants to the session is helpful. I often have a nice pack of decongestants with me. I'll take one right before I go into the studio and then right before I have to sing because I know that my nose gets clogged very easily and I do not want that nasal sound on my recording. Make sure you get a good night's sleep and do everything else you would normally do to keep your body in tip top shape because your body is your instrument when you're a singer, and you let them make sure that you are good to go when you get up there. After all the money and preparation that goes into a studio recording, you do not want to get up there and have your voice crack, especially on the first take."