The first problem is fairly simple to address.  Singers come in all styles, ranges and sounds, whether as soloists or choral members, casual participants or karioki aficionados.  Yet ALL of us need to take care of our precious “instrument”, the voice.  We often forget that it is made of flesh and blood, can and does wear out with overuse or abuse, and needs a lot of TLC just like the rest of the body.  Perhaps it needs even more watchful care than the rest of the body, as male vocal chords are less than an inch long and female chords are a half-inch or so.  We try to get a lot of sound out of those small, thin folds of flesh!

There are many detailed guidelines around caring for the voice.  Here is a list of a few of my most prized solutions:

• When you are tired, rest.
• Take it easy on the voice when your body/voice is tired, under the weather, or you are under emotional stress.  Don’t push for high notes, volume or vocal longevity during these times. 
• If your climate is dry, sip a tepid mixture of 1 part juice (not citrus) and 3 parts water, or herbal tea with a small amount of honey or sugar.  The light touch of sugar in the water helps to coat the chords and protect them from evaporative drying.  Too much sugar will create mucous that gets in the way of clear singing.  Extremely hot or cold liquid shocks the vocal chords.
• Never eat lemons or drink lemon water.  The acid strips your vocal chords of natural lubrication.  When they make sound, whether speaking or singing, the rubbing action of your chords needs lubricant to operate without abrasion. 
• Nurture your chords:  Do not push, shove, or force sound.  If your voice is quiet, be content for now with that and find a good teacher to help you “grow” your voice.  Pushing will serve only to damage your chords, not to enhance the voice.
• Be watchful of how long you use your voice in any one day.  If your job requires constant talking, you need to lessen your singing time.  If your holiday choir rehearsals last for 4 hours, mouth the words sometimes to give your voice a rest.  You are still practicing in your mind, learning your part and watching your music while you do this.  Even healthy, strong voices should have a time limit of 2 continuous hours of singing in a day.  If you break the time up, you can stretch it a bit, but 3 hours should be your absolute maximum, and that only on special occasions.  (Remember there is usually down time in a choir while other parts practice.)  If you are in a band, print off this page and take it to the instrumentalists.  The band members should allow for some songs that are just instrumental to give the singer vocal rest during gigs and rehearsals.

Now for the second challenge:  That of feeling self-conscious about singing but itching to sing during a time of year when the doors seem to open to all and sundry to let loose and join the fun.  Singing was once a community activity.  When our lives were simpler, before radio and television, we used to sing together for entertainment.  We sang as we worked, in our religious gatherings, and around the home as a means of coming together to share fun and precious moments as a family.  There were no radios conveying the finest voices.  The only basis of comparison was the local “expert” who happened to have natural talent.  But no one expected to sound like the expert.  Singing was for everyone, regardless of talent or sound.  Though our technological advancements have certainly made our lives easier in some respects, some aspects of life have become more difficult.  Community is harder to come by these days.  And our constant comparison to people we hear on the radio and TV, usually electronically enhanced via recording devices and effects, makes us feel small and awful about our voices.  Whereas singing was once simply making a joyful (or woeful with the blues) sound, now it is deemed a skill we judge as good or bad depending upon how we measure up to recordings.  I find this development sad and disconcerting.  It’s up to us to move our selves and our greater community back into a sense of singing for the pure expression of it regardless of “quality”.  It will take great acts of courage, however.

In addition, I find that many people come to me having been criticized as young people for the apparent inability to carry a tune or sound the way another wanted them to sound.  These hurtful comments have often come from family members, music teachers or choir directors.  I am here to say that EVERYONE CAN SING!  If you can talk, you can sing.  Maybe not like the radio right away, and maybe you need more practice finding pitches than some who had more encouragement to practice when they were young.  But you can sing!  Don’t ever let those voices of the past stifle the expression within you.  It is a gift we all have been given and it should never be stuffed down.  Even if you begin by simply singing for and with yourself at home, give the music within you voice.

During this time of year, I encourage all to take a leap of faith and engage a healthy rebellious insistence upon the right to sing, to join the throng and express yourself!

                                                                        By Linda Combellick