Vocalist Cheat Sheet

Property Of The Restorers

By Micah AKA Mellow

 Introduction
Vocal Cords
Vocal cords, also called vocal folds, are two triangular bands of tissue that sit at the
top of your windpipe. They’re open while breathing and when you speak or sing.
They pull tighter for higher notes and remain loose for lower notes. You want your
vocal cords soft, smooth, flexible and free of inflammation.

Your Voice Is Your Instrument

As a singer, your voice is your instrument. You’d never cut grass with a butter knife
or use a broom to brush your hair.
Likewise, you should NEVER abuse your voice
Healthy vocal cords will allow you to exercise your full range and produce a full,
pure and tuneful sound
If you want to achieve your full potential as a vocalist or want to pursue a career as
a singer, your vocal health should be your NUMBER ONE Priority.
 Top 7 Tips For all Vocalists

1. Warm up & Cool down

• It is vital that you warm up your body & voice before singing. There are a
variety of exercises to suit all ages, vocal ranges and levels of experience.
Always ease into your exercises by first warming up your facial muscles,
loosen your lips and jaw muscles by blowing through your lips, sticking out
your Toung as far as it will go, massaging your face and singing musically.
• Don’t be afraid to make some noise as you warm up. Let your voice wander
up and down its range. Then move onto humming, or perhaps do some
gentle lip rolls or Toung trills. Only once you feel like your face, mouth and
voice are loosening should you start singing actual notes. The whole
process should take between 10 & 20 minutes...

(Do Not Skimp!!!)

• After a practice session or performance, take time to cool down. Take at

least 5 & 10 minutes to allow your voice to get back to its normal speaking
range.

2. Hydrate Your Voice

• If you are wondering what to drink to improve your singing, the answer is
simple: Water.
• Water is one of the best beverages for a vocalist (apart from Honey &
Lemon).
• Drink water regularly and always keep a bottle of water nearby during
rehearsals and performances.
• Dry vocal cords quickly become irritated vocal cords, and that is how you
harm your voice. The more water you drink, the better your voice will be.
3. Humidify Your Room
• A better question than asking what to drink to sing better is what to breathe
to sing better. Although nothing you drink will directly moisturize your vocal
cords, you can give your voice a boost by breathing properly humidified air.
Overly dry air is very taxing on your breathing and your voice.
• Easy ways to humidify your room without a humidifier are to place more
plants or flowers in your living area, plants take water in through the roots.
However, not all the water absorbed by the plant is used — instead, most of
it is evaporated back out through the leaves in a process called
transpiration. Another advantage of having plants in your living area is
breathing in cleaner air.

4. Take Vocal Naps

• A tired voice just like a tired body is more prone to injuries.
• If you’re sick, if your allergies are flaring up or even if you’ve just been
working your voice a lot, take time to rest your voice. That means No
talking, No singing and defiantly No whispering. Which is terrible for your
vocal cords.
• A tired voice needs time to regenerate, so the longer you rest the better.
Vocal rest gives your delicate vocal cords time to heal.

5. Avoid Harmful Substances

• Smoking (or vaping) is absolutely the best and quickest way to permanently
ruin your voice. When you inhale smoke, you essentially bathe your vocal
cords in toxins.
• Everything you breathe in, every pollutant, every speck of pollen – passes
right over your vocal cords, drying them out and irritating them.
6. Don’t Sing From Your Throat
• Despite all this talk about healthy vocal cords, your vocal folds are only a
part of a system that produces your singing voice. To sing well and to
support your vocal health you need to understand your body and know
where your voice is coming from. You should never sing from your throat,
the power behind your voice is your breath, and your breath should be
supported by your diaphragm.
• Sing from your core, allow your vocal cords to relax, and let your voice
resonate in your chest.

7. Don’t Sing If It Hurts

• We feel pain for one simple reason – It's our body’s way of telling us to
STOP. If your throat hurts, if you have an infection of any kind or if you’ve
strained your voice through overuse, Don’t Sing.
• Put yourself on vocal rest.
• Drink a lot of water.
• Get some extra sleep
• Take care of yourself and your tired voice.
• But most importantly, do not push through the pain, you can seriously
damage your voice by singing when your voice is strained, or your throat is
hurting.
 Routine

Step One (Warm Up)

Stretches
• Arm Stretches – 10 Seconds
• Side Stretches – 10 Seconds
• Waist Stretches – 10 Seconds
• Arm Cicles - x10
• Wrist Circles - x10
• Leg Circles - x10
• Ankle Circles – x10

Step Two
Breathing
1) Breath In – Hold – Breath Out Slowly
2) Breath In – Hold – Breath Out Fast

Step Three
Humming
1) Hum at your lowest note (feel the buzz on your upper lip)

Step Four
Scales
1) “Ah” vocal warmups (x3 per scale)

Warmup: 10 – 20 Min
 If You Feel Like Quitting
Always Rememeber...

• God Respects You When You Work & Loves You

When You Sing – Rabindranath Tagore

• Learn The Rules Like A Pro, So You Can Break Them

Like An Artist – Pablo Picasso

• It’s Never Too Late To Be What You Might Have Been

–George Eliot

• The Greatest Respect An Artist Can Pay To Music Is

To Give It Life – Pablo Casals

• Without Music Life Would Be A Mistake – Friedrich

Nietzsche

• Worry Less Sing More – Unknown