SAFETY FIRST FOR SINGERS As a singer you are faced with the decision of determining how to safeguard your own voice. No one else can do it or you. The consequences of ignoring "vocal safety" can range from dryness, soreness, or other minor problems to blisters or even nodules on your vocal cords. (Doctors usually now call the "vocal cords" the term "vocal folds".) There are some common sense rules to preserving your voice an maintaining it. Do not sing when your throat hurts. You won't get stronger and the phrase "no pain, no gain" never was true and never will be. With your voice, it usually isn't muscle pain that you feel anyway. It is irritation. A skinned knee doesn't make your knee stronger. You might get callouses on your feet after the blisters heal but callouses on your vocal cords are called nodules. Nodules get in the way of the vocal cords closing properly and evenly and take away high notes and can also be painful. If you don't change the things that caused them, they won't go away. You need to pace yourself in rehearsals so that you don't hurt your voice. What will the next rehearsal be like on a sore voice? Will it be productive? Going over the same song 15 times with no breaks is a very amateurish way to try to get ready for a performance. A better way is to break into smaller groups or even have people practice their own parts. You need to be prepared for a rehearsal so that the poor director doesn't feel the necessity of beating your voice to death. Water. Water is your voice's best friend. A well-hydrated voice has a much better chance of being safely lubricated. You have to drink the water ahead of time because it does not directly touch your vocal cords, unles you are choking on it. That's right. It goes down the esophagus (food tube) and has to be absorbed into the blood stream via the intestines and carried via the blood stream back to the vocal cords. Some doctors recommend 8 to 10 glasses of water a day for singers. If you don't already drink that much, very gradually increase your water intake and always ask your physician before making this or any dietary change. Avoid alcohol, caffeine, drugs, antihistamines, or anything else that dries up your voice. Sprays do not get to the problem. It's best to just not abuse your voice. Avoid yelling, screaming, excessive laughing, talking in loud places. It's up to you. Nobody can force you to take care of your voice. If you are pursuing a professional career, why should you be less self-disciplined than, say, an olympic gymnast? Your results depend on you and the legitimacy of your vocal health and vocal technique. You can actually practice the wrong way or the wrong exercises and get worse, not better. EMAIL CHUCK STEWART

WHO ARE YOUR INFORMATION SOURCES? How about going to the experts for your sources? Check out the Center for Voice Disorders at Wake Forest University. All techniques are not valid. Many are useless or even harmful. You do not want to hemorrhage your vocal folds (vocal cords), limit your career, cancel concerts, have little endurance, develop nodules, or waste your time and money. Check success statistics and be careful with whom you trust your voice. EMAIL CHUCK STEWART