Whether you’re a singer, public speaker, or just someone who has to use their voice all day, have you ever experienced something like this: your voice starts to feel tight, constricted, and generally horrible! You don’t know what’s causing it, and you can’t figure out how to fix it. And what if you have a presentation, concert, or show coming up? This could qualify as a vocal emergency!

Don’t worry: help is on the way. Actually, if you’ve followed our videos and blogs, or you’ve studied with us, you already know what to do. You can figure this out yourself, if you just act a little like the Sherlock Holmes of the voice. We’ll help by giving you 6 clues to tweak your technique to sing, and speak, at your peak! Watch our video or read on to find out how to investigate, find the source of that tension, and conquer it.

CLUE #1: VOCAL HYGIENE

First, have you been consistent with your vocal hygiene? Are you well hydrated, or were you too busy to refill your water bottle? This is especially important if you are physically active, work in a hot environment, or if you’re in dry heat or air conditioning all day. We also hope you’re augmenting your hydration program by inhaling steam or nebulized saline using a voice nebulizer like the VocalMist on our website store.

Here are links for our favorite voice nebulizer, VocalMist*

CLUE #2: SILENT REFLUX

Could it be that your silent reflux is acting up? If you have it, you know that it isn’t so silent. It can cause excess throat mucus, throat clearing, and vocal irritation. If this is contributing to your vocal issues, avoid foods that could trigger reflux, like tomato products, fried or greasy food, citrus, vinegar, mint, chocolate, carbonated beverages, spicy food, caffeine, and alcohol. Also, avoid eating within 3 hours of lying down, even for a nap. I also recommend avoiding a heavy meal before a gig, because all that fantastic breath support will squish your abdominal area and force everything upward.

If you need a little extra help with your reflux, use an alginate-based product such as Reflux Gourmet or Gaviscon Advance to keep your stomach juices in your stomach, where they belong. (Alginate forms a “raft” of bubbles that sits on your stomach contents and keeps them from traveling upward into your esophagus toward your vocal folds. Just make sure not to eat or drink anything for 1 to 1-1/2 hours after taking these products, or it will “pop” the raft of bubbles).

CLUE #3: LARYNGEAL MASSAGE

Especially if you’re feeling a little nervous or stressed before a presentation or performance, check your posture, do a little slow abdominal breathing, and do our favorite tension buster: laryngeal massage. Here are links to our very popular tutorial video on the detailed laryngeal massage procedure, as well as our new “quick how-to” laryngeal massage video.

CLUE #4: TONGUE TENSION

Are you still feeling some tension? After all, the root of the tongue attaches to the same bone (the hyoid) that your larynx is suspended from. So a tight tongue can cause vocal constriction and can even damp out some of your resonance space. And take it from the many singers who’ve experienced tongue tension, it can feel like a pulling or squeezing sensation that can wreck your performance. So, how about a quick tension buster for the tongue?

One of our clients coined the term “tongue pistons”.

Just use your thumbs like two miniature pistons and massage beneath your chin up into the underside of your tongue. It helps to imagine that your tongue has a big dose of Novocain in it, and it feels kind of mushy and blobby.

CLUE #5: JAW TENSION

What if your jaw is tense? Maybe you’ve been clenching or grinding your teeth, or even “jaw-leaning” on your hand. All of those behaviors increase jaw tension. That would make it difficult to open your mouth to speak or sing easily. If that’s the case, then massage your masseters, your “chewing muscles”, from your bottom molars in the back, all the way up to the back of your cheekbones. Then stretch them by “ironing your face” and stretching your jaw open using the heels of your hands. When you get to the lower end of this stretch, you should look like that famous painting, The Scream.

Keep in mind when you start working on your tongue, jaw, and throat muscles and you feel tenderness or pain, that’s your body telling you exactly where you need to work. Your sore muscles are telling you, “Hey! I need help! Please work on me”. You just have to LISTEN to them!

CLUE #6: POSTURE AND BODY TENSION

Click The Play Button Below For A Video Of The Yes-No-Maybe So Stretch

So I hope all you budding vocal investigators out there now have the clues you need to identify the sources of your vocal tension, as well as the methods to conquer it. Continue to be Sherlock Holmes of the voice, and you’re on your way to having the Choice Voice you’ve always wanted!

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*As a VocalMist Partner, Professional Voice Care Center earns money from qualifying purchases.