Djarts Voice Coaching ~ www.djarts.com.au
© Daniel K. Robinson - 2010
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TheBareEssentials
By Daniel K. Robinson(2 0 1 0 )
Time for a quick confession...I was a boy Scout! OK. That’s enough sniggering.
Despite their current-day ‘nerdy’ reputation, I enjoyed my time in the boy
Scouts. Sure, we had to learn all the “Dib, dib, dob, dobs” (don’t ask) and
countless ways to tie a knot (I remember how to do a couple), but my time in
the boy Scouts did give me the opportunity to develop some fantastic life skills
like resilience and leadership.
Another life skill that I developed, thanks to Scouts, was the capacity to “always
be prepared.” For what? Well...for anything! A simple example might be to take
a warm coat with you as you leave the house – why...because there might be a
cold change in the weather and if you have taken a coat you’ll be prepared! Of
course one can take this too far. Obviously you can’t be prepared for every
conceivable change in weather. To do so would require you to take an umbrella,
hat, sunscreen, snowboots, a change of clothes, bathing togs (in case you need
to have a swim to cool off), beach towel, deodorant...well you get the picture.
One must be prepared, but you need to do it in such a way as to use the bare
essentials.
So how does a professional vocalist prepare their voice for the rigors of the
gigging scene? What are the bare essentials that a skilled singer should not
leave home without?
HYDRATION: Firstly, the singer needs to remainh ydrate d. It’s no secret
that most of us don’t drink enough water. Recent studies have shown that
whilst we obtain about 1ltr of fluid from our food, we need another 2ltrs of
liquid (water) to maintain healthy body function. Most importantly for a
singer, the vocal folds, sometimes called vocal cords, need to remain
lubricated in order to remain supple, agile and healthy. Get into the habit
of taking a water bottle everywhere.
ALCOHOL: You’re not going to like me much for saying, “singin’ and
dinkin’ don’t mix!” Alcohol has three detrimental effects on the singer:
dehydration, it lowers neurological function, and it lowers inhibitions.
We’ve just explored the importance of hydration...what about the other
two. Well they’re kind of linked. Everyone who has consumed alcohol,
even in moderation, has experienced the ‘numbing’ of perception and
physical coordination. Singing is a high-end fine motor cortex skill. You
need your brain to be firing all synapses – but alcoholint errupt s brain
function. It also reduces inhibition. Dutch courage might work in getting
you on to stage in a relaxed fashion, but it will seriously undermine your
ability to perform well; reducing your ability to know whether the notes
you are singing are accurate. My advice – have a drink or twoafter the
gig!
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