The Ten Commandments for Healthy Vocal Cords

As a voice actor, your vocal or voice is your most prized possession. You must do things and avoid certain to take care of your vocal health. Whether you have worked for years now and are properly trained and seasoned or have worked for a wide array of niches and industries or just starting out, your vocal health matters as long as you want to continue working and have the demand for your voice. This means you have to be doing the right kind of vocal warm-up exercises, eating & avoiding certain food items and beverages, maintaining good physical health, and some more for the longevity of your vocal cords and hence, the voice-over career.

Voyzapp – the most prominent voice-over marketplace has been around in the voice-over industry for quite some time and has worked with multiple extremely talented and experienced voice artists. Taking their inputs and suggestions Voyzapp has compiled a few very crucial points to ponder on to maintain a healthy vocal cord for a long and productive career as a voice-over artist. So, here you go –

1. Always Stay Hydrated: - Drinking a lot of water and good quality water is the first and foremost thing every seasoned expert suggests. It is the easiest way to keep your voice healthy. When you drink enough water, your body produces just the right amount of mucus that keeps your vocal cords properly lubricated and thus, helps you avoid any vocal strain.
2. No Smoking: - Smoking is injurious health in many ways but for voice artists, it has added negative impacts. It is a great irritant to the airways and vocal cords. Active smoking slowly decreases your pitch by gradually changing the shape and structure of your vocal fold and permanently damaging them. Also, even passive smoking or secondhand smoking can have damaging effects on your voice.
3. Avoid Alcohol: - Alcohol significantly reduces the body hydration levels causing dried larynx and vocal folds. In addition to that, it also has some negative effects on the membranes in the throat. Even alcohol-based mouthwashes could cause all these. Well, if you do drink on your weekends, getaways, or parties, just make sure to consume at least an equal amount of water and if possible, more. Experts suggest never to take alcohol on your working days.
4. Do Vocal Exercises: - You can do various phonetic readings, tongue twisters, vocal sound modulations regularly to work your vocal muscles. As voice-over actors in addition to the regular vocal and physical exercises, you must always do a proper vocal warm-up before going for a recording. Whether you use fricatives, fluttering, or any other warmup exercise, it does not matter as long as you do it right. You can always consult a voice coach about it. The important thing is you do the warm-ups and if notice any changes in your voice or vocal health go for an immediate consultation.
5. Avoid often Clearing your Throat: - Constantly clearing your throat is a sure shot way to irritate your vocal cords and throat membranes. Even if you need it try sipping water and gently coughing. You must not overdo it else the muscles will be strained.
6. Take a Break: - Whenever your voice starts to strain just stop and take a break from recording. Also, when you are on the break try not to speak or even whisper, just let the vocal cords relax. You can always go for a silent meditation when on the break, it will further help you to be more focused. Taking a break every now then in a long recording session is very essential for maintaining a healthy voice and delivering an immaculate voice-over recording.
7. Avoid too much Yelling: - When recording for children or sports fans, avoid too much yelling. Even over speaking in a soft tone or deep register can strain your voice in the same way. Although the vocal muscles can repair themselves naturally after such an incident it will take some time and a lot of rest.
8. Food to Strengthen your Voice: - To maintain a healthy voice, especially before a recording session, you must avoid fried food, dairy products, and caffeine. However, plant-based food items, fruits, nuts, oatmeal (without cheese), are more helpful in keeping your voice healthier and sharp.
9. Natural ingredient Sprays: - If you feel like a sore throat is approaching or just want to keep it in shape, use throat sprays. However, stay clear of any alcohol or other irritant-based throat sprays and use ones with more natural healing ingredients like olive leaves.
10. When sick, go Easy: - If you have any coughing or cold issues avoid pushing yourself through it. If possible, take the day off and give yourself rest. The more you rest the sooner your voice will recover.

So, whether you do voice acting or provide professional dubbing services, these are the ten commandments or suggestions of experts for ensuring a long life for your vocal cords and voice-over career.

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