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12 Dec 17 - 05:36 AM (#3893492) Subject: Drinks to aid singing - a thought From: Mr Red In other threads I have seen posters opine that drinks don't help with singing because the windpipe and larynx don't see the liquid. Now. Whilst coughing and spluttering at 5:30am I gave up trying to get back to sleep. So I made my honey, lemon and hot water and came back to bed. The urge to cough vanished for several hours. I did sleep and in those waking moments a thought popped into my head. How did that happen? Was it pure placebo/psychosomatic? Were the fumes from the citric acid aided by the hot water, passing into my broncils and bronciolae? AND When I sing, doesn't the alcohol have fumes, and wouldn't that have interacted with the mucus in the air passages? Condensing on the vocal cords? (improving the chords!) A physiological mechanism is identified, but how effective, and effective how? PS can I discount the banana this morning? |
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12 Dec 17 - 12:57 PM (#3893562) Subject: RE: Drinks to aid singing - a thought From: Jos Could it be that when you drink alcohol you become more relaxed, and when you are relaxed you sing better than when you are tense? |
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12 Dec 17 - 01:11 PM (#3893563) Subject: RE: Drinks to aid singing - a thought From: Deckman I've used that hot water/lemon/honey trick for years. It sure works. bob(deckman)nelson |
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12 Dec 17 - 01:34 PM (#3893565) Subject: RE: Drinks to aid singing - a thought From: RTim VocalZones work for me - but warming up the voice is also a good idea. VocalZones Tim Radford |
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12 Dec 17 - 01:37 PM (#3893568) Subject: RE: Drinks to aid singing - a thought From: Steve Gardham I can access a lovely resonant bass when I have a cold or a phlegmy throat. |
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12 Dec 17 - 03:30 PM (#3893600) Subject: RE: Drinks to aid singing - a thought From: JHW I'm afraid since my singing teacher became RIP I've forgotten about warming up and probably everything else she taught me. She did highly recommend the aforementioned potion (and never sing with a bad throat though a cold is fine). I had a terrible cough a month ago but sticky drinks or patent medicine (eg Coughonya) immediately made me cough. Yogi Throat Comfort Tea was my remedy. I'll tend towards beer if its available but if I'm doing a set I'll only have a bottle of water to hand. Maybe I should sup Yogi Tea ahead of a night singing. |
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13 Dec 17 - 04:23 AM (#3893660) Subject: RE: Drinks to aid singing - a thought From: Mr Red Another thought was that when you drink alcohol it is present in the blood and thus expelled via breath so affects the air pathways again. It certainly relaxes you, medically it is classed as a depressant. But the larynx is a muscle and alcohol does seem to reduce the adrenaline that makes yer muscles twitchy. But it depends on dosage. As Jazz trumpeter Humphrey Littleton said: It doesn't make you play better, everyone else sounds better! But my raison detre for posting was about mucus and any direct effect on the vocal cords. Any sweets, lozenges etc that contain volatile substances can be seen to improve the situation. I think fumes has it. |
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13 Dec 17 - 07:23 AM (#3893691) Subject: RE: Drinks to aid singing - a thought From: FreddyHeadey Report of a study on the relaxation effects of honey on the whole body. This was a study on anxiety. But maybe it has a localised effects.? When I was a kid and given a teaspoon of honey I remember being told to let it slip down slowly. Sipping it in a drink might be similar. "Now, the dose of honey required in this study is rather high. Based on the results, honey relieves anxiety at 2.0 grams per kilogram - that is a lot of honey!? A 130 pound person (59 kilograms) would need to consume 118 grams of honey based on this study. http://www.bee-pollen-buzz.com/honey-relieves-anxiety.html? |
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13 Dec 17 - 05:25 PM (#3893833) Subject: RE: Drinks to aid singing - a thought From: Bat Goddess I've got an arsenal of remedies for throat and singing maladies. I use the hot water, lemon juice, and honey soothant, but also vary it (on the advice of an old-time doctor cohort of my doctor uncle -- who prescribed it for my toddler cousin back in the late 1950s) as warm whiskey, lemon juice, and honey. VocalZones are in my repertoire as are Entertainer's Secret spray, Zand's Herbal Mist Throat Spray and Singer's Saving Grace throat spray. If iffy-throatedness comes on suddenly at a pub or a sing, I find that either Bushmill's or Goslings (rum) help and will probably get me through the session -- as will an order of french fries (chips for you Brits) and mayo (maybe with a few splashes of siracha or Tabasco. Beer and pickled jalapenos also works. For me, at least. Linn |
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14 Dec 17 - 03:49 AM (#3893895) Subject: RE: Drinks to aid singing - a thought From: Mr Red I find food generates an excess of mucus, at times when I have no reason to expect such. |
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14 Dec 17 - 04:15 AM (#3893900) Subject: RE: Drinks to aid singing - a thought From: Marje I find any drink with ginger in it gives relief from coughs and wheeziness. I recently got through a singing gig when recovering from a cold, with the assistance of a thermos containing Rochester ginger cordial, honey and hot water. The heat of the ginger seems to soothe the throat down immediately, even though I can't explain it in terms of physiology. Alcohol can help relax you, but as has been implied above, the best way to get it to enhance your performance is to make sure your audience have plenty to drink! Marje |
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14 Dec 17 - 04:07 PM (#3894010) Subject: RE: Drinks to aid singing - a thought From: The Sandman perhaps, it is more important to know what drinks to avoid, particularly the ones that will make your singing worse, bearing in mind that everybodys system is different |
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14 Dec 17 - 04:48 PM (#3894016) Subject: RE: Drinks to aid singing - a thought From: Mr Red Paul Metsers swore by a glass of water with just a hint of lemon. Mind you he had to drive back to Cumbria from a gig so maybe it was a substitute. And a guide at the Black Country Museum, years ago, reckoned that tea kept his voice clear during the day, as long as there was never any milk in it. He thought that milk in any form was not good for 8 hours of schpielling. |
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16 Dec 17 - 09:08 PM (#3894256) Subject: RE: Drinks to aid singing - a thought From: JMB These are good points for liquids in helping the voice. I use these ingredients (honey, lemon, ginger) in liquids. When it comes to foods, garlic and protein especially eggs (as they are low density) are also beneficial to the voice. I used to preach that alcohol in moderation is helpful as it is a relaxant as mentioned above. I have only had a couple of drinks in the last month or so, and I noticed that my voice isn't as strong as I was dependent on the alcohol. I noticed that if I had three or four beer in the evening before bed, the next morning, my voice was fantastic. I loved to drink Holsten Dark Beer (7 %) which is a German beer, and Grant Family Reserve Scotch Whisky, and I was also known to drink Faxe a 10% Danish beer. |
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17 Dec 17 - 02:43 AM (#3894268) Subject: RE: Drinks to aid singing - a thought From: The Sandman Iam not sure its alcohol but the hop flavouring that helps the voice it might be worth experimenting with hop teas |