6 Tips for Singing with Allergies
Today we are going to talk about allergies, they control a lot of singers lives.
Allergies could come from a lot of places. Although most of us singers connect allergies with things like, pollen and dander, one of the biggest allergies that effect singers ability to sing with clearly and range is FOOD!
For instance, during this video interview with Celebrity Vocal Coach Roxy Miller and Jamicheal Harris, they lay some knowledge when it comes to allergy to Dairy, Pollen, problems with antihistamines and more!
Dairy and High Notes
Foods like Dairy, and sugary sweets are known to create extra phlegm in the vocal chords, which weighs them down causing it to be very difficult for them to vibrate at a fast rage in order to produce higher notes.
Additionally creating too much mucus in the nasal cavity, which weighs down the muscle of the soft palate. That’s a no no! The that happens we singers will experience more of a nasal sound, as it closes down the space we have for our sound to come out nice and clear, and full!
Sometimes we have to make the end goal of achieving our performance visions more important then the short term goal of tasting something really yummy!
And any famous singer you look to has done the same thing, to get where they are today.
What is Pollen So Bad for Singers!
Pollen is annoying! We all know that. However, for a person who has intent to make beauty with tier voice, and it ends up coming out more like…. crazy! It’s an even bigger problem.
What it comes down to, is when you breath in too much pollen from outside, your vocal chords (also called vocal folds) get really irritated and inflamed.
Why is this so bad for singers?
Other than it being uncomfortable, singing high notes in that condition is almost impossible.
Because high notes are created from your vocal chords stretching and vibrating quicker, singing with enflamed chords is like, you gaining 50 pounds and then being upset that you can’t make the same time in that 5K.
Not only that, but pollen tends to line the inside of your lungs with yuck! That means you won’t be able to take as deep breaths, and we allll know a singers breath is a BIG DEAL!
Allergies Medication?
There are many ways to lesson the effects of pollen, most common we hear about people taking medication, antihistamines etc.
When you are looking for solutions, is always good to handle the problem to you can deal in the moment you are in. However, as times it’s also important to look for long term solutions that will eliminate the need to medicate. Why?
Because medications have SIDE EFFECTS.
One of the side effects of antihistamines, is….. Drying you out.
A singer that is dried out will have a trouble being able to sustain notes, and might very well develop a dry cough, from trying. We sing with a lot of air. When your throat is already dried out, and then you push a whole lot more air through it by singing a lot, the dried out feeing will get about 10 x worse.
No! The answer is not to stop singing!
The first thing you wanna do, it start getting and staying hydrated. The second to start changing up is giving your body the vitamins, nutrient and supplements you’ll need to battle the allergies without the medication