How do performers sing for so long?

[Ray888]

When singing we use muscles in our throat and if those muscles aren't exercised on a daily basis (like professional singers) the muscles weaken. If you have ever experienced moving furniture in your house and aching all over for the next couple of days because you are not used to the exercise it is no different from singing. The more you sing and exercise your throat muscles the stronger they will be although it is important to not overstrain it. 

 

Pro singers exercise their voices every day and always warm up before a gig. They always have water close by whether singing live or recording in a studio because dry throat is a common thing when singing.

[Pahchisme Plaid]

Yes @Ray888 water is a friend.  AND so is the restroom after water and I become too friendly.  I recently learned best to sip slowly which is hard to manage in the few seconds between songs. A straw works great to prevent swallowing extra air.  The summer isn't quite so bad as winter.  I require lots of water all the time in the winter due to dry air (forced hot air), colds, coughs, etc.  I can empty a 16 oz within minutes and wish I had more.  This year I kept a cup-sized humidifier next to

my bed at night--usually empty by morning and a larger one in the living room.  It helps.  Summers are quite humid in my area, so helps some, plus the heat prompts one to drink liquids.  About August one could drink the air  .  All great and helpful information you provided above.  Thank you!

[Mahesh]

On 2017-5-16 at 3:52 AM, Pahchisme Plaid said:

This is all great information, Mahesh!  Thank you for the extra insight of what goes on inside the body when singing from the diaphragm--getting that mental picture helps! I look forward to whatever video you find to share.  What amount of daily time does it take to properly get your vocals conditioned over time? (whatever it is vocalists do to prepare to sing and/or strengthen what they have.)  Is this conditioning something you can multi-task with or does it need to be special time set aside for it? I'm talking after watching the videos and learning the techniques.  Personally, I would have to start from square 1 (using the videos as one would an exercise video until learning the form and routine), as I've not had the instruction aside from this here and a few tips on the fly from others who sing.   

Sorry that I didn't catch this earlier.

 

I'm not sure whether you asked about the daily time it takes for a singer to warm up and get it to performance level singing? If you did, it pretty much depends. On the vocal health, how much rest you've given yourself the previous night, how hydrated you are/were. In my case, I do 15-20 minutes of breathing exercises first and a few stretches. And then do 30 minutes of vocal exercises (that I have experimented and decided on and found to be effective for me) over different scales. That pretty much does it every time. I feel absolutely good to go. If I still feel on rare occasions that it's not there yet, I do another round of lip rolls and that does the trick. 

 

Now on the other hand, if you were asking about how long it will take with daily practice each day to GET to a good point in being able to sing (whatever that maybe as decided by you), it depends. And that's my answer for your other question regarding multi-tasking too.

 

Depends on how well you take care of your vocal health (or have the stamina and immunity to indulge yourself in the so called 'bad things' but this is never the approach to good vocal health. I say it with experience). Depends how well you're able to associate sensations in your body to the skill of singing itself. It's important to build good muscle memory right from the start when it comes to singing. And mindful vocal practice helps you be on your way. It also makes you more aware of any tension in your body and back off when needed. All these things are subtle in nature but extremely useful (and simple if you put your mind to it). So in such a case, being able to put some time and a place aside for your practice sessions work wonders! You might see yourself with ample but definite sessions each day working wonders for you. If you are multi-tasking, that may vary.

 

Having said that, it doesn't mean you can't multi task and practice, especially when you've gotten to a point that you have good muscle memory of good vocal techniques. It's like you've learnt to ride the bicycle but you wake up every day, put some music on (my example of multi-tasking lol seemed appropriate) and you practice to get better. You're STILL practicing with a goal to get better but your brain and your body has built the muscle memory enough to know how to ride the bicycle while multi-tasking. Does that make sense? I find myself doing lip rolls without even realising sometimes - on the streets, in a cab and I will confess with a disclaimer that it was just once - in a public bathroom. lol

 

EDIT: I wanted to add something that I swear heard it somewhere - Practice doesn't make one perfect, practicing perfectly makes one perfect. And that should be your focus regardless of how much time you have. Keep the exercises simple and practice being able to do those simple exercises PERFECTLY (because you know, it's a simple one we've picked). When you've nailed it down, make the exercise the TEENIEST bit more difficult. (For singers, it might be the note we are hitting. For a guitar player, it might be increasing the tempo on the metronome by 1-2 bpm, whatever it is). So tiny that you may not even notice. But your body will. Your vocal cords will. They will use the experience of the muscle memory from the previous exercise and try to accommodate in this new case, given that it would be a relatively easier task for it. And that will improve your skill by that tiny bit. After that you simply rinse and repeat!

 

Anyways, all good stuff!

 

Mahesh

 

 

[Ray888]

On 2017-6-22 at 1:54 PM, Rudi said:

 

I it mostly comes down to stubbornness

I'm stubborn but I haven't sung on a regular basis for many years lol.

Amazingly I still have power in my voice at 68 even though I rarely sing nowadays. 

[Sreyashi Mukherjee]

My dad's touching 70 next month... he doesn't leave his singing practice for a single day. I'm amazed by his stubbornness