Autumn is in the air, and whichever corner of the world you’re in we hope you’re enjoying it to the max. This time of year warm beverages are a bit more savored, the cooler temps are celebrated, and there’s nothing cozier than pulling out favorite sweaters and hoodies!
One of my favorite autumn practices is making a fragrant seasonal simmer pot. If you’re not familiar with this, it’s as simple as filling up a pot with water, adding in sliced apples, oranges, lemons, cinnamon sticks, cloves, pumpkin spice or nutmeg, bringing it all to a boil and then bringing the temp down to simmer.
When I’m home I’ll let mine simmer all day! Once the water evaporates I just add more! It’ll make your space smell SO good and it’s all-natural and chemical free! You can experiment with other fruits and spices to craft your signature fall scent! Let me know if you give it a try.
A couple of questions I get asked often from new talent, especially this time of year include…
How do I take care of my voice? And what happens if I get sick?
Here are some general vocal health tips that standout:
1) Keep your vocal chords well hydrated!
– Drink plenty of water (half of your body weight in ounces is recommended).
– Limit diuretics, like caffeine & alcohol. Avoid smoking or smoky environments.
-Inhale steam
Inhaling steam from a hot shower can help rehydrate your vocal cords.
-You can also use a humidifier
Use a humidifier in your home to increase the humidity to 30-50% or you can also boil pots of water to humidify the air. (Why not make them smell like autumn while you’re at it)?
2) Vocal rest.
– Give your voice breaks throughout the day. This means total silence.
– Get plenty of zzz’s! Anything that’s good for your overall health will also benefit your golden pipes.
3) Baby your voice & don’t strain it!
– Shouting, screaming, & talking loudly can strain or even injure your voice. *You can learn techniques to properly support your voice using your diaphragm, but you never want your voice to hurt! Evuh!
– Unnaturally forcing your voice outside of its natural range can also cause injury, so be careful.
– Surprisingly, whispering is hard on your voice too. When you whisper you’re tightly squeezing your cords which can also strain them.
4) Warm ups for the win!
– Keep in mind that your vocal cords are muscles! And we demand a lot from those two tiny bands of muscle tissue! They need to be warmed up.
– There are SO many ways to warm up your voice – the key is to start gently.
– Humming, lip buzzing, gentle vocal sirens, tongue twisters, massaging your jaw, and breathing exercises are many approaches you can apply. We teach all of these in TVAS workshops!
5) What if I get sick?
– Prevention is key! Ummm, try to avoid getting sick by doing your best to stay away from people who are under the weather. 😉 This is why we always ask our Voicers to stay home if they don’t feel well. We want to keep everyone healthy!
– Please revisit 1,2, & 3 above! They all apply!
– I’m a huge fan of the Neti Pot. You can learn more about that here.
– Throat Coat tea by Traditional Medicinals is very soothing. (It’s also great for everyday use)!
– Some talent find relief with certain decongestants and OTC’s. Check with your doc for recommendations in this area.
*Should I do auditions when I’m sick? If you sound noticeably sick, I recommend passing on auditioning. If you do happen to get booked and can’t reproduce your sick voice (good or bad), when you do become well, that can become an issue. Plus, you should be resting and recouping anyway, super star.
*What if I have scheduled voice over sessions and I’m sick? There are a few things to consider. If you have a little sniffle, but pretty much sound like yourself you have the option to go for it. If you’re sounding noticeably sick or aren’t sure, I recommend contacting your client/agent/production company and let them hear you and decide what’s best. They may want to give the session a try or in some cases they may decide to reschedule it. It’s important to note that sometimes voice over jobs have very tight deadlines, and rescheduling might not be an option. In the case of not sounding well enough to proceed, the client may have to recast the project which can be a real bummer, but it happens. Just be courteous and mindful of your clients and communicate. Better to tip them off in advance (even if it’s the same day) rather than showing up to a session very unwell.
Whether you’re a voice actor or not, it’s important to know how to keep your voice in tip-top shape! But voice actors should really be babying their pipes. I hope you found this to be helpful. If you have more questions or want to know more about vocal care, please join me for my upcoming Vocal Health & Wellness Workshop coming up on 12/2!
Until next time, Happy Autumn my friend.
