Karaoke Forums

I promised the people at my regular karaoke hangout that I was going to do 99 Luftballons in German tonight, and I have it worked out, but there is a problem. Yesterday, I went flying in the desert, came home and had a few shots of whiskey, and now my throat is scratchy. Aside from drinking water and using Chloraseptic, neither of which seems to be helping much, is there anything I can do to try to clear it up by tonight? It's bad enough that my German (what little I know) sounds like an Adolph Hitler speech...I don't want to be doing Nina and sounding like Kim Carnes!

I tried doing it in a lower and higher clef, and that doesn't help.

-denise

Some remedies I've heard of are LOTS OF WATER, vinegar, lemon juice, honey, and maple syrup.

I used to sing modern rock in my band, and found that alcohol made it worse. I tried the lemon juice and honey thing once, and it worked pretty well. Gargle about a whole lemon worth of lemon juice, swallow, and follow up with honey.

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C Mc
KJ, FL

I have used "Thayers Slippery Elm" lozenges.. (Cherry Flavor)

I found them in a Karaoke shop in Vegas.

Maybe Google will assist you..

I swear by "Throat Coat Tea". You can by it at Jewel.

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[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

The vocal folds are mucous membranes. You're dehydrated and you can't fix that on short order. On average, it takes 2-3 days to hydrate properly.

Most of this was told to me by a national voice over artist and my vocal coach who was at the Met for about 10 years. I trust them to provide me with accurate information and my own research has born their advice to be quite good.

My personal recommendation is #6 - but I suspect that won't be the option you take.


1. Drink LOTS of WATER to start hydrating yourself. It should be room temperature or slightly warmer. Do NOT drink cold water which is harder for your body to 'take in' and has an adverse affect on your vocal chords. Adding lemon can help cut through the mucous if necessary and clear your throat.

2. Avoid alcohol, caffeine, and sugar. They're diuretics and can dehydrate you even more. This is particularly an issue with some teas. Also avoid milk and milk products which cause an excess mucous buildup on your vocal folds.

3. Something I've found that helps is if you flush your sinuses to help hydrate everything. Use a neti pot or something similar. Remember to use distilled water to mix up the solution and follow the instructions. You're looking for high-volume low-pressure solutions. Do NOT use sinus sprays which dry you out even worse or decongestants. This last bit of advice probably doesn't apply in this case, but it's generally good advice to protect your voice.

4. If you're still struggling, stop by your local Guitar Center and pick up Vocal-eze.
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Pro-Tour-Vo ... 1135008.gc

When I was in Victor/Victoria in the local community theatre I used this when my voice was giving me a little trouble. It's a temporary fix and not something I would recommend using regularly (hydrate properly instead) - but it should help. (They didn't recommend this as a solution, but I needed SOMETHING and it worked).

5. In the meantime, consider a herbal tea - preferably something with mint and/or lemon to help clear your head and throat (they're connected). Add a little lemon to help if necessary.

6. And if nothing else, put it off. Simply tell them your voice is having problems and why and sing it later. Pick something else that's a little easier for tonight, and drop that track when your voice is in better condition to handle doing it.

Cool blue Hals drops work every time.

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DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke

Now why would you suspect that? I won't deny it, although I might do the song first, before everyone else arrives, so that I wouldn't have to subject as many people to this new German form of torture.

Actually, the only one that I'm not seriously considering is #2. I always start out sober and do my serious songs, but after a few glasses of Guinness, I find myself joining a huddle of young gansta kids and singing the Humpty Dance, or performing an ad-lib version of Afroman. I love people, and I love to get crazy, and alcohol is quite the social lubricant. I am pretty careful about staying under the legal driving limit, unless someone else is driving, in which case I normally get plastered. I have some very amusing recordings of karaoke that I've done in that condition, and I'm still debating whether or not to put them on Singer's Showcase. I will have to take it easy on the ale tonight, because I'm going to drive my 1976 hearse (by request), and it could draw some unwanted attention from law enforcement on the way home.

My only fear about going to Guitar Center is that I will walk out with a new guitar, or something expensive. I am like a kid in a toy store at Guitar Center.

-denise

I'd go with Kim Carnes. Sing Bette Davis eyes, or sing something by Rod Stewart.

I was referring to avoiding alcohol, sugar, caffeine and milk BEFORE YOU SING THE SONG. After that, doesn't matter.

As for #6, many people I know wouldn't consider not singing to save their voice over the attempt. As I've gotten more and more educated on vocal technique and how to take care of my voice, I'm becoming more and more careful about what I do to and with my voice. I've actually removed a number of well liked, and well performed songs from my repertoire because of what they do to my voice (Note: Basso-baritones should NOT sing 'Welcome to the Jungle' Even if they can. ).

As for the spray - you can find that product elsewhere - I just happen to know that guitar center carries it. If you have time, you can get it through Amazon, Musician's Friend, and Drugstore.com as well as many, many others.

I like to think that I have a good range, but I agree 100% about not singing beyond what is healthy. There are some Janis Joplin songs that I don't do anymore, for instance, mostly because I don't want to end up sounding like Janis Joplin. For the songs with the low notes, I hit a certain point and my voice just doesn't go any lower, so sometimes I have to go to a higher key, or up an octave. What I do for these parts is to add a rich timbre, and it works pretty well. I remember when a young black guy (can I say "black guy" without offending anyone?) was having trouble with the Humpty Dance and was holding the mic out to others in the room and letting them fill it. When he pointed it at me, I came back sounding just like Humpty, and you should seen the look on his face.

That brings me to a question. My husband did "Toucha Toucha Touch Me" from Rocky Horror in falsetto at a gay bar one time, and I was rolling out of my chair laughing, but he has never been willing to do it again anywhere else. He says that it's not appropriate...why not? I would think that if I can do Afroman, he could do Janet, but he says that it's easier for women to get away with stuff like that. It's never quite made sense to me.

I am somewhat impressed when vocalists hit high notes, especially opera singers who can do those trills, and male vocalists who go way beyond what most females can do. I watched the Ohio Players a few years ago, and their lead singer, whose name escapes me, was hitting notes that even a turbocharger couldn't make. The Ohio Players have been around for years, so I wonder how he gets away with it.

-denise

Ok, this works.

First, thoroughly brush your tongue with some toothpaste and make sure to brush the back of your tongue as far back as you can without gagging. Also brush the inside of your upper gums and the upper part of your mouth as far back as you can. Rinse well and then gargle with about a shot class full of Hydrogen Peroxide that you get in the pharmacy or grocery store. It comes in a brown bottle and it's pretty diluted. I've done this MANY times, I'm still alive. It's actually pretty good for your oral health.

Another thing that helps is the over the counter medication known as Mucinex. I get the generic version at Walmart for a lot less. The active ingredient is Guaifenesin. It's an extract of a tree bark and it's quite safe. I take a couple of 400 mg tablets and also 2 to 3 200mg Ibuprofen tablets. This relaxes my throat and gets rid of mucous.

Some people sip Rumple Minze which is a very potent and tasty peppermint schnapps. Terrific stuff.

Wow, thanks to everyone for all of the responses. Vocal-eze is kind of freaky tasting, but it is good stuff, and I managed to get out of Guitar Center without buying anything else, which is a minor miracle for me. I'm trying some of your other suggestions as well, and we'll see how it goes. If I'm not up to it, I will skip it and do something easier, but I try to do one new song every time I go, just to keep things interesting.

-d

HOT water will help you hit those high notes

I have severe allergies and have just come to accept that there are going to be nights when I can't do much of anything and other nights when I can do almost anything I want. I'm trying to learn more classic old school rap songs and other less stressful things for just that reason. My vote is that you go easy on your vocal chords. It's a lot better to sound decent on something simple than push your vocal chords to do something you don't have in you that night.

I agree with bigjer. You can do more harm than good if you push your vocals beyond what they can do. Wait out your throat issues. Take the time to hydrate your throat correctly.

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The Line Array Experiment is over. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Well, too late for that one. I used the Vocal-Eze, and some Guinness Ale, which is actually a decent throat coat, and made it through the night with no problems. We had a rotation of 3-4 most of the time, an unusually slow night, so I would guess that I did at least 15 songs. I'm happy to say that I nailed "99 Luftballons"...of course, no one else would appreciate the many hours that I spent practicing it, and what a major victory it was for me to sing in German for the first time, but karaoke is mostly for the singer anyway. What entertained the crowd the most was actually my Village People songs, "In The Navy" and "YMCA", which I didn't expect to receive anything but funny looks for.

Anyway, now I have three days to get my voice fixed properly before Friday.

-d

I wouldnt worry about it, I rely on Adrenalin when my alergies kick in or I have a cold. I have gone to do a show's when I couldnt even talk when I showed up but as soon as I get on stage adrenalin kicks in and The show goes on,


mentioned this to a dance girl on my last Cruise and she said she sprained her ankle real bad once but each night when she got on stage she was able to pull off her whole routine.

Then I also saw a documentrary on Discovery channel about the same thing for stage performers and adrenalin...

Just a thought

I just went through this issue myself. Played a gig with my band 2 saturdays ago. Our singer quit the band and we had commitments so i picked up half of our 3 sets worth of music to sing. He was to only sing 1 set as a going away deal. Then he starts pounding beer and screwing with our sound while the band is trying to get thru the night. Long story short. 3rd set and i am screaming my words out trying to hear because he killed our monitors. Hooked another gig the following saturday from promotor seeing this disaster. i could not speak at all for 3 days. I tried to sing at home and could not get into my higher register without my throat closing. Found throat coat tea at gnc. I made a pitcher of it and cooled it to room temp and pour a ton of honey in my cup. Saved the gig for me. i even found that songs i had been struggling to hit vocally came waay easier for me. After the gig I couldnt talk again but at least we met our contract.

I didn't realize that adrenalin was responsible, just thought it was a matter of doing something that was totally absorbing mentally, but it makes sense. When I was in pain from my back injury, I was told that extended rest was not the right thing to do, so I went to karaoke. I felt so bad that I wanted to go home, but as soon as I took the mic and the music started, the pain was totally gone.

-denise

I toe yoo