Karaoke Forums

Between the talking and the singing, my throat gets pretty ragged during the week.

I usually drink two socos and limes while I'm working... (except for this last Saturday, but that's another story! ) The lime and alcohol really clear my throat up nicely. I also use Listerene breath strips and spray... which is interesting. It really cleans out the flem, and open the nasal passages.

I've had a few singers ask me about it, and I give them a shot of the spray. Their eyes go wide (the stuff is strong), and then a "Wow" as the throat and nose clears. I keep the spray handy as those singers of mine in the know request "a shot" when they come up.

What are you guys using?

_________________
Good music, good friends, howling good times!

Guiafeennison, a strong denture adhesive and Budwieser. Sometimes Viagra..

_________________
Join The Karaokle Singers Social Network. Upload Your Music!!

Viagra stops up my nose.

_________________
Good music, good friends, howling good times!

Who's (oh never mind=not gonna go there!)

Dr. Magilicutty Menthol straight up (right out of the freezer) does wonders for my throat.

_________________
Music speaks to the heart in ways words cannot express.

There is an old treatment, holistic/herbal, that you can get by special order from a pharmacy - it is called "Alkolol" and it is a gargle. It breaks up phlegm immediately for me. In fact, I had a studio gig at one time, was just getting over a cold, and i was panicked about the job until i picked up a bottle of that stuff. It comes in a brown bottle, about the size of the large rubbing alcohol bottle. May find it on the shelf in a real pharmacy (where they actually mix things). I had to order it, though. Gargle 2-3 times before you go to work. Not the best tasting stuff but it works.

Wow, that sound intriging! I'll have to give it a try. Thanks Karen!

_________________
Good music, good friends, howling good times!

Green Chartreuse. Over 600 herbs and spices in the original pre-1906 version, over 130 now. Absolutely terrific for my throat. Caveat: Note that I said GREEN Chartreuse- the extra sugur content in the YELLOW Chartreuse will thicken you up like corn starch does gravy...

Simpler, non- alcoholic help is straight (no fruit added) club soda.

For an irritated or dry throat, a spray based on "Singer's Magic"- water, lemon, a couple of drops of glycerin ( I said DROPS of glycerin- gulp that stuff and spend the nite in the john).

_________________
"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."

Slippery Elm Throat Lozenges made by Thayers and used by opera singers. They have been around since the 1800's. You can find them in some of the natural health stores.

OOPS, forgot about that. Have used them too- terrific! Thanks for the reminder, Kitty!

_________________
"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."

1 part vodka, 1 part blackcurrent cordial. Tastes like a throat lozenge, and works like one too.

For those of you saying that alcohol helps your throat, you are fooling yourselves.
Alcohol is dehydrating, as is coffee (and anything with caffeine).
Your vocal chords thrive on moisture. Every drink you take, you're only drying them out further. The best thing for them is to drink plenty of WATER all day, every day. Take it from me. I have learned the hard way. I had nodes due to heavy coughing during a bout of pneumonia. I also had to have surgery to have said nodes removed. I HAD to learn to take extra care of my voice.
If you find yourself needing something for your throat, WATER with lemon is good, as is REAL licorice tea. Or anything with REAL licorice (not Anise or flavoured).
Also I use a natural product called Singer's Saving Grace. It's a throat spray that tastes like absolute crap and smells even worse, but it works.

I was talking about the limes... THEY are good for my voice. Many singers suck on lemons or limes

Right you are Knightshow. Limes and lemons (more so the lemons, I find) are a good "helper" to rehydrate the vocals.

yep, I think just about ANY form of citrus is good for replenishing liquids, and the vitamens help with recovery of injury to your internal workings!

If there's injury to your "internal workings", you're doing it wrong and need to learn to sing properly. You should NEVER be doing damage while you're singing! VERY important!
But if you're referring to over indulgence, then you're right again!

Well, I wasn't talking so much about injuries, but straining chords when you're sick (people do this talking and don't even know it), and getting over colds or the flu. But if you DO have an injury it sure helps! I seriously bone up on the vitamen C, sometimes three or four hundred percent of what I need. Whatever my body doesn't use, it merely passes!

Cigarettes and Dr. Pepper.

Water is about the only thing that is actually good for the pipes. Citrus can help keep them tight but isn't actually healing. In fact it can help you hurt them if you strain still.

However straining them under the best circumstances is bad so nothing is really going to help if you're doing that. Your voice will just be chronically rough.

Water and more water. If that doesn't work, try more water. Lemon/lime /anything citrus is acidic and actually could be damaging.
Slippery elm lozenges are okay, afaik, but the other 'remedies', while they may 'seem' to help in the short term, are not a good idea and can be damaging.
Decongestants are one of the worst 'solutions'.
Alcohol, spicey food,carbonated beverages, and fruit juice are all bad ideas right before singing, though unless you plan to sing something that pushes your range/voice it's not really necessary to go to these extremes.

The best thing is to avoid shouting/loud talking,warm up your voice and do some light stretching/breathing exercises, drink a lot of water, and to clear your throat, press the tip of your tongue to the back of your lower teeth and open the back of your throat as if yawning. raise the upper part of the back of your throat, lower the lower part, and this will actually clear your throat without the damage caused by coughing.

If this isn't enough, you should probably skip singing for the night, and if it is an ongoing thing, look into possible causes,including your singing technique.

Edited......this is a good topic, and I didn't want to taint it....carry on....