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Hey Singers! I'm Justin Stoney
the founder of New York Vocal Coaching
joining you for another episode of Quick Singing Tips.
Today we're hanging out at my local pub
George Keeley.
To me, there's no greater place to get a craft beer
than George Keeley.
The people are great, the music is awesome,
and the beer selection, world class.
Here, if you become a craft beer expert
they even put you on the beer wall of fame.
And you thought all I knew about was vocal pedagogy.
Ha!
Heck no.
After a long day of cricothyroids, formant tuning,
and zygomatic arches,
♪ Sometimes you wanna go ♪
♪ Where everybody knows your name ♪
♬ And they're always glad you came ♬
Which leads us to our question for the day
from Omizu W. in Kano, Nigeria.
Omizu writes, "Dear Justin, does alcohol affect the voice?"
What an intoxicating question, Omizu.
[ Drum ]
That's what we're going to explore today at George Keeley.
But first, let me talk to the bartender.
♬
Now, a little disclaimer.
If you're underage, it's my advice
to follow the rules of your country
and always drink responsibly.
Here in the U.S. our drinking age is 21.
I actually kept this rule myself.
I didn't drink anything until my 21st birthday
when I got a Guinness with my dad.
Let me tell ya, I'm really glad I waited.
It was really special for me to do it the right way.
Kids and teens that watch our show,
I hope you'll do this too.
Please, listen to your folks and do the right thing.
Alcohol can ruin people's lives.
Or, it can be one of life's greatest pleasures.
Make me proud by making good decisions.
Okay?
To good decisions!
So, how does alcohol affect the voice?
Well, one thing I can tell you is
that it's way better than smoking.
In fact, if you have to "pick a vice" between
smoking and drinking you should choose
drinking every time.
Why?
Well, when you smoke it goes right across
your vocal cords and irritates and inflames them.
But, when you drink, the alcohol doesn't touch
your vocal folds at all.
Your epiglottis closes over your larynx
and the liquids are pushed into your esophagus
when you swallow.
So, in one sense drinking alcohol doesn't
do anything to your voice at all.
In fact, a quiet evening at home with a drink or two
over a healthy meal should do virtually nothing
to your vocal health.
So, generally speaking, we don't need to consider
alcohol bad for the voice.
Here are some things to think about though.
The first thing we need to consider is
drinking heavily or binge drinking.
♬
Drinking excessively is never a good idea.
It wrecks your body, your brain,
and yep it will have bad effects on your voice
in the short term and the long term.
The good news is if you always keep
your drinking to a small or moderate amount
you shouldn't have anything to worry about.
Next, loud crowds.
♬
A lot of times alcohol gets an unfair bad rap.
That's because people usually consume it
in social settings, bars, clubs, or parties
where everybody's talking loudly, shouting,
and competing with loud music playing.
Speaking loudly over crowds is maybe
the number one vocal killer.
People get this confused.
They go out for a few drinks with friends
and their voice is shot the next day.
They think the drinking caused it.
But actually it's usually the environment and not
the drinks themselves.
Let's also consider coordination.
♬
Alcohol causes us to lose some of our inhibitions
and our fine motor skills.
This applies to the voice.
That's why people who drink too much talk so loudly.
Hey, look at me my subglottic pressure
is wrecking my superficial
lamina propria. [ mumbles ]
Woo!
That's right.
Drinking too much often causes people to
harm their voices by letting them get
out of control with volume.
Next, let's look at acid reflux.
♬
Acid reflux is another big vocal killer.
This is essentially when your digestive acids come
up from the stomach and start irritating the vocal folds.
Drinking alcohol can certainly contribute to acid reflux.
So, if you're a singer that struggles with reflux
you might need to be a lot more careful with alcohol.
Especially when you've got a big performance, audition,
or recording session coming up.
Finally, hydration.
♬
One down side to alcohol is that it can be dehydrating.
Not usually if you drink in moderation.
But, to be on the safe side always drink a lot of water
when you drink alcohol.
My rule of thumb, is one of these for
every one of these.
So, as you can see, Omizu, alcohol isn't necessarily
bad for the voice.
But we have to be smart about it.
So, let's recap with a little night cap.
Remember, always drink moderately.
Be aware of the environment.
Avoid loud talking.
Consider acid reflux issues.
And, stay hydrated.
If you do these things then, Omizu and all,
I believe that you will discover that spirits
can add spirit to your life and to your singing.
Here's even more spirit for your vocal journey.
For voice lessons or Skype lessons with the NYVC staff
visit us at NewYorkVocalCoaching.com.
If you'd like a vocal course that you can do at home
then check out the Voice Lessons To The World Vocal Course.
This twelve part program takes you on a singing journey from
beginner to master level vocal exercises.
You can find it at VoiceLessonsToTheWorld.com.
Or, if you'd like free vocal tips sent to you each day
sign up at DailyVocalTips.com.
And now, here's Justin with this week's vocal benediction.
I would like to propose a toast.
To your health, your happiness, and your singing.
Keep making positive decisions about how you treat
yourself and your voice.
Maybe sometime I'll see you soon here at George Keeley.
I hope we can share a pint to celebrate your glorious
gift of singing.
Slàinte, l'chaim, and cheers
to you!
♬