Christine wrote:
> Well, according to Shirlee Emmons, drinking water up
to an hour before
> singing is good for hydration; but later than that or
during singing actually
> strips the mucus from your cords, which you need, of
course, for lubricaiton.
I've studied with Shirlee and have the greatest respect
for her, but that advice doesn't work for me. It's true
that you can drink too much in the course of a day, and
your body (or at least my body) starts "flushing" out
the excess, and I have experienced the mucus going right
along with it. But I do need to drink as I sing, and
this is likely exacerbated by the fact that my thyroid
went out for a long lunch break many years ago and
forgot to come back, which affects my fluid balance
constantly. But anytime that you're breathing through
your mouth repeatedly over a long period of time, and
especially in a dry room such as you would be in winter,
you're going to dry out the vocal folds. The room my
recital was in on Sunday was a case in point - like the
desert. Unfortunately, composers just didn't plan well
enough for us always to take long, leisurely breaths
through the nose.
> I'm not sure exactly how that works because it's not
like the water actually
> comes in contact with your cords unless you're CHOKING,
My teacher (David Jones) gave me a suggestion years ago
that does work. If you're desperate to rehydrate fast,
you can gargle with some plain water, and tiny bits of
it will splash down around the vocal folds.
> but all I can say is
> that since I started following Ms. Emmons'
recommendation of eating apple
> wedges prior to singing, I have not suffered from
dryness at all during
> singing.
Sounds like good advice, except for those of us who have
fruit allergies. My allergies are barely noticeable
compared to what they were like as a child, and I do eat
apples, but they cause just enough irritation in the
mouth and throat that I wouldn't do so before a
performance. I do better with Fig Newtons - just a
couple, because more is too much sugar and will gunk me
up - but a couple seems to give the fluids in my body
something to "latch onto" to stay put. It also gives me
a bit of quick energy. It also makes me happy at
intermission. :-)
Robin Lynne Frye
Mezzo-Soprano
Voice and Piano Teacher
New York, New York
> In a message dated 01/16/2001 8:47:30 AM Central Standard Time,
> classicalsinger@e... writes:
>
> << One of the funniest things concerning water intake I ever heard was
> Fedora Barbieri... in a master class she said not to drink water.
> "Nobody drank water when I was singing." She hated that singers always
> have to have their water bottles and said it is bad for you because it
> makes you stop making saliva. >>
>
> Well, according to Shirlee Emmons, drinking water up to an hour before
> singing is good for hydration; but later than that or during singing actually
> strips the mucus from your cords, which you need, of course, for lubricaiton.
> I'm not sure exactly how that works because it's not like the water actually
> comes in contact with your cords unless you're CHOKING, but all I can say is
> that since I started following Ms. Emmons' recommendation of eating apple
> wedges prior to singing, I have not suffered from dryness at all during
> singing.
>
> Christine Thomas
> Wauwatosa, WI
> <A HREF="http://hometown.aol.com/mezzoid/myhomepage/profile.html">
> http://hometown.aol.com/mezzoid/myhomepage/profile.html</A>
>
> "I love to sing-a, about the moon-a and the June-a and the spring-a"
>
>
>
>
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