Get Your Technique Right, Get it Tight

When I was trying to get in shape for my second music video, I found the 30 day squat challenge. Those squats helped me get a nicer booty, and I definitely felt the burn by day four. But It wasn’t until I got a personal trainer a few years later that I realized that my squats were... bad.

My trainer told me that the squats I’d been doing could cause serious damage to my knees. And causing damage to my knees could lead to back problems, which could lead to hip problems, etc.

So I had to unlearn my old squat technique and re-learn a new one. It was a pain in the butt (literally) and I wish I’d just learned the right way first.

Actors—Don’t do this with your voice

Just because it feels good or sounds good, doesn’t mean it’s good for you. Just like professional runners have coaches, most singers know that they need ongoing vocal training. But actors, you need a voice coach too.

If you’re using your voice professionally you should learn to use it the right way. If you do, you’ll have access to many more opportunities. If you don’t, you can get injured.

Voice lessons aren’t something you can cram. It’s more like training for a marathon than studying for a test.

For the health of your voice you need to:

Understand your natural range.
Recognize your vocalization habits.
Learn how to make changes.
Practice those changes so they can become new habits. Then, you need to check in with your voice coach and they can help you practice for your different roles.

Get More Roles

You may not consider yourself a singer, or plan on making an album. But just having that skill on your resume makes you more castable.

Movies like Mama Mia, Pitch Perfect, and LaLa Land have shown us that people want to see musicals on the big screen. They’re profitable and award-worthy too. Shows like Glee, Empire, and Atlanta have paved the way for modern musical TV shows.

Singing is like any other skill, and it can be learned. Having it on your resume will get you into more casting calls.

Expand your Resume

There are more opportunities for voice acting than ever before. Audiobooks and scripted podcasts are on the rise. And there is always voice-over work. If you need extra money between movies, TV shows, or commercial work, voice acting can be a great option.

You can get paid 100-500 dollars for a single hour of audio for an audiobook. Multiply that by nine hours, and you’ve got yourself a nice paycheck. Audiobooks often have quick turnaround times—from a few days to a few weeks. So it's good money without a huge impact on your availability.

When you’re relying on your voice only for the drama, you have even more of a reason to perfect it. You also need vocal endurance. An audiobook can take several hours to record. Some of the most experienced audiobook actors record from home. But in order to demand the big bucks, and be trusted to direct yourself, your voice needs to be on point.

Better able to manipulate “your instrument”

As an actor, your voice is one of your instruments. You should know how to manipulate it and how to take care of it. Understanding the way your voice works is very important for your emotional range. When we’re upset, we tend to hold our breath and speaking or emoting comes out rough. When you’re acting, you might have similar habits that make you come off as less than authentic.

Because breathing is an automatic response, sometimes we don’t notice what we’re doing wrong. Bad habits can form without us noticing. A good vocal coach will help you recognize your breathing habits and show you better techniques.

Along with the breath comes posture and stance. It’s super important to understand how your whole body impacts the sound of your voice. We’ve all heard “speak from your diaphragm” but I never really understood what that meant until I started vocal lessons in my teens.

Breath and posture are crucial to controlling the way that your voice sounds. A good vocal instructor will help you to control your them so that the sounds you make are healthy and clear. They will help you to project your voice without straining it.

Long Term Health of your vocal cords

Singers like Adele, John Mayer, Mariah Carey, and Beyonce have vocal cord dysfunction. They've had to have surgeries, cancel tours, and take breaks. Actors also suffer from the same vocal cord problems.

The most common vocal cord injuries are:

vocal hemorrhages
vocal tears,
vocal bruises
vocal nodules
vocal cysts
vocal polyps

Jon Hamm recently dealt with vocal polyps. Vocal polyps and nodules are types of “growth” that can get in the way of vocal cord function, and cause serious problems. This is the only time I’m going to tell you NOT to be like Jon Hamm. Surgery is usually needed for polyps, and then voice therapy. It’s much less expensive and painful to see a vocal coach first.

Many of these problems are preventable with:

proper hydration
not smoking
not "pushing" your voice
voice lessons

Do you have to scream over and over for that horror movie? Are you shouting over a helicopter in an action film? Don’t let it end your career. Polyps are a common one for actors because they can be caused by sudden vocal events such as a scream.

You should train with a coach who will not only help your range, they’ll get on you about all those harmful vocal habits. Ones that you might not even notice you’re doing. Things like smoking and screaming are obviously bad. But whispering and other less obvious vocalization habits can also damage your vocal cords.

Free Amber Light Voice Lesson

You don’t have to take my word for it. At Amber Light everyone gets a free introductory voice lesson. You’ll work with me, or one of our coaches who are professionally trained in a very special method. With our method, you’ll be able to manipulate your own voice, and keep it healthy. Call 323.391.6093 now to sign up!

Sources:

The Influence of Vocal Training and Acting Experience on Measures of Voice Quality and Emotional Genuineness: ncbi.gov

Actors Should Study Singing. Here’s Why: backstage.com

Why Voice Lessons Are Not Just For Singers: backstage.com

Common Voice Disorders Experienced by Actors: Isuvoiceresources.com

Top Tips for a Healthy and Powerful Voice # 6: ohniww.org

Why actors need voice lessons for better health and more money