Tips For Singers and Public Speakers: Throat Lubrication

Few things can screw a singer’s voice – and a concert – up more quickly than singing with a dry throat or mouth. There are several reasons for this, but I’ll skip most of them and just say the main reason is it’ll force you to overcompensate.

If you know your voice well, you can pull it off if you absolutely have to. If you know your voice like you’re God incarnate, you can pull it off for 3 hours straight, in a smokey environment, without anything to drink, whilst suffering a cold – and still be able to do it all over again 16 hours later.

The latter category is cool, to a degree, but it comes with very high pricetag. You see, the only way you can know for sure how much your voice can take, is to actually lose it in its entirety for a few week’s time. Losing it for a day doesn’t count, not even a little bit. You have to lose it to the point you actually start to cry, wondering if you’ve lost an entire octave forever.

The good news is, unless you were a complete moron about your technique, the voice usually does recover. But it’s not something a professional should endeavor to experience. Just take it from me, and others like me, when we tell you maintaining your vocal chords from the start is an absolute must. There are a number of ways to do this, and I’m not talking about things like vocal exercises.

Nor am I talking about not smoking, which is something anyone with a brain already knows. I’ll get into the other aspects eventually, but the most basic requirement here is lubrication. And I’m going to tell you the best, and worst things that will affect this. I base this on 12 years of professional singing, in all settings. This includes festivals of 10,000 or more people, small clubs of 50 people, poorly mic’ed settings and well-mic’ed settings.

• Pineapple juice

Far and away, the best choice available. Doesn’t matter if it’s room temp or a bit chilled, but nothing cold. And nothing with chunks in it, those can make you cough. Pineapple juice is slick, it will instantly moisten your throat, wet your tongue – and cause you to salivate, which is the best lubrication you can find. 1 glass per 45 minute set, a sip or two between songs, that’s all you need. Remember, you’re just lubricating, not quenching thirst. Do not go overboard with pineapple juice, you will spend the next morning in the bathroom. Crazy as pineapple juice sounds, it’s the best thing you can use, and I’ve converted every opera singer I’ve ever mentioned it to.

• Strawberry Juice

I don’t go out of my way to get this one, but if I can’t get my hands on pineapple juice this will do for a one off. It can be grainy, so just sip. SIP. It will also cause you to salivate, and it will make your mouth very slick. Again, don’t overdo it.

• Honey

And by this, I mean pure honey. Not honey mixed in with some silly tea. If your throat really gets it, you can carry a small squeezable tube of honey around with you and use a tiny bit as needed. Salivation is instant and that’s what it’s all about.

• Olives

Again, the real olive, not olive oil, though I suppose that would work in a pinch. Olives are readily available in most bars, just nibble (NIBBLE) at one until your throat feels nice and wet.