829 – Cooling Down After Voice Work

2023.04.09 – 0829 – Cooling Down After Voice Work

Cooling down after voice work

Most people know the importance of warming up the voice, even if not sure exactly how. But cooling down the voice? Not so much.

But the truth is that if you have a high vocal demand, cooling down with give you more stamina, reducing fatigue and enabling better functioning.

As we saw earlier, a “high vocal demand” could be:

·        Lots of talking in general conversation

·        Lots of ‘presentation’ talking with a mic, perhaps as a talk-radio presenter or recording lots of podcasts

·        Lots of ‘presentation’ talking without a mic, maybe as a school teacher, where more volume might be thought necessary

·        Talking over background noise, perhaps as a sports commentator, in a noisy classroom, as a club DJ …

·        and so on, especially if it goes on for several hours or over several days.

A cool-down helps get you ‘out of character’, trains your brain to come out of its ‘presentation state’ and the muscles to relax out of their ‘work ready’ holding tension. You’re resetting and relaxing your voice mechanism.

Close your eyes and ‘scan’ your body from head to toe, deliberately thinking about any tension you are holding in any place, and turning it ‘off’. Are your shoulders being held high? How is your jaw and tongue? Loose or lifted? Consider your breathing: short and snatched or low and slow? 

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