Vocalist.org archive


From:  "Jocelyn Gooch" <jocelyngooch@h...>
Date:  Tue Aug 1, 2000  10:05 pm
Subject:  warm liquids on the voice vs ice cream


Ed Durbrow said:

Why is it that warm liquids seem to help my voice? I assume they also
go down the esophagus. I also have experienced adverse effects on the
voice from eating ice cream. May be the heat or cold affects the
muscles around the larynx???

Well, Ed, you have those tiny little muscles in the larynx. Imagine putting
your leg up to the mid calf in ice water (Ice Cream would be interesting!)
and try a nice energetic walk. I'm sure you would be having some difficulty,
and may even experience problems beyond the iced section, into the knee.
Muscles should be "warmed" before exertion. Not iced. You swallow very close
to your larynx. All that cold would probably affect you. Warm liquids, not
hot, are often advocated for singers, to help keep the vocal apparatus ready
to go. Singing is athletic, not only for the support muscles, but for those
tiny little muscles we do not really consciously control. I always tell my
students that we should just let our instruments play, and to stay out of
the way, since the body knows how to play the larynx better then we do. Does
this make sense to anyone?

Wish me luck/break-a-leg. I have an audition tomorrow that I found out about
yesterday. Yikes.

Jocelyn Gooch
soprano
Alameda, CA


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