Treatment for raspy throat?

[SideBMusic]

Although I have had a cold lately, I still have a little difficulty with my voice even when I am well. You know that need to clear your throat or that raspy catch you get sometimes? I cannot seem to get rid of it. Other than vocal exercise, does anyone have some advice or remedies to help smooth out the sound of my vocal performance and clear this frog? I don't even sound as good as Kermit.

 

[elkym]

Drink a little bit of warm lemonade (make it with real lemon juice mind you).
This can help a little bit, and vitamin C is good for you and your voice.

Failing that, OJ is good too, but dilute it a little otherwise your throat can get all clogged up with phlegm.

 

[Whiskeyrebel]

Janis always swore by Souther Comfort but that didn't have a very pretty ending..

Gargle with hot salt water, or better yet hot water with Adolph's Meat Tenderizer in it. Not joking. The papaya stuff in it seems to make it more soothing than plain salt.

As far as something you can drink, a heated mix of ginger ale (Vernor's if you can get it), lemon, lime juice and honey is very soothing to the throat and good for a cold.

 

[Johnson]

There is this tea called "Throat Coat" that i was able to find in the grocery store. It feels amazing on sore vocal chords! :BEER

 

[meterman]

I bought a couple of these at a NAMM show a few years back, the booth babe was super hot and a good salesperson but the stuff actually works...

http://www.singercity.com/Merchant2...=singercity&Screen=PROD&Product_Code=vocaleze

Also check the health food store, they have some stuff, slippery elm I think...

 

[jay42]

My wife uses Hall's Breezers. They don't do disgusting things to the guts and work better than anything I've ever run into. For painful throat, I still like Fisherman's Friend better. They're very strong and you can only do so many a day.

 

[kludge]

There is this tea called "Throat Coat" that i was able to find in the grocery store. It feels amazing on sore vocal chords! :BEER

My wife swears by that stuff. She does multi-hour training sessions at work, and often has to talk loudly for hours at a time.

 

[Somniferous]

Hot toddys work great. Hot tea with lemon and honey, and if your up to it a bit of whiskey. Works wonders, and I've used it in many situations where I've had to sing and was sick.

 

[VintageKnob]

After two years of professional classical/opera voice training, between my teachers advice and lots of trial and error, I came up with a few things that worked for me.

- less dairy (phlegm)
- humidifier at home
- don't do vocal exercises for too long of periods. depends on the shape your voice is in.

Your voice quality is directly related to your health status, sleeping good, eating right, etc.
After you use it, it needs to rest and recover, just like working out. Rest is vital.

If your not singing in a way that helps build your voice, then your going to have even a harder time getting your voice to recover after use.

Before I decided to stop killing my voice and learn how to do it right for the long haul. After a weekend of gigging, I'd have a deep raspy voice for most of the next week. Not good.

After professional training my voice just kept getting stronger with use.

My two cents.

- DStefani

 

[theroan]

For love of God do not use lemon anything. No alcohol no cold no hot. There is nothing out there that can do more for you than room temperature water. All the rest either numbs the pain and or makes the issue worse.

Not talking is the real medicine. Don't whisper though if you have to talk, that also creates a strain on your vocal cords.

 

[Somniferous]

For love of God do not use lemon anything. No alcohol no cold no hot. There is nothing out there that can do more for you than room temperature water. All the rest either numbs the pain and or makes the issue worse.

Not talking is the real medicine. Don't whisper though if you have to talk, that also creates a strain on your vocal cords.

I agree with you, but sometime you have to do what you gotta do for a gig. Sure it's not great for you, but it allows you to get thru the gig without to much incident. Rest is always the best thing for any sort of sickness, but like i said, if you have to the numbing stuff helps.

Lemon does work, if it is supplemented with honey. The lemon cuts the mucus and the honey then coats the throat. This remedy has been around for hundreds of years and is actually better for you than cough drops.

 

[SideBMusic]

Lot's of good info here, everyone. Thank you so much. I'm going to try some of the remedies and see how it goes. I know I need to practice vocal exercises, and I'll be looking into that as well, but I knew I needed something to help my throat because it doesn't feel clear, especially when I go for the higher notes or volume.

I love this forum. I learn so much.

 

[theroan]

If you want some good excercises get a book called "Set Your Voice Free" by a guy named Roger Love. It comes with a CD too, I love it.

 

[Softpaw]

Horehound

 

[Vaachek]

Hot tea w/ honey

 

[SideBMusic]

If you want some good excercises get a book called "Set Your Voice Free" by a guy named Roger Love. It comes with a CD too, I love it.

This looks interesting. I think I'll give it a try.

 

[mcgriff420]

+1 no citrus anything!!

tea and honey or just hot/warm water with honey.

For a couple weekends I tried drinking just orange juice at the shows for a quick sugar kick -no booze, and I wasn't sick. BOTH weekends I nearly lost my voice on the second night second set -and I ain't a screamer.

So now I'm all about tea and honey -not a drop of citrus..ymmv.

 

[Robert1950]

Cigarettes and Jack Daniels.

 

[testing1two]

Cigarettes and Jack Daniels.

+1...I thought raspy was a good thing.

Actually, it's really important to drink plenty of water and I don't mean just before or during the gig. Keeping hydrated is a big deal in the life of a singer.

 

[SideBMusic]

+1...I thought raspy was a good thing.

LOL! Sometimes it is, for sure.

I've decided that, in addition to trying some of the remedies suggested here (with the tea and honey solution seeming to be the most popular), I am going to look into vocal exercises. When I was younger I could do just about anything I wanted with my voice. I guess now I am going to have to work at it a bit more. ;-)