Taking "cues" while singing can be quite embarrassing. Depending on the case, some can be controlled, others not, but fortunately they can be prevented thanks to some precautions.
Steps
Step 1. Practice singing
If you can control your voice, you may be able to avoid the splints. If it is very difficult for you, hold your stomach while you sing. What you want is that your voice is really deep! Practice checking the notes and see if you can keep them without cueing.
Step 2. Sing with excitement
By trying to sing your best and really thinking about the notes you are picking up, you may be able to achieve a level of control enough to avoid out of tune.
Step 3. Get help
If you take lessons from a teacher, ask for tips or tricks to help your voice. Most likely they have had this problem too, or have seen many similar cases while teaching.
Step 4. Drink water before singing
Keeping your throat moisturized can help you have better control over what you sing. If the splint is caused by dry throat, it's easy to fix it: ingest a teaspoon of olive oil.
Step 5. Try vocal exercises to help hold air and control your vocal cords
These exercises, if practiced regularly, can help you gain more control over your voice and avoid splints.
Step 6. Always keep the diaphragm low
If you stick some notes, it means that you are pushing too hard and this is not correct.
Step 7. Warming up the voice is extremely helpful
Search for vocal warm-up exercises on Youtube and you will find different types, such as the classic vocalise "Do mi sol do sol mi do". Go up one semitone or one tone at a time.
Advice
- Always keep a lot of air, even when you are not singing classical music pieces (e.g. pop music). The more air you provide to your vocal cords, the easier it will be to sing.
- If you have vocal problems, try a different support with the voice (in pop belting is used, that is, the notes are compressed and you lean on the front part of the face; in classical music, head resonance is used, i.e. you sing with a light voice and the support is directed towards the bottom of the throat, with the soft palate raised).
- Drinking tea with honey is a great help for your voice, but it can also dry out your throat.
- If you have a cold or suffer from a lowered voice, rest it. Drink a lot and avoid excessive singing and talking.
- Speak without raising your voice and as little as possible is good for your voice, whisper NO.
- Another solution is to drink a mixture of water, lemon and honey. For generic doses, pour one tablespoon of lemon juice and two tablespoons of honey into a cup of hot water.
- If the problem is caused by puberty, wait for this to pass. You should be able to sing again in no time!
- If a note is too high to sing in your natural voice, try singing it head first.
- To sing high notes, it helps to close your eyes, move your hands, lean forward, and stay focused on them.
- Always warm up before singing, it will allow you to remove any residue from the vocal cords and most likely prevent splints.
Warnings
- Avoid foods that are too sugary, sweet or acidic. The most common examples are: milk, juice, coffee, ice cream, candy. Avoid them especially on days when you have to sing, both in rehearsals and live.
- Dairy products can cause phlegm to form in the throat and thus make singing extremely difficult. Most singers don't drink milk for 24 hours before a performance.
- If you start to feel pain while singing, and the inconvenience is not reduced with either water or air, stop immediately.
- If you have a low voice, don't try to sing. You may end up causing permanent damage to your vocal cords.
- Also avoid yelling or talking loudly before a performance or otherwise in general, as you could seriously damage your vocal cords. doing it every now and then is fine, but be careful.
